Interesting case. Incidentally, Peter Birks' example of the flat
heated by the downstairs neighbour's flat derived from the Scottish
case, Edinburgh and District Tramways Co Ltd v Courtenay 1909 SC 99,
where Lord President Dunedin said (at p 105): "One man heats his
house, and his neighbour gets a great deal of benefit. It is absurd
to suppose that the person who has heated his house can go to his
neighbour and say, 'Give me so much for my coal bill, because you have
been warmed by what I have done, and I did not intend to give you a
present of it.'" The example may have appealed to Peter particularly
because of his own experiences as an Edinburgh flat-dweller. Even
though the case is about Edinburgh trams, it is a useful one on what
constitutes an incidental benefit.

Hector

--
Hector L MacQueen
Professor of Private Law
Edinburgh Law School
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh EH8 9YL
UK

SSRN http://ssrn.com/author=463210

Currently working at the Scottish Law Commission tel: (UK-0)131-662-5222


Quoting James Lee <j.s.f.lee@BHAM.AC.UK> on Thu, 14 Nov 2013 12:15:32 +0000:

> Dear Members,
>
>
>
> The English Court of Appeal has considered the law on incidental
> benefits today in TFL Management Services Ltd v Lloyds Bank Plc
> [2013] EWCA Civ 1415
> http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2013/1415.html, in which
> RDGer Gerard McMeel appeared. The problem was whether summary
> judgment should be granted in favour of the defendant bank in
> circumstances as framed by Floyd LJ (at [1]):
>
>
>
> "A spends money seeking a judgment for the recovery of a debt from
> B. A fails to recover the debt because, so the court holds, the debt
> is not in fact owed by B to A (as A mistakenly thought), but owed by
> B to C. C then recovers the debt, relying on the judgment in A's
> unsuccessful claim. The question raised in this appeal is whether A
> has a claim based on unjust enrichment against C, enabling him to
> recover the money expended on obtaining the judgment."
>
>
>
> The Court considers academic commentary but declines to formulate
> general principles. It is also divided. Beatson LJ's concurring
> judgment is particularly worthwhile (see eg at [86]):
>
>
>
> "Given the position in the scholarly commentaries, and the absence
> of decisions which explicitly proceed on the basis of a principle
> barring "incidental benefits", or any clear (let alone agreed)
> formulation of what it is which is to be prevented, I do not
> consider that it is appropriate to give summary judgment on the
> basis of a general principle barring restitution in respect of
> benefits conferred "incidentally". To do so would, in particular, be
> to discount the possible alternative explanations for the scenarios
> which have been said to be examples of its operation."
>
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> James
>
>
>
> --
> James Lee
> Senior Lecturer and Director of Admissions
> Birmingham Law School, room 235
> University of Birmingham
> Edgbaston
> Birmingham
> B15 2TT, United Kingdom
>
> Tel: +44 (0)121 414 3629
> E-mail: j.s.f.lee@bham.ac.uk
>
>
> Web: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/law/lee-james.aspx
>
>
> SSRN: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1192219
>
> ====
>
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>
>



--
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Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

====

This message was delivered through the Restitution Discussion Group,
an international internet LISTSERV devoted to all aspects of the law
of unjust enrichment. To subscribe, send "subscribe enrichment" in
the body of a message to <listserv@lists.mcgill.ca>. To unsubscribe,
send "signoff enrichment" to the same address. To make a posting to
all group members, send to <enrichment@lists.mcgill.ca>. The list is
run by Lionel Smith of McGill University, <lionel.smith@mcgill.ca>.