Burden of proof of innocence

Marcq v Christie Manson and Woods Ltd t/a Christies (QBD [2002] [4 All ER 1005])

A party who takes possession of the goods of another and deals with them in a manner which would not generally amount to conversion, could nevertheless be liable in conversion if he did not act in good faith and without notice. Where the auctioneers, Christies, handled a painting known as The Backgammon Players, which had been stolen and had been registered as stolen, it was not for the true owner to establish that the bailee was not acting in good faith or on notice; the burden of proof was on the bailee to prove that he had acted in good faith and had no notice of the possibility that the bailor might not have been the true owner. In this context ‘notice’ means actual knowledge of the relevant facts or actual knowledge of such other relevant facts as would have led a reasonable person, who was aware of the surrounding circumstances, to the conclusion that the fact was so.