Misfeasance in public office
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Misfeasance in public office is a cause of action in the civil courts in England and Wales.
It is an action against the holder of public office, alleging, in essence, that the office-holder has misused or abused his power.
[edit] Grounds
In most cases, its essentials are that the office-holder acted illegally, knew he was doing so, knew or should reasonably have known that third parties would suffer loss as a result, and they did.
[edit] BCCI
As a civil law action, its use has grown in recent years, the law having been clarified in the litigation involving the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
[edit] Railtrack
Its most recent high-profile use was in the largest class action ever brought in the English courts, when 49,500 private shareholders of Britain's national railway infrastructure company Railtrack sued the Secretary of State for Transport for damages, alleging that in October 2001 the then holder of that office - Stephen Byers MP - had acted unlawfully in planning to put their company into administration on the grounds that it was insolvent. The legal action failed because - as an action involving reflective loss - the shareholders had to prove - in addition to the four grounds specified above - malice on the part of Byers. They did not have the evidence to do so.
