The plaintiff firm of solicitors sought to recover money which had been stolen from them by a partner, and then gambled away with the defendant. He had purchased their gaming chips, and the plaintiff argued that these, being gambling debts, were worthless, and that therefore no consideration had been given.
Held: The casino’s defence succeeded. The defence against a restitutionary claim that the defendant had altered his position was available to a person who had changed his position actin in good faith so that it would be inequitable to require him to make restitution.
Lord Goff said: ‘where an innocent defendant’s position is so changed that he will suffer injustice if called upon to repay or to repay in full, the injustice of requiring him so to repay outweighs the injustice of denying the plaintiff restitution. If the plaintiff pays money to the defendant under a mistake of fact, and the defendant then, acting in good faith, pays the money or part of it to charity, it is unjust to require the defendant to make restitution to the extent that he has so changed his position. Likewise, on facts such as those in the present case, if a thief steals my money and pays it to a third party who gives it away to charity, that third party should have a good defence to an action for money had and received. In other words, bona fide change of position should of itself be a good defence in such cases as these. The principle is widely recognised throughout the common law world.’ and
‘It is well established that a legal owner is entitled to trace his property into its product, provided that the latter is indeed identifiable as the product of his property . . Of course, ‘tracing’ or ‘following’ property into its product involves a decision by the owner of the original property to assert his title to the product in place of his original property.’
Lord Templeman discussed the value of chips issued by a casino to a gambler: ‘Thus within the club chips were treated as currency and on leaving the club Cass could exchange chips for money whenever he chose to do so. The chips themselves were worthless and at all times remained the property of the club but the club would redeem them for cash.’
Lord Bridge of Harwich said: ‘I agree with my noble and learned friend, Lord Goff of Chieveley, that it is right for English law to recognise that a claim to restitution, based on the unjust enrichment of the defendant, may be met by the defence that the defendant has changed his position in good faith. I equally agree that in expressly acknowledging the availability of the defence for the first time it would be unwise to attempt to define its scope in abstract terms, but better to allow the law on the subject to develop on a case by case basis.’
Lord Templeman, Lord Bridge, Lord Ackner and Lord Griffiths, Lord Goff
[1991] 2 AC 548, [1988] UKHL 12, [1991] 3 WLR 10
Bailii
Gaming Act 1845 18
England and Wales
Citing:
At CA – Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd CA 1989
A partner in a firm of solicitors stole money from them, and spent it gambling with the defendants. The firm sued also their banker, who had been held to be aware of the defaulting partner’s weaknesses and activities.
Held: The solicitors . .
Cited – Miller v Race 1758
A bank note made out to bearer and payable on demand was to be treated as currency. Conversion did not lie because there is no property in currency. Lord Mansfield said: ‘So, in the case of money stolen, the true owner cannot recover it, after it . .
Cited – Clarke v Shee and Johnson 1774
A servant diverted money from customers of his employer and bought lottery tickets. Lotteries were illegal and void under the Lottery Act 1772. The master recovered from the defendants who were the holders of the lottery and had innocently received . .
Cited – Aubert v Walsh 1810
The parties had wagered on 15 September 1808 that the war with France would end before 1 July 1810. One party to the wager withdrew in October 1808, and sought recovery of his stake.
Held: He was entitled to its return. Lord Mansfield said: . .
Cited – Hudson v Robinson 1816
A partner in a firm fraudulently contracted in the names of the partnership to sell goods to the plaintiff. He received the purchase price from the plaintiff and then did not delivery the goods.
Held: The plaintiff buyer could recover the . .
Cited – Orton v Butler 3-May-1822
A count stating that defendant had and received to the use of the plaintiff a certain sum of money, to be paid by the defendant to the plaintiff upon request ; and the non-payment upon request, and that the defendant converted and disposed thereof . .
Cited – Foster v Green 1862
Cash may not be subject to a claim for conversion. . .
Cited – Bainbrigge v Browne ChD 19-May-1881
An impoverished father had prevailed upon his inexperienced children to charge their reversionary interests under their parents’ marriage settlement to pay his mortgage debts. Undue influence was claimed.
Held: The defendants who were not . .
Cited – Shoolbred v Roberts 1899
A bankrupt won andpound;100 in a billiards game. The stake was given to stakeholders.
Held: The bankrupt’s trustee could recover the bankrupt’s own stake from the stakeholder but not the stake of the loser. Phillimore J said that: ‘I am bound . .
Cited – Black v S Freeman and Co 1910
(High Court of Australia) A thief stole money from the husband, and gave it to the victim’s wife. The victim sought to recover it from her.
Held: The money was repayable. Once stolen it was subject to a trust in favour of the victim wich could . .
At first instance – Lipkin Gorman (a Firm) v Karpnale Ltd 1987
A partner in the plaintiff firm of solicitors stole money from them and spent it gambling in the defendant’s casino. The plaintiff cought to recover the money from the defendant, saying that as a gambling debt, no consideration had been given. They . .
Cited – Banque Belge pour L’Etranger v Hambrouck 1921
Money was stolen by a thief. He then paid it by way of a gift into the bank account of the woman with whom he was living. The victim claimed its return from the woman and her bankers. GBP315 of the balance in her account represented part of the . .
Cited – Transvaal and Delagoa Bay Investment Co Ltd v Atkinson 1944
Money stolen from a company was paid by the thief into a bank account of his wife. All the money was expended, mostly by being returned to the husband. . .
Cited – Taylor and Another v Sir Thomas Plumer KBD 10-Feb-1815
Sir Thomas Plumer gave a bank draft to a stockbroker for the purpose of buying exchequer bills, and the stockbroker instead used the draft for buying American securities and doubloons for his own purposes.
Held: Sir Thomas was able to trace . .
Cited – Marsh v Keating HL 1834
Keating owned 12,000 pounds interest or share in joint stock reduced 3 per cent annuities, standing to her with the Bank of England, where the accounts were entered in the form of debtor and creditor accounts in the ledgers of the bank. Under what . .
Cited – Bolton Partners v Lambert 1889
The equitabe remedy of ratification cannot be relied upon so as to render an innocent recipient a wrongdoer. Cotton LJ said ‘an act lawful at the time of its performance [cannot] be rendered unlawful, by the application of the doctrine of . .
Cited – CHT Ltd v Ward 1965
Davies LJ discussed whether a casino gave good consideration when supplying gambling chips to customers: ‘People do not game in order to win chips; they game in order to win money. The chips are not money or money’s worth; they are mere counters or . .
Cited – Ministry of Health v Simpson; In re Diplock dec HL 1950
The will of Cable Diplock purported to make a gift to charity, and was distributed accordingly. The house however found the gift to be invalid.
Held: A personal remedy existed for the recovery of amounts wrongly paid in the distribution of an . .
Cited – Commercial Banking Co of Sydney Ltd v Mann PC 1961
The respondent Mann practiced as a solicitor in partnership with Richardson. They kept a ‘trust account’ in the partnership name with the Australian and New Zealand Bank in Sydney (‘ANZ’). Under the partnership agreement, all assets belonged to . .
Cited – Moses v Macferlan KBD 1760
An action for money had and received will only lie where it is inequitable for the defendant to retain the money. The defendant in an action for money had and received ‘can be liable no further than the money he has received’. . .
Cited – London and River Plate Bank Ltd v Bank of Liverpool Ltd 1896
Mathew J said: ‘when a bill becomes due and is presented for payment the holder ought to know at once whether the bill is going to be paid or not’. And ‘it is manifest that the position of a man of business may be most seriously compromised, even by . .
Cited – Durrant v Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England and Wales 1880
An action would lie against a recipient of money, paid under a mistake if fact, who (without notice of the mistake) had paid on the money in good faith as a principal to a third party from whom the recipient could not recover. The court rejected the . .
Cited – Price v Neal 1762
Money paid under a forged bill may be irrecoverable. . .
Cited – Golightly v Reynolds 1774
The identity of funds was traced through different hands and shops. . .
Cited – R E Jones Ltd v Waring and Gillow Ltd HL 1926
In the case of a confidence man whose plan might have been frustrated by an unexpected contact between the two innocent parties; the House of Lords were divided as to whether that equivocal contact amounted to a representation. Viscount Cave LC . .
Cited – Fibrosa Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbairn Lawson Combe Barbour Ltd HL 15-Jun-1942
A contract for the supply by the respondents of special machinery to be manufactured by them was treated as an ordinary contract for the sale of goods. It began valid, but suffered frustration by the outbreak of war.
Held: Lord Wright restated . .
Cited – Avon County Council v Howlett CA 1983
The plaintiff, through its computerised system for the payment of wages, had overpaid the defendant to the extent of andpound;1,007. He had suffered an injury and been absent from work. The Council sought to recover the overpayment on the grounds . .
Cited – Union Bank of Australia Ltd v McClintock PC 1922
Where a partner obtains money by drawing on a partnership bank account without authority, he alone and not the partnership obtains legal title to the money so obtained. . .
Cited – Bute (Marquess) v Barclays Bank Ltd 1955
McGaw was the manager of three farms belonging to the plaintiff. He applied to the Department of Agriculture for Scotland for farm subsidies. After he left, the Department sent him three warrants in respect of the subsidies. The warrants were made . .
Cited by:
Cited – Rose v AIB Group (UK) plc and Another ChD 9-Jun-2003
The bank had received and paid substantial sums from the company before the petition for insolvency had been presented, and had discharged the director’s charge on his house. The liquidator sought restitution under the Act. The bank replied that it . .
Cited – Niru Battery Manufacturing Company, Bank Sepah Iran v Milestone Trading Limited CA 23-Oct-2003
The claimant had contracted to purchase lead from some of the defendants. There were delays in payment but when funds were made available they should have been repaid. An incorrect bill of lading was presented. The bill certified that the goods had . .
Cited – Commerzbank Ag v Price-Jones CA 21-Nov-2003
The respondent had received a bonus of andpound;250,000. His employers wrote to him in error increasing it. He later chose to stay rather than take redundancy because he now expected the full amount. He resisted an order for restitution. The . .
Cited – Dextra Bank and Trust Company Limited v Bank of Jamaica PC 26-Nov-2001
(Jamaica) A cheque was drawn which was used as part a complex financial arrangement intended to purchase foreign currency to work around Jamaica’s foreign exchange control regulations. It was asserted that by presenting the cheque used in the . .
Cited – Kleinwort Benson Ltd v Lincoln City Council etc HL 29-Jul-1998
Right of Recovery of Money Paid under Mistake
Kleinwort Benson had made payments to a local authority under swap agreements which were thought to be legally enforceable when made. Subsequently, a decision of the House of Lords, (Hazell v. Hammersmith and Fulham) established that such swap . .
Cited – AbouRahmah and Another v Abacha and others QBD 28-Nov-2005
Claims were made as to an alleged fraud by some of the respondents. . .
Cited – Boscawen and Others v Bajwa and Others; Abbey National Plc v Boscawen and Others CA 10-Apr-1995
The defendant had charged his property to the Halifax. Abbey supplied funds to secure its discharge, but its own charge was not registered. It sought to take advantage of the Halifax’s charge which had still not been removed.
Held: A mortgagee . .
Cited – Sempra Metals Ltd v Inland Revenue Commissioners and Another HL 18-Jul-2007
The parties agreed that damages were payable in an action for restitution, but the sum depended upon to a calculation of interest. They disputed whether such interest should be calculated on a simple or compound basis. The company sought compound . .
Cited – Grosvenor Casinos Ltd v National Bank of Abu Dhabi ComC 17-Mar-2008
Banker’s reference no guarantee
An Arab businessman lost pounds 18m at the claimant casino, and wrote scrip cheques against his account with the defendant. The claimant obtained judgment, but being unable to enforce that judgment pursued his bank. The club had used a system where . .
Cited – Kommune and Another v DEPFA Acs Bank ComC 4-Sep-2009
Local authorities in Denmark sought to recover sums paid to the defendant banks for swap trading, saying that the payments had been outwith their powers. . .
Cited – Bankers Trust Company v Namdar and Namdar CA 14-Feb-1997
The bank sought repayment of its loan and possession of the defendants’ property. The second defendant said that the charge had only her forged signature.
Held: Non-compliance with section 2 of the 1989 Act does not make a bargain illegal, and . .
Cited – Jeremy D Stone Consultants Ltd and Another v National Westminster Bank Plc and Another ChD 11-Feb-2013
The claimants asserted an equitable claim against funds held by the defendant bank in the name of a company owned by another defendant who they said defrauded them through a Ponzi investment scheme.
Held: The claim failed. On the evidence, the . .
Cited – Scottish Equitable v Derby 16-Mar-2001
The claimant company sought repayment of a sum paid in error to the defendant. She replied that she had changed her position as a result of and relying upon the payment.
Held: The court gave as ‘the most obvious example’ of the kind of . .
Cited – The Ritz Hotel Casino Ltd v Al Daher QBD 15-Aug-2014
The claimant sought to recover andpound;1m on unpaid cheques. The cheques represented half of the sum gambled away by the defendant in one evening. She now alleged that the claimant had not complied with its duties under the 2005 Act to act . .
Cited – In re Hampton Capital Ltd ChD 9-Jul-2015
The companyy’s joint administrator requested orders under section 238 as against various payments made by the Company and for payment of the equivalent sums. . .
Cited – Investment Trust Companies v Revenue and Customs CA 12-Feb-2015
The claimants having sought repayment of overpaid VAT, they now complained of sums deducted by the Revenue.
Held: The Court allowed the Lead Claimants’ appeal, to the extent of the notional pounds 75 paid in respect of dead periods, and . .
Cited – John Ruskin College v Harley QBD 26-Nov-2013
A sum had been paid into court in 1997. Other sums were paid out, but this sum was left against costs liability. It was discovered much laterand paid out to the claimant. The former defendant now said that it had been paid out twice, and alleged . .
Cited – Revenue and Customs v The Investment Trust Companies SC 11-Apr-2017
Certain investment trust companies (ITCs) sought refunds of VAT paid on the supply of investment management services. EU law however clarified that they were not due. Refunds were restricted by the Commissioners both as to the amounts and limitation . .
Cited – Lowick Rose Llp v Swynson Ltd and Another SC 11-Apr-2017
Losses arose from the misvaluation of a company before its purchase. The respondent had funded the purchase, relying upon a valuation by the predecessor of the appellant firm of accountants. Further advances had been made when the true situation was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Equity, Contract
Leading Case
Updated: 15 January 2022; Ref: scu.184533