A claim for knowing assistance under the second limb of Barnes v Addy requires that the assistant's knowledge relate to the specific dishonest and fraudulent design involving a breach of trust to the particular beneficiaries who are plaintiffs — knowledge of 'some irregularity' or of 'a fraud, breach of trust or breach of fiduciary duty' in the abstract is insufficient. The dishonest and fraudulent design must be pleaded as intended, not merely as having the effect of allowing dishonest conduct. Causation of loss in the 'but for' sense need not be pleaded because the liability of a knowing assistant as constructive trustee is mediated through the remedy of account. The meaning of 'dishonest and fraudulent' and the question whether equity presumes truthful answers to enquiries under Baden category 3 remain unresolved in Australian law.
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