Stoppage in transitu

a consignor loses his right to stop goods in transitu, although the consignee have become insolvent, after such consignee, having power to sell, has disposed of them, before their arrival, to a third person, unacquainted with any circumstance to taint the fairness of the transaction.

A resumption by the seller of the possession of goods not paid for, while on their way to the vendee, and before he has acquired actual possession, of them. 15 Me. 314. For most purposes, the possession of the carrier is considered to be that of the buyer; but by virtue of this right, which is an extension of the right of lien, the vendor may reclaim the possession before they reach the vendee, in case of the insolvency of the latter. 12 Pick. (Mass.) 313; 4 Gray (Mass.) 336; 2 Caines (N. Y.) 98; 8 Mees. & W. 341. To give a right of stoppage in transitu, the sale must have been on credit, but the giving of a note is not payment unless so agreed (13 Me. 103), the buyer must be insolvent, and such insolvency must have been unknown at the time of the sale (102 N. C. 390; 27 Barb. [N. Y.] 663), and the goods must be in transit, i. e., they must not have come into the actual or constructive possession of the buyer (16 Neb. 614; 40 Iowa, 627).

The right which arises to an unpaid vendor to resume the possession, with which he has parted, of goods sold upon credit, before they. come into the possession of a vendee wlio has become insolvent, bankrupt, or pecuniarily embarrassed.3, An equitable extension, recognized by the courts of common law, of the seller's lien for the price of goods » Lane's Appeal, 105 Pa. 62-fi3, 60 (1884), cases, Green, J. 2 Bayard v. Farmers' &c. Bank, 5S Pa. 933, 235 (1866), cases, Strong, J. 3 Bohlen's Estate, 75 Pa. 304 (1874). * German Association v. Sendmeyer, 50 Pa. 67 (1865); Denny v. Lyon, 38 id. 101 (1860). ^ Burgess v. Seligman, 107 U, S. 29-31 (1882),, cases. " State V. Smith, 15 Oreg. 98, 112 (1887), cases. of which the buyer has acquired the property, but not the possession. The right is paramount to any lien created by usage or by agreement between the carrier and the consignee for a general balance of accoiint, but not to the carrier's lien for freight.' The right is personal to the consignor. An exercise of the right is not a rescission of the contract, but, at most, a revesting of possession in the vendor. - The right must be exercised while the goods are in transit. That ends when the goods come into the possession, actual or cpnstructive, of the vendee or his agent; but an ending as to a part is not an ending as to all the goods, unless the contract is entire. The termination may be accelerated by the vendee; but it may not be prolonged by the carrier. The right is defeated by the consignee negotiating the bill of lading to a bona fide transferee for value.* See Revendication.

The riglit of a vendor to rescind a contract of sale, and seize the goods while stiE in the hands of the carrier.