The California Supreme Court Holds that the nonpayment of wages does not support a claim of conversi

The California Supreme Court held this week that an employee cannot assert a conversion claim based on the nonpayment of wages. (See, Voris v. Lampert - filed Aug. 15, 2019 - 2019 S.O.S. 3989.) In Voris, the employee (Voris) sought to hold the owner of the company that employed him (Lampert) personally responsible for his unpaid wages on a theory of common law conversion. Voris claimed that by failing to pay the wages, the companies converted his personal property to their own use and that Lampert is individually liable for the companies’ misconduct. However, the California Supreme Court ruled that conversion tort was not the right fit for the wrong that Voris alleged.