Knowing receipt: continuing trusts and conscionability Byers v Saudi National Bank
| Published date | 01 January 2023 |
| Author | Alexander Georgiou |
| Date | 01 January 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12757 |
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Modern Law Review
DOI:10.1111/1468-2230.12757
Knowing receipt: continuing trusts and conscionability
Byers vSaudi National Bank
Alexander Georgiou∗
In Byers vSaudi National Bank [2022] EWCA Civ 43 the Court of Appeal examined a seemingly
straightforward question:where rights are dissipated in breach of trust, is it a necessary condition
of the recipient being liable for ‘knowing receipt’ that the dissipation did not extinguish the
beneciary’s rights? The answer sheds considerable light on the juridical nature of liability for
‘knowing receipt’. This note argues that the Court of Appeal’s analysis correctly supports the
theory that so-called ‘recipient’ liability is in fact a species of liability for breach of trust.It also
examines the implications of that conclusion for the elements of, and remedies for,‘knowing
receipt’.
INTRODUCTION
In Byers vSaudi National Bank,1the Court of Appeal was required to answer
a seemingly straightforward question: where rights are dissipated in breach of
trust, is it a necessary condition of the recipient being liable for ‘knowing re-
ceipt’that the dissipation did not extinguish the beneciar y’s rights? The answer,
however, sheds considerable light on the juridical nature of recipient liability.
The Court of Appeal’s decision is likely to have profound implications for how
such claims are conceptualised and,therefore, on our understanding of the con-
stituent elements of ‘knowing receipt’. The decision is r mly cor rect; however,
the Court did not have occasion to explore fully the broader signicance of
their conclusions. This note seeks to examine three such consequences: rst,
Byers’ implications for the justication of so-called ‘recipient’ liability; second,
the implications of that justication for the mental state necessary to be li-
able as a ‘knowing’ recipient; and, third, the implications of that justication on
the quantication of claims in knowing receipt. In short, the argument is that
Byers shows that ‘recipient’ liability is in fact a species of liability for breach of
trust, which ought to arise not upon receipt but instead upon the recipient’s
subsequent dissipation of the rights received.
∗All Souls College,University of Oxford. I am grateful to Emma Rawkins for her helpful comments
on an earlier draft of this note.
1Byers vSaudi National Bank [2022] EWCA Civ 43 (Byers (CA)).
© 2022 The Author s. The Modern Law Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Modern Law Review Limited.
(2023)86(1) MLR 276–288
Thisis an open access ar ticle under the terms of the CreativeCommons Attr ibution License,which permits use,distr ibution and reproduction
in any medium,provided the original work is properly cited.
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