The question of whether notice of certain facts amounted to constructive notice of other facts is a question of law. Where it was claimed that a party should be exempt from liability under a document which it was claimed was signed because of misrepresentations and undue influence by a third party, the burden of proof remained on the party making that assertion that the bank had constructive notice of such misrepresentation and or undue influence: ‘In the case of undue influence exercised by a husband over a wife, the burden is prima facie very easily discharged. The wife needs to show only that the bank knew that she was a wife living with her husband and that the transaction was not on its face to her financial advantage. The burden is then upon the bank to show that it took reasonable steps to satisfy itself that her consent was properly obtained. ‘
Lord Slynn of Hadley, Lord Nolan, Lord Steyn, Lord Hoffman, Lord Hutton
Times 26-Oct-1999, Gazette 03-Nov-1999, [1999] UKHL 39, [1999] 4 All ER 513, [1999] 3 EGLR 88, (2000) 32 HLR 170, [2000] Fam Law 25, (2000) 79 P and CR D1, [2000] CP Rep 16, [1999] 49 EG 97, [1999] 2 FLR 986, [2000] Lloyd’s Rep Bank 29, [1999] 3 FCR 529, [1999] 1 WLR 1919, [1999] EG 121, [1999] NPC 124
House of Lords, Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Barclays Bank Plc v O’Brien and Another HL 21-Oct-1993
The wife joined in a charge on the family home to secure her husband’s business borrowings. The husband was found to have misrepresented to her the effect of the deed, and the bank had been aware that she might be reluctant to sign the deed.
Cited – Bainbrigge v Browne ChD 19-May-1881
An impoverished father had prevailed upon his inexperienced children to charge their reversionary interests under their parents’ marriage settlement to pay his mortgage debts. Undue influence was claimed.
Held: The defendants who were not . .
Cited – CIBC Mortgages Plc v Pitt and Another HL 21-Oct-1993
Mrs Pitt resisted an order for possession of the house saying that she had signed the mortgage only after misrepresentations by and the undue infuence of her husband who was acting as the bank’s agent.
Held: A bank was not put on enquiry as to . .
Cited – Bainbrigge v Browne ChD 19-May-1881
An impoverished father had prevailed upon his inexperienced children to charge their reversionary interests under their parents’ marriage settlement to pay his mortgage debts. Undue influence was claimed.
Held: The defendants who were not . .
Cited – In re Nisbet and Potts’ Contract 1905
Where a party asserted he was a purchaser in good faith without notice and for value, the burden of proving all the elements of the defence is upon the purchaser. A title acquired by adverse possession was not paramount to, and did not destroy the . .
Cited – Independent Automatic Sales Ltd v Knowles and Foster 1962
If a pleading alleges all the facts which would, as a matter of law, give rise to constructive notice on the part of the other party of the matters alleged that should be enough to enable the party to argue the legal consequences of the facts . .
Cited – Whitehorn Brothers v Davison CA 1911
It is for the defrauded owner seeking to recover his goods to prove that the purchaser had actual or constructive knowledge of the fraud. The passing of a good title to an innocent purchaser applied when the owner had been induced by false pretences . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Undue Influence, Banking
Updated: 15 January 2022; Ref: scu.78191