Citation

Rotherham C. Camb. Law J. 2000; 59(3): 421-471.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Cambridge University Law Society, Publisher Stevens and Sons)

DOI

10.1017/S0008197300270207

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

FOSKETT v. McKeown [2000] 2 W.L.R. 1299 concerned the aftermath of a property development scheme in the Algarve marketed by one Mr. Murphy. 220 customers ("the purchasers") entered into contracts which provided that after two years they would each be conveyed a specified plot of land or their money would be repaid with interest. Unless and until the purchasers' money was used for the stated purposes it was to be held on trust. However, at the expiration of the specified period, it was discovered that the trust money had been misappropriated. While much of the trust money was untraceable, Murphy had applied around £20,000 of it to pay the fourth and fifth premiums of a life insurance policy that was settled in favour of his wife and children ("the beneficiaries"). In 1991, after his malfeasance was exposed, Murphy committed suicide. The insurance policy yielded a death benefit of £1,000,000. The question to be resolved was whether the use of the purchasers' money to pay some of the premiums gave them any interest in the death benefit. © 2000, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.

Language: en