''Taylor v Plumer''
EWHC KB J84is an
815
EWHC KB J84is an English trusts law case, concerning
tracing of assets which were wrongfully taken in breach of trust.
Facts
Sir Thomas Plumer gave his broker">Thomas Plumer">Sir Thomas Plumer gave his broker, Mr Walsh, a draft on his bankers for £22,200 to invest in exchequer bills. Mr Walsh cashed the draft, and got bank notes. He bought £6500 in exchequer bills, and with the balance he got American securities, paying with the bank notes. But he gave one note to his brother in law, in return for his bankers' draft of £500. He then bought 71½
doubloons
The doubloon (from Spanish ''doblón'', or "double", i.e. ''double escudo'') was a two-'' escudo'' gold coin worth approximately four Spanish dollars or 32 '' reales'', and weighing 6.766 grams (0.218 troy ounce) of 22-karat gold (or 0.917 fine; ...
, with the intention of escaping to North America via
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
. Sir Thomas' attorney caught him at
Falmouth, and secured a return of the American securities and bullion. Mr Walsh was indicted, tried, found guilty, but pardoned, and then declared bankrupt. His assignees in bankruptcy brought an action in
trover
Trover () is a form of lawsuit in common law jurisdictions for recovery of damages for wrongful taking of personal property. Trover belongs to a series of remedies for such wrongful taking, its distinctive feature being recovery only for the valu ...
against Sir Thomas.
Judgment
Lord Ellenborough held that Sir Thomas had never ceased to be the lawful proprietor.
Although decided in a
common law
Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
court, Millett LJ in ''Jones v Jones'' noted that it was in fact decided under
equitable principles. But Millett LJ further noted that substitution has been acknowledged under common law anywhow, for example in ''Bankque Belge v Hambrouck''.
[Bankque Belge v Hambrouck 9211 KB 321]
See also
*
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 ...
References
{{reflist
English trusts case law
1815 in case law
Court of Chancery cases
1815 in British law