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Jonklaas v. Silverman

Supreme Court of Rhode Island (1977) | 370 A.2d 1277; 117 R.I. 691; 1977 R.I. LEXIS 1740

3 min read

TL;DR: A stockbroker mistakenly paid a client for phantom shares and sued for restitution. The court held that while the broker could recover, the client must be allowed to present evidence that his circumstances changed due to the payment, making repayment inequitable.

Legal Significance: Establishes that a detrimental and irrevocable change of circumstances is a valid affirmative defense to an action for restitution based on a mistaken payment. The burden of proving this defense rests on the payee who was unjustly enriched.