Day v Royal College of Music: When is a gift not a gift?

Abstract

On 7 March 2012, the High Court gave judgment in Day v Royal College of Music (HC11C00346). The case involved a title dispute in respect of 103 musical scores created by the celebrated 20th century composer, Sir Malcolm Arnold, and deposited with the Royal College of Music in the mid-1980s. The rival title claimants were, on the one hand, Sir Malcolm’s adult children, and, on the other, Sir Malcolm’s former carer, Mr Anthony Day. The Royal College of Music was neutral and agreed to be bound by the court’s final order. In the end, the court upheld Mr Day’s claim to the manuscripts. The case is of interest in providing a good example of the difficulties which can arise when litigating title disputes over chattels involving deceased donors. The claim touched on the rules of interpretation for, and the formalities of, inter vivos gifts, bailment, limitation, estoppel, and the old rule in Strong v Bird (1874) LR 18 Eq. 11.