ABSTRACT
In situations in which the claimant seeks to identify a specific item of property in the hands of the defendant in which the claimant has retained proprietary rights, the claimant will seek a common law tracing claim to require the return of that specific item of property. To return to Charlie Croker’s claim for his three Mini Coopers, it is common law tracing which is the claim which would return title in the three original cars to Charlie. An extension to the doctrine demonstrates that the claimant can also rely on common law tracing to establish claims to any substitute for that original property provided that it has not been mixed with other property. So, if the cars were sold for £1 million, it would be possible to bring a common law tracing claim to recover that £1 million provided that the £1 million has been kept separate from all other money. If that money were mixed with any other money it would be necessary to bring a claim for equitable tracing, as discussed below.
