Hambly v Trott is a landmarkCharles Mitchell, Paul Mitchell, Landmark Cases in the Law of Restitution (Bloomsbury Publishing, 18 Apr. 2006) p168 Court case in conversion and trover.
The defendant had appropriated some sheep, goats, pigs and cider from the plaintiff and then died. The plaintiff sought return of these items from the deceased estate.Hambly v. Trott(1776) 1 Cowper 371.Edward Coke, J. H. Thomas, John Farquhar Fraser The Reports of Sir Edward Coke: In Thirteen Parts (The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2002). p73Charles Mitchell, Paul Mitchell, Landmark Cases in the Law of Restitution (Bloomsbury Publishing, 18 Apr. 2006) p168 The plaintiff was ultimately unsuccessful but Lord Mansfield and Justices Acton and Ashurst set out the rules by which a claim against an estate may be successful.Charles Mitchell, Paul Mitchell, Landmark Cases in the Law of Restitution(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006). Mansfield explained that while an action for trespass would fail as it was against the person not the property, an action for contract or for trover would succeed.Charles Mitchell, Paul Mitchell, Landmark Cases in the Law of Restitution (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006) .
The case was one of the founding cases for the maxim Actio personalis moritur cum persona.
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