''Twyne's case'' (1601) 76 ER 809; 3 Co. Rep. 80b is a

UK insolvency law United Kingdom insolvency law regulates companies in the United Kingdom which are unable to repay their debts. While UK bankruptcy law concerns the rules for natural persons, the term insolvency is generally used for companies formed under the ...

case, concerning a

fraudulent conveyance A fraudulent conveyance, or fraudulent transfer, is an attempt to avoid debt by transferring money to another person or company. It is generally a civil, not a criminal matter, meaning that one cannot go to jail for it, but in some jurisdictions th ...

. Representative of earlier English law, it was considered that any transfer of property from a debtor to a creditor, after which the debtor remained in possession of that property, was a fraudulent act intended to defraud creditors. At the time, the law only recognised the

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

and the pledge. A charge on property in possession of another was not allowed.

Facts

Pierce, a farmer, owed Twyne of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

£400. He also owed another creditor £200, and this creditor brought an action. While the writ was pending, Pierce sold his

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

to Twyne to pay off his debt. However, Pierce remained in possession of the sheep, marking and shearing them. At the other creditor's instance, the Sheriff of Southampton came to collect the sheep. Twyne and his acquaintances resisted this. Twyne argued that he was a bona fide purchaser for valuable, and not inadequate, consideration within the Fraudulent Conveyances Act 1584 (27 Eliz c 4).

Judgment

The Star Chamber (Sir Thomas Egerton, Chief Justice Popham and Anderson) held this was an attempt to defraud his creditors under the

Fraudulent Conveyances Act 1571 The Fraudulent Conveyances Act 1571 (13 Eliz 1, c 5), also known as the Statute of 13 Elizabeth, was an Act of Parliament in England, which laid the foundations for fraudulent transactions to be unwound when a person had gone insolvent or bankrup ...

(13 Eliz c 5). The following reasons were given. It was further held that the gift may have been on good consideration, but could not be bona fide.

Notes

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References

* United Kingdom labour case law 1601 in law 1601 in England Star Chamber cases

Facts

Judgment

See also

Notes

References