Section 135: Depositing money with the court before judgment

Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section

1. Supreme Court Judgment No. 4145/2542 (1999)

   A defendant already sued on a debt can be released from liability only by depositing with the court, under Sections 135 and 136, the amount the defendant considers due to the plaintiff.

   The court held that once a defendant has been sued, tendering payment is no longer enough to obtain release from liability. The only route is to deposit with the court, under Sections 135 and 136, the sum the defendant considers owed to the plaintiff.

2. Supreme Court Judgment No. 430/2517 (1974)

   Where a defendant deposits money admitting liability for a stated sum and lets the plaintiff take it, and the plaintiff receives it, the defendant owes no interest on that sum from the date of deposit, under Sections 135 and 136 paragraph one.

   The defendant deposited less than the full amount claimed but admitted liability for 190,000 baht plus interest and allowed the plaintiff to take it, which the plaintiff did. The court held that under Sections 135 and 136 paragraph one the defendant owed no interest on that 190,000 baht from the deposit date.

3. Supreme Court Judgment No. 4497/2531 (1988)

   Money left in the court under Section 323 means all money deposited and unclaimed in a case, not only money the defendant deposits before the court of first instance gives judgment under Section 135.

   In construing unclaimed money held by the court, the court held that Section 323 covers all money paid into a case, of which a Section 135 pre-judgment deposit is only one kind. If the entitled party does not claim it within five years of the deposit, the money escheats to the State.

Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.