Tilley v. Bowman Ltd Tilley v. Bowman (goods obtained by fraud must go back)
[1910] 1 KB 745 · King's Bench Division (England) · 1910
PrincipleA thing delivered under a transaction voidable for fraud must be returned when the transaction is avoided, even against the recipient's trustee in bankruptcy.
Facts
A buyer obtained jewellery from the respondent jewellers by fraud, having no intention or means of paying for it, and afterwards became bankrupt. The jewellers, on discovering the fraud, elected to avoid the sale and claimed the goods, which had passed into the hands of the trustee in bankruptcy, who insisted that they formed part of the bankrupt's estate.
Held
The court held that the sale, being induced by fraud, was voidable at the option of the seller, that the seller had validly avoided it, and that the trustee in bankruptcy, taking no better title than the bankrupt, was bound to restore the jewellery to the seller.
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