A request for services made by persons purporting to act as directors of a company, whose authority is later found to have been validly terminated, does not constitute a valid request for the purposes of a quantum meruit claim, even where the persons were acting in reliance on court declarations (subsequently reversed) confirming their authority. The Cavanough principle protecting acts done under subsequently reversed court orders applies only to compulsive acts done in execution of justice, not to voluntary acts such as instructing solicitors.
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