The Royal Bank of Australia, and The Joint Stock Companies' Winding-up Acts, 1848 and 1849 Marian and Mary Boyds' Case
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 23 May 1857 |
| Date | 23 May 1857 |
| Court | High Court of Chancery |
English Reports Citation: 44 E.R. 709
BEFORE THE LORDS JUSTICES.
S. C. 3 Jur. (N. S.), 897.
[223] In the Matter of the royal bank of australia, and In the Matter of the joint stock companies' windinq-up acts, 1848 and 1849. marian and mary boyds' case. Before the Lords Justices. May 22, 23, 1857. [S. C. 3 Jur. (N. S.), 897.] A father who had been in pecuniary difficulties and was largely indebted to his son, effected a policy on his own life in the names of the son and another person, as trustees for daughters of the father, and paid the premiums. The son accepted the trust, and on the father's death, some years afterwards, he, with the sanction of his co-trustee, received the policy monies, and purchased with them debentures of a banking company of which he was a director, and to which he was largely indebted. The banking company was wound up under the Winding-up Acts, and the son became bankrupt. The same person was appointed official manager of the company and assignee under the son's bankruptcy. On the daughters claiming to be creditors of the company to the amount of the debentures : Held, 1. That, notwithstanding the state of the accounts between the father and son, the trust for the daughters ought to be assumed, for the purposes of the application, to have been well created. 2. That the trust was not determined by the receipt of the money and the investment on the debentures. 3. That the right of the daughters to the debentures was not affected by the state of the accounts between the bankrupt and the banking company. 4. That, there appearing no probability of this apparent state of things, on the existing evidence, being altered by further investigation, the official manager was riot entitled to have an issue or further inquiry directed. This was an appeal from the decision of Vice-Chancellor Stuart, confirming the certificate of Master Richards, whereby the Master allowed the claims of the Respondents Marian and Mary Boyd, as a debt against the above banking company, for the amount of five several debentures mentioned in the claim, and for 297, 10s., being the amount of the coupons attached [224] thereto ; and also interest at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum. The Respondents were the sisters of Mr. Mark Boyd, one of the directors of the Royal Bank of Australia. Their father, Mr. Edward Boyd, had been unfortunate in trade in early life, but he had been successful in establishing the United Kingdom Life Assurance Office, and was in the year 1837 in the receipt of a salary as its resident director. In that year Mr. Boyd the father effected an insurance on his own life with the United Kingdom Office for 2999, 19s., in the names of his two sons, Messrs. Benjamin Boyd and Mark Boyd, " in trust for Miss Marian Boyd, Miss Mary Boyd and Miss Joanna Stewart Boyd," and the policy was thus expressed on the face of it. Miss Joanna Stewart Boyd died in her father's lifetime, unmarried. Mr. Boyd the father regularly paid the premiums on this policy from his own 710 BO YDS' CASE 1DBG.&J.JJB. resources until his death, which took place in 1846. At this period the office had claims upon the policy, which reduced the sum payable upon it to 1748, 4s. 5d., and shortly afterwards Mr. Edward Lennox Boyd, his son, who had become the resident director of the office, drew a cheque for this sum, dated the 31st of October 1846, and handed it to Mr. Mark Boyd, one of the trustees, who signed the receipt for the amount in the name of himself and his brother Benjamin Boyd, his co-trustee. [225] Messrs. Benjamin Boyd and Mark Boyd had carried on business for many years as stock and sharebrokers, under the firm of B. & M. Boyd, and Mr. Mark Boyd, on receiving this cheque, opened an account in the books of his firm headed thus:-"Dr., trustees of Janet Boyd, and Marian and Mary Boyd, in account with B. & M. Boyd, Or.;" and they carried the cheque for 1748, 4s. 5d. to the credit of this account. The introduction of the name of Mrs. Janet Boyd (who was the widow of Mr. Edward Boyd) into the heading of the account was a mistake, Mrs. Janet Boyd having no interest in the account. Messrs. B. & M. Boyd were the stockbrokers of the Royal Bank of Australia, and were employed by the bank in that character to dispose of the debentures of the bank to the public. They laid out 1700 of the money received from the insurance office in the purchase of the four debentures in question. The insurance company's cheque was paid on the 2d of November 1851. On the 6th of November the trustees of Janet, Marian and Mary Boyd were in the above account debited with the 1700 for debentures of the Koyal Bank to that amount, due the 4th of November 1851. They were credited with the coupons, which became due on the 4th of May and 4th of November 1847, and the 4th of May 1848, which were the last coupons paid by...
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