Judge sitting Edward Coke | ||
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Court Court of Exchequer Chamber Citation(s) (1612) 77 Eng Rep 960; (1612) 10 Rep 32; (1612) 10 Co Rep 23a Similar Gencor ACP Ltd v Dalby, Ord v Belhaven Pubs Ltd, Lubbe v Cape plc, Woolfson v Strathclyde Regional, DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tow | ||
Case of Sutton's Hospital (1612) 77 Eng Rep 960 is an old common law case decided by Sir Edward Coke. It concerned the London Charterhouse, which was held to be a properly constituted corporation.
Contents
Facts
Mr Thomas Sutton was a coal mine owner and moneylender, as well as the Master of Ordnance for the North of England, a military position. He founded a school and hospital as a corporation at the London Charterhouse. When he died, he left a large part of his estate to the charity. Sutton's other heirs, wanting more, challenged the bequest by arguing that the charity was improperly constituted. Therefore, they argued, it lacked a legal personality to be the subject of a transfer of property.
Judgment
In a full hearing of the Court of Exchequer Chamber it was held that the incorporation was valid, as was the subsequent foundation of the charity and so the transfer of property to it, including the nomination of a master of the charity to receive the donation, was not void. The other heirs to Sutton's estate were therefore unable to retrieve any additional assets.
Sir Edward Coke wrote in the report the following.
Citations
The case has been cited in a number of subsequent decisions. Notably, in Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham LBC [1992] 2 AC 1 Lord Templeman referred to it, and although he acknowledged it to be good law, he also noted that to modern eyes the language was so impenetrable that most lawyers simply took it on faith that the case stood for the principle for which it is cited. He summarised the ratio decidendi of the case thus:
The case was also cited with approval (but distinguished) in another House of Lords case, Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Co Ltd v Riche (1875) LR 7 HL 653.