From: Duncan
Sheehan <D.K.Sheehan@leeds.ac.uk>
Sent: Wednesday
12 February 2025 10:41
To: Wilde,
Mark; Steve Hedley; obligations@uwo.ca
Subject: RE:
Bitcoin and Restitution
‘“Had Mr
Howells simply bought more Bitcoin when he realized the original hard drive was
lost," Hall opined, "he could still be sitting on a fortune."’
The benefit of hindsight 😉
Duncan
From: Wilde, Mark <Mark.Wilde@city.ac.uk>
Sent: 12 February 2025 10:20
To: Steve Hedley <S.Hedley@ucc.ie>;
obligations@uwo.ca
Subject: Re: Bitcoin and Restitution
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Somewhat
ironic that something which is the epitome of our virtual brave new world ends
up having to be dug up like buried treasure!
Mark
From:
Steve Hedley <S.Hedley@ucc.ie>
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 6:50 PM
To: obligations@uwo.ca <obligations@uwo.ca>
Subject: Bitcoin and Restitution
CAUTION: This
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A postscript to Howells v Newport City Council, recently discussed in this forum. As the article notes, the case is under appeal.
Man who binned 7,500 Bitcoin drive now wants to buy entire landfill to dig it up (The Register, 11/2/25)
From: Samuel Beswick <sbeswick@sjd.law.harvard.edu>
Sent: Friday 10 January 2025 21:28
To: Robert Stevens <robert.stevens@law.ox.ac.uk>
Cc: obligations@uwo.ca
Subject: Re: Bitcoin and Restitution
[EXTERNAL] This email was sent from outside of UCC.
It also has a third thing, which I am interested in: the claimant's "desperate argument" to extend time for filing suit in reliance on section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980. There's been a flurry of case law on limitation discoverability over the past four years which I canvas in the next LMCLQ issue. The court here properly dismissed that argument.
On Thu, 9 Jan 2025 at 06:09, Robert Stevens <robert.stevens@law.ox.ac.uk> wrote:
An amusing case, combining two of the things I am interested in.
https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2025/22.html
The claimant, by mistake, in 2013 deposits a hard drive containing the key to his Bitcoin wallet in a landfill site in Newport. Claims that the Bitcoin now worth in excess of £600m (more than the value of the landfill site. Or, indeed, Newport.)
Seeks a declaration that either the council digs up the site to find it, or allows his team of experts to do so.
Claim is struck out. Lots of “proprietary restitutionary” stuff.
Rob