The Recovery of Money — Recognising the Potential of the Claim for Money Had and Received

Abstract

‘Money had and received’ is the name of a common law claim available to recover money paid to another in a range of situations, ie payments made under mistake. It is a personal claim, in that it results in an order that the defendant pay a sum of money (rather than return the money originally paid). As such the claim is vulnerable to the defendant’s insolvency. This article explores ways in which this vulnerability may be overcome and the claim used to obtain preferential recovery.