Felix DeWeldon declared bankruptcy in 1991. In 1992, DeWeldon, Ltd., purchased all Felix DeWeldon’s personal property from the bankruptcy trustee. After this purchase, the director of DeWeldon, Ltd., entrusted the paintings to Felix DeWeldon as custodian. DeWeldon, Ltd., did nothing to make it clear Felix DeWeldon did not own the paintings. For example, DeWeldon, Ltd., did not put a sign on the premises of Beacon Rock, Felix DeWeldon’s home in Newport, Rhode Island, nor did DeWeldon, Ltd., tag or label the paintings themselves. 

In 1993, Nancy Wardell, the sole shareholder of DeWeldon, Ltd., sold all of her DeWeldon, Ltd., stock to the Byron Preservation Trust. This trust sold Felix DeWeldon an option to repurchase the paintings and a contractual right to continue to retain possession of the paintings until the option expired. 

In 1993, DeWeldon, Ltd., sued Felix DeWeldon, seeking possession of the paintings, but was unsuccessful because of the option to repurchase and right of possession. The court enjoined Felix DeWeldon from transferring or removing the paintings from Beacon Rock. The paintings that became the subject of this lawsuit never left Beacon Rock until McKean bought them in 1994.

The question in this case is whether DeWeldon, Ltd., can recover the three paintings it had entrusted to Felix DeWeldon, or, alternatively, whether the district court correctly ruled in favor of McKean, the buyer.