The italian plaintiff had left Egland in 1935 leaving certain valuables with the defendants for safe keeping. During the war, the property was released to the authorities as alien property, who, informed by the defemdant that they were of no value, gave them to the Salvation Army. The plaintiff returned in 1946, and after discovering the history, began proceedings for conversion, saying that the action was not defeated by limitation for fraud.
Held: The actions of the defendants were not fraudulent as such sop that section 26(a) of the 1939 Act did not operate. However, the defendants had made no attempt to obtain the plaintiff’s instructions, before disposing of the property as a matter of their own convenience, and in breach of the duty of confidence accepted. Their failure to inform the plaintoff of what they had done did amount to a reckless ‘concealment by fraud’ with section 26(b), and the action could proceed.
Lord Greene
[1949] 1 KB 550, [1949] 1 All ER 465, 65 TLR 389, 93 Sol Jo 236
Limitation Act 1939 26(a) 26(b)
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – The Bulli Coal Mining Company v Patrick Hill Osbourne and Another PC 1899
(New South Wales) . .
Cited by:
Cited – Cave v Robinson Jarvis and Rolf (a Firm) HL 25-Apr-2002
An action for negligence against a solicitor was defended by saying that the claim was out of time. The claimant responded that the solicitor had not told him of the circumstances which would lead to the claim, and that deliberate concealment should . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other, Limitation
Leading Case
Updated: 11 November 2021; Ref: scu.194819