Beckford v Wade: PC 1805

(Jamaica) The board was concerned with the application of the English statutes of limitation, which were held to apply in Jamaica subject to a Jamaican statute excepting (among other people) trustees. Sir William Grant MR said: ‘The question then is, what the true construction of the Act is in this particular: whether it meant only actual and express trusts, as between cestui que trusts and trustees properly so called, upon which length of time ought to have no effect: or whether it intended to leave open to perpetual litigation every equitable question relative to real property… It is certainly true, that no time bars a direct trust, as between cestui que trust and trustee. But if it is meant to be asserted that a court of equity allows a man to make out a case of constructive trust at any distance of time, after the facts and circumstances happened, out of which it arises, I am not aware that there is any ground for a doctrine, so fatal to the security of property as that would be.’

Judges:

Sir William Grant MR

Citations:

(1805) 17 Ves Jun 87, [1805] EngR 116, (1805) 17 Ves Jun 87, (1805) 34 ER 34

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

Commonwealth

Cited by:

CitedWilliams v Central Bank of Nigeria SC 19-Feb-2014
Bank not liable for fraud of customer
The appellant sought to make the bank liable for a fraud committed by the Bank’s customer, the appellant saying that the Bank knew or ought to have known of the fraud. The court was asked whether a party liable only as a dishonest assistant was a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Trusts

Updated: 13 May 2022; Ref: scu.196007