ABSTRACT
As considered above, there is a possibility of a number of remedies ranging from those associated with tracing claims, to those associated with restoration of the value of specific property, to those based on compensation (Target Holdings Ltd v Redferns (1996)). There is then a question as to the remedy which the beneficiary is required to pursue in all the circumstances. The equitable doctrine of election arises in such situations to provide that it is open to the claimant to elect between alternative remedies (Tang v Capacious Investments Ltd (1996)). In Tang, the possibility of parallel remedies arose in relation to a breach of trust for the plaintiff beneficiary to claim an account of profits from the malfeasant trustee or to claim damages representing the lost profits to the trust. It was held that these two remedies existed in the alternative and therefore that the plaintiff could claim both, not being required to elect between them until judgment was awarded in its favour. Clearly, the court would not permit double recovery in respect of the same loss, thus requiring an election between those remedies ultimately.
