Two strangers meet for the first time at a bar
One party transfers 0.52 yuan
The other party transfers 5.2 yuan
And just like that, the amount increased tenfold
The final transfer amount reached 52,000 yuan
Can I get my money back?
After drinking, he played a game to transfer money, and the other party insisted that it was a gift
In May 2021, Mr. Wu and Ms. Tian met for the first time at a bar in Shanghai, and they had a good conversation on the night they met. Subsequently, the two sides began to interact through WeChat red envelopes, with Ms. Tian taking the lead in sending 0.52 yuan and Mr. Wu returning 5.2 yuan. In this way, the amount increased tenfold, and after several exchanges, Mr. Wu transferred 52,000 yuan to Ms. Tian. In the end, Ms. Tian accepted the large transfer of 52,000 yuan and stopped the red envelope "game".
The next day, after sobering up, Mr. Wu felt very remorseful for his actions last night. He tried to contact Ms. Tian in the hope that she would return the transfer. However, Ms. Tian refused his request. As a result, Mr. Wu sued Ms. Tian to the Shanghai Pudong District People's Court.
Mr. Wu believed that the transfer of 52,000 yuan was not voluntary, but an act of drunken and unconscious, and requested that Ms. Tian be ordered to return the unjust enrichment of 52,000 yuan. Ms. Tian, on the other hand, argued that the transfer was made voluntarily by Mr. Wu and was a gift and should not be returned.
Court: The transfer involved in the case was a joke and did not belong to a gift
After trial, the Shanghai Pudong District People's Court held that Mr. Wu and Ms. Tian were not in a romantic relationship, nor were they ordinary friends, and that the two parties met for the first time at a bar, and did not have the conditions to express their feelings and blessings by giving a high amount of money at a specific time and place, so the transfer involved in the case was not a gift.
At the same time, the court held that the transfer occurred at the wine table and increased tenfold, which had the characteristics of joking and bragging, and Ms. Tian should have been aware of this, so the transfer was a joking act and the expression of intent was invalid. After the transfer, Mr. Wu promptly approached Ms. Tian to clarify the misunderstanding, and Ms. Tian did not suffer a reasonable loss of trust interests.
In summary, the Shanghai Pudong District People's Court ruled that Ms. Tian should return 52,000 yuan.
Judge: The determination of a gift depends on the expression of intent
1. How to identify red envelopes and transfers?
Couples transfer money to each other with amounts of special meaning such as "520" and "999", which have obvious meanings of expressing emotions and blessings, and are generally considered to be gifts in law and cannot be revoked arbitrarily. In this case, the transfer amount seems to have the meaning of "showing love", but in fact the two parties are not a couple, and the transfer is not to express blessings, but a "routine" game on the wine table, which the parties tacitly understand. Based on the joking and braggart characteristics of this act, the court evaluated it as a banter.
2. It not only protects the freedom of expression of will, but also takes into account the interests of trust
Joke is an expression that the signifier makes for the purpose of the game that is not the real intention, and expects others to recognize the situation, that is, "joking" in the popular sense. Legally, the expression of intent of a joking act is generally invalid, but it does not mean that the joke can be made on the fly. The law protects the freedom of expression of the expressor's will, and at the same time protects the trust interests of the counterparty. If the other party misunderstands others due to the playful behavior, causing losses to the other party's time, money, etc., the other party shall compensate the other party for the loss caused by reasonable reliance.
3. Be wary of red envelope return routines and maintain property security
The red envelope return routine in this case not only appears in real interactions, but also occurs more on the Internet, just add WeChat friends, send red envelopes can get ten times the return, many people were deceived one after another red envelopes. At this time, the act is no longer a joke, but a criminal act of a fraud gang, which may constitute the crime of fraud. I would like to remind everyone that when it comes to money transactions, you must be vigilant, abandon illusions, refuse pies, and do not transfer money to strangers at will, so as to maintain the safety of your property.
Source: Shanghai Pudong Court