Re Jeavons, ex parte Mackay (1873) LR 8 Ch App 643 is a UK insolvency law case.

It was further agreed that if Jeavons went insolvent, or made an arrangement with creditors, Brown could keep all the royalties to satisfy the debt.

The agreement that Brown could retain all royalties if Jeavons went bankrupt was a fraud on the bankruptcy laws and void.

I entertain no doubt that there is a good charge upon one moiety of the royalties, because they are part of the property and effects of the bankrupt.

There His Lordship says: “This settlement looks forward to a change of intention, to the purpose of becoming a trader, and looks forward expressly to the possible consequences of that purpose; and so looking forward to such a change of purpose, and to such consequences, it is a limitation by the effect of which the estate would go to the creditors; that change being adopted with the express object of taking the case out of reach of the bankrupt laws; and as to the consideration from the covenant of the father, which, though it may perhaps prove worth little or nothing, is to be regarded as a consideration with reference to all the provisions of the settlement, though undoubtedly an annuity, might have been provided by the settlement for the wife in all events, yet it is not competent to a party giving a consideration for a contract that is a direct fraud upon the bankrupt laws to have the benefit of it.”That is to say, as I understand it, a person cannot make it a part of his contract that, in the event of bankruptcy, he is then to get some additional advantage which prevents the property being distributed under the bankruptcy laws.

Fry, Q.C., and Mr. Henderson, then argued in support of the second appeal:— We have a valid agreement for a bill of sale of the chattels on the premises at Millwall .

We now rely upon the agreement as an equitable assignment, which does not require to be registered under the Bills of Sale Act (17 & 18 Vict.

As far as I can discover, this is the first case in which the question has arisen whether the argreement to execute a bill of sale upon certain specific chattels without being registered can be relied on as a valid transfer and assurance of the goods in equity.