Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd

Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd
Lipkin Gorman's offices
Court	House of Lords
Full case name	Lipkin Gorman (a firm) v (1) Karpnale Ltd, and (2) Lloyds Bank plc
Decided	6 June 1991
Citations	[1988] UKHL 12 [1991] 2 AC 548 [1992] 4 All ER 331 [1991] 3 WLR 10 [1993] 1 LRC 730 12 LDAB 73 [1991] NLJR 815
Transcript	Full text from Bailii
Case history
Prior actions	[1989] 1 WLR 1340 (CA) [1987] 1 WLR 987 (High Court)
Court membership
Judges sitting	Lord Bridge of Harwich Lord Templeman Lord Griffiths Lord Ackner Lord Goff of Chieveley
Keywords
Unjust enrichment, change of position

Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd [1988] UKHL 12 (6 June 1991) is a foundational English unjust enrichment case. The House of Lords unanimously established that the basis of an action for money had and received is the principle of unjust enrichment, and that an award of restitution is subject to a defence of change of position. This secured unjust enrichment as the third pillar in English law of the law of obligations, along with contract and tort. It has been called a landmark decision.^[1]

Although the case is most famous for the transformative judgment handed down by the House of Lords in relation to restitution and unjust enrichment, the decision of the Court of Appeal is also an important banking law decision in its own right, setting out key principles relating to the duty of care owed by bankers to their customers. There was no appeal against that part of the decision to the House of Lords.