Can a party who wrongfully takes from the possession of another party recover the property or the value of the property?

Where one wrongfully takes from the possession of another any article of personal property, the party from whom it is taken can, undoubtedly, recover the possession, or the value of the property, without reference to the question as to who really owns the goods. The title will not even be inquired into, unless the defendant connects himself with it. It is enough that one has wrongfully taken goods from the possession of another. He must return them, or respond to the extent of their value. So, in this state, from its first organization, a party who has been dispossessed of land by a party having no title, can recover that possession on his mere possessory title and ouster, and the wrong-doer will not be permitted to show an outstanding title, without connecting himself with it. These cases have no bearing upon the question now in issue, but depend upon other considerations. In Wood v. Griffin, already cited, the court says: