A mother had persuaded her daughter to come to England to study for the Bar, promising to allow her to stay in her house Several years later, the daughter had still not passed any Bar examinations. They fell out, and the mother sought possession of the house. The daughter said that there had been a contract.
Held: There was a presumption that cohabitants would not intend to create enforceable contractual obligations between themselves. Fenton Atkinson LJ said: ‘At the time when the first arrangement was made, the mother and daughter were ‘very close’. I am satisfied that neither party at that time intended to enter into a legally binding contract.’ The daughter was unable to establish that the mother had contracted to let her to stay in the house until she finished her Bar studies.
Fenton Atkinson, Danckwerts, Salmon J
LJJ
[1969] 1 WLR 328, [1969] 2 All ER 616, [1968] EWCA Civ 4
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Balfour v Balfour CA 1919
Mr Balfour had set out in an apparently formal legal way, an agreement to give his wife pounds 30 a month by way of maintenance while he was away in Ceylon. Mrs Balfour sought to enforce the agreement.
Held: Within a family there is a . .
Cited by:
Cited – Merritt v Merritt CA 1970
H and W owned their house jointly. When H left for another woman, he signed an agreement to pay Mrs Merritt a monthly sum, and eventually to transfer the house to her if Mrs M kept up the monthly mortgage payments. When the mortgage was paid off Mr . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Family, Contract
Leading Case
Updated: 09 November 2021; Ref: scu.251174