The Quincecare Duty: A Novel And Influential Judgment

In the context of the current unsettled law regarding the scope of the so-called Quincecare duty, a recent Hong Kong decision analysing the nature of duty is an important development. While not binding on the English courts, the lead judgment was delivered by Lord Sumption (a former Justice of the UK Supreme Court) and is likely to have influence within this jurisdiction: PT Asuransi Tugu Pratama Indonesia TBK v Citibank N.A. [2023] HKCFA 3.

Does the Quincecare duty protect individuals?

In particular, Lord Sumption's analysis is potentially relevant to an important question currently being considered by the Supreme Court, on an appeal from Philipp v Barclays Bank UK plc [2022] EWCA Civ 318. That appeal is from a Court of Appeal finding (discussed here) that the Quincecare duty is not limited to the traditional situation where the payment instruction to the bank was given by an agent/authorised signatory on behalf of a customer. That meant that the duty is not