What will the seminar cover?
A dishonest agent of a company causes a bank to transfer funds out of the company’s account and then absconds with the money. If the agent can be found, there may be personal claims against them. If traceable proceeds can be found, there may be proprietary claims in respect of them. But what about claims against the bank?
It has long been clear that banks are under a duty to refrain from executing a customer’s order if, and for so long as, the bank has reasonable grounds for believing that the order is an attempt to defraud the customer—sometimes referred to in English law as the “Quincecare duty”. But the basis for and scope of that duty have only recently been closely examined.
The Privy Council considered the duty in 2022 and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal considered it in 2023. But the most comprehensive examination—and reformulation—of the duty came with the decision of the United Kingdom Supreme Court earlier this year in Philipp v Barclays Bank UK Plc [2023] 3 WLR 284.
Despite all of this, there has been curiously little attention given to the Quincecare duty in Australian law. This seminar will cover:
- what the Quincecare duty is and when a claim for breach of the duty will be advantageous;
- the recent developments in the Privy Council, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, and the United Kingdom Supreme Court; and
- the current state of Australian law on the Quincecare duty, what remains unclear, and what might change in light of the above developments.
Who should attend?
This session will interest all commercial advisory and litigation lawyers, in-house counsel, and their clients. He is a co-author of the publication, The Law of Tracing (Federation Press, 2021), and is a member of the author team for Civil Procedure Queensland.
PRESENTER
Mohammud Jaamae Hafeez-Baig (Barrister, Level Twenty Seven Chambers)
Jaamae practises from Level Twenty Seven Chambers in Brisbane and from Brick Court Chambers in London. He has a broad practice that covers all areas of commercial and public law. His notable recent instructions include appearing in the High Court of Australia, the Privy Council, and the English Commercial Court. He has a particular interest in civil fraud and asset recovery and is a co-author of The Law of Tracing (Federation Press, 2021).
VENUE
In person at Level Twenty Seven Chambers/webinar.
WATCH
(55 mins)
- Press the ‘play’ button on the video thumbnail below.
- Complete the form.
- Press the ‘play’ button again on the video thumbnail below.
The presentation is free to view. For further information, please contact Tamara McCombe on +61 7 3008 3927.
LISTEN
MATERIALS
The PowerPoint from the presentation is published below.
The Quincecare Duty in Australian Law
An edited transcript is provided below.
The_Quincecare_Duty_in_Australian_Law_transcript
