Attorney General v Blake
E728345
Attorney General v Blake is a landmark English contract law case that established the exceptional remedy of allowing the state to claim a defendant’s profits for breach of contract where ordinary damages are inadequate.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
English contract law case
ⓘ
House of Lords decision ⓘ landmark case ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
contracts involving public interest and national security
ⓘ
exceptional cases involving breach of contract ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
contract law
ⓘ
public law ⓘ restitution ⓘ |
| category |
English unjust enrichment case law
ⓘ
House of Lords cases ⓘ United Kingdom contract case law ⓘ |
| citation |
[2000] UKHL 45
ⓘ
[2001] 1 AC 268 ⓘ |
| court | House of Lords NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| decisionYear | 2000 ⓘ |
| defendantRole | former British spy ⓘ |
| distinguishedFrom |
ordinary expectation damages
ⓘ
reliance damages ⓘ |
| factsSummary |
Blake, a former British intelligence officer, breached a lifelong confidentiality agreement by publishing a book about his activities
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Crown sought to recover royalties from Blake’s book as profits from his breach of contract ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Regina v John Griffiths Blake (Attorney General intervening) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasJurisdiction | England and Wales NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
In exceptional circumstances, the Crown may obtain an account of profits for breach of contract where ordinary damages are inadequate
ⓘ
The Attorney General was entitled to claim Blake’s profits from publication of his book in breach of his contractual undertaking of confidentiality ⓘ |
| influenced | development of gain-based remedies in English contract law ⓘ |
| judge |
Lord Browne-Wilkinson
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough NERFINISHED ⓘ Lord Hutton NERFINISHED ⓘ Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead NERFINISHED ⓘ Lord Steyn NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdictionInfluence | Common law jurisdictions outside England and Wales ⓘ |
| leadingJudgmentBy | Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalPrinciple |
account of profits for breach of contract
ⓘ
disgorgement damages for breach of contract ⓘ |
| legalTest | whether the plaintiff has a legitimate interest in preventing the defendant’s profit-making activity and in depriving him of his profit ⓘ |
| party |
Attorney General
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
John Griffiths Blake NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| remedyCharacterisation | exceptional ⓘ |
| remedyCondition |
claimant must have a legitimate interest in preventing the defendant’s profit-making activity
ⓘ
ordinary damages must be inadequate ⓘ |
| remedyRecognised |
account of profits
ⓘ
disgorgement of profits ⓘ |
| shortName | AG v Blake NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
breach of confidentiality undertaking
ⓘ
publication of memoirs by former intelligence officer ⓘ |
| topic |
gain-based remedies
ⓘ
relationship between contract and restitution ⓘ remedies for breach of contract ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.