Stuart-Smith J discussed the circumstances under which a deed was said to have been delivered in escrow: ‘the passages to which I have referred seem to establish that the intention of the maker must be made clear, at least where the deed is physically handed to the other party. Commonsense supports that view. But even if this is not so, the court is entitled to judge the maker’s true intention in the light of what he did and said at the time, and would be unlikely to hold that he had an intention to deliver a deed in escrow when all his words and actions pointed to the contrary conclusion. [Counsel] submits that where, as here, a signed and sealed deed is handed first to the defendant’s solicitors and then by him to the plaintiff’s solicitors, the onus is upon the defendant to establish that it was a delivery in escrow. In my judgment, this is correct, but I do not propose to decide this case on the onus of proof.’
Stuart-Smith J
[1985] 1 EGLR 39
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Bank of Scotland Plc v King and others ChD 23-Nov-2007
The parties contracted to buy and sell a property. The lending bank sought possession, saying that it had advanced the money which had been spent acquirng the property. The defendant purchasers said that completion had not taken place, the full . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land, Contract
Leading Case
Updated: 15 January 2022; Ref: scu.261515