''Banque Belge pour L’Etranger v Hambrouck''

921 __NOTOC__ Year 921 ( CMXXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March – Battle of Pegae: Bulgarian forces under '' kavhan'' (first minister) Theodore Sigritsa defeat ...

1 KB 321 is an

English trusts law English trust law concerns the protection of assets, usually when they are held by one party for another's benefit. Trust law, Trusts were a creation of the English law of English property law, property and English contract law, obligations, a ...

case concerning the common law remedies for receipt of trust property.

Facts

Mr Hambrouck forged cheques so £6000 came out of the account of Mr Pelabon at the

Banque Belge pour l'Étranger The ''Banque Belge pour l'Étranger'' (BBE, ) was a Belgian bank that channeled many international banking operations of its controlling shareholder the Société Générale de Belgique (SGB) in the first half of the 20th century. It was original ...

, his employer, and was put into his own Farrow’s Bank account. Then Mr Hambrouck took out money and paid his mistress Mlle Spanoghe, who gave no consideration. She paid the money to her account at the London Joint City and Midland Bank, where she had £315 credit. Banque Belge sued Mr Hambrouck, Mlle Spanoghe and the London Bank for the money. The London Bank paid the money into court. Salter J held the money should be repaid.

Judgment

The Court of Appeal held that the money should be repaid.

Atkin LJ James Richard Atkin, Baron Atkin, (28 November 1867 – 25 June 1944), commonly known as Dick Atkin, was an Australian-British jurist, who served as a lord of appeal in ordinary from 1928 until his death in 1944. He is especially remembered as ...

noted the argument of Hambrouck that title could not be asserted because after passing through other bank accounts, it could no longer be identified. But '' In re Hallett’s Estate'' said that was not a problem because any transfer to an innocent donee would defeat an original owner’s claim. He said the following.

Bankes LJ Sir John Eldon Bankes, (17 April 1854 – 31 December 1946) was a Welsh judge of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, and later a Lord Justice of Appeal. Biography Born in Northop, Flintshire on 17 April 1854, he was ...

and Scrutton LJ gave concurring judgments, although somewhat narrower in scope.

Aftermath

In '' Agip (Africa) Ltd v Jackson'', Fox LJ held that a claim at common law could not succeed, because Agip’s money had been mixed in the New York clearing system and could not therefore be traced. An equitable claim, although more restrictive in application, was still available against some of the defendants. In distinguishing the case from ''Banque Belge'', he said: ''Ellinger's Modern Banking Law'' viewed the two cases as reaching substantially the same conclusion: The reasoning in ''Banque Belge'' has also helped to expand the application of ''Norwich Pharmacal'' orders. In ''Bankers Trust v Shapira'',

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

3 All ER 353 Denning MR observed:

References

{{reflist English trusts case law English banking case law Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases 1921 in British law 1921 in case law

Facts

Judgment

Aftermath

See also

References