Alicia stole Bob’s £2000 Segway and puts it up on eBay. Alice sees it on eBay for quite cheap (let’s say £150) and decides to buy it on a whim, which she does.
She suddenly then finds that she must unexpectedly move to a new city and, not really liking the Segway which she has anyway just bought for so cheap, decides to get rid of it along with most of her other unwanted possessions which she had decided to leave behind as she moves by listing them for free on gum tree.
Meanwhile Bob has opened a civil case against Alicia, for £2000, for the theft of his Segway.
Bob then sees his lost Segway for free on gum tree and claims it, before confirming that it is in fact certainly his own previously lost one, so he now has his Segway back in his possession.
Alternatively, suppose that Bob was walking in the park on the other side of town and suddenly finds his stolen Segway abandoned in the park.
What are the implications on Bob’s civil claim of his successful recovery of the Segway itself by other means, which we may further presume is either:
- of a degraded condition so as to be reduced in value by £500, or
- in the same exact condition in which Bob had last had it
What damages are now recoverable from Alicia in Bob’s civil suit against her, and how has the position changed by Bob’s recovery of the item?
