Charles Evans BMW, Inc. v. Williams, 196 Ga.App. 230, 395 S.E.2d 650, 13 UCC Rep.Serv.2d 128

The relevant facts in this trover action are as follows: Appellee-defendant agreed to sell his car to an individual named Hodge and he accepted a cashier's check from Hodge as payment. With no indication on the certificate of title that Hodge was the purchaser, appellee signed the title in his capacity as seller and then delivered that document and the car to Hodge. The next day, Hodge, representing himself to be appellee, offered to sell the automobile to appellant-plaintiff. When a price was agreed upon, Hodge presented to appellant the certificate of title bearing appellee's signature as seller and appellant gave Hodge a check which named appellee as the payee. The check was cashed at a local bank when Hodge produced as identification a Kentucky driver's license bearing the same number of the Kentucky driver's license that had been issued to appellee. After the car had been purchased by appellant from Hodge, appellee was notified that the cashier's check he had accepted from Hodge was a forgery. By the time that appellant was made aware of the fact that it had not actually purchased the car from appellee but from Hodge representing himself to be appellee, it had already resold the car. At the direction of the local police authorities, however, the car and the certificate of title were returned to appellant and the purchase price was refunded by appellant. Thereafter, appellant was further required to return the car to appellee. However, appellant retained the certificate of title and initiated this trover action against appellee.