The court considered the sale of a cause of action by the trustee in bankruptcy: ‘Now, the sale of a cause of action by a trustee can only be effected by an assignment. It vests in the trustee in the first place because it is deemed to have been duly assigned to him . . The legal process by which it gets to him must operate to vest it in the person to whom he sells it. If this were not so, such a cause of action would be of no value to the creditors unless the trustee himself tried to enforce it. To do so, unless success was assured, would require the expenditure of money which would otherwise be available for distribution among the creditors. To assign the cause of action for good consideration to another person who was willing to try to enforce it could be a sensible way of disposing of the bankrupt’s assets.’
Judges:
Lawton LJ
Citations:
[1977] 1 WLR 686
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Norglen Ltd (In Liquidation) v Reeds Rains Prudential Ltd and Others; Circuit Systems Ltd (In Liquidation) and Another v Zuken-Redac HL 1-Dec-1997
An assignment of a cause of action by a company in liquidation was valid, even though the dominant purpose was to avoid having to give security for costs, and to get legal aid. In dismissing the argument that the transactions were a device to defeat . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Insolvency
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.223196