Undue influence in English law

"[T]o protect people from being forced, tricked or misled in any way by others into parting with their property is one of the most legitimate objects of all laws; and the equitable doctrine of undue influence has grown out of and been developed by the necessity of grappling with insidious forms of spiritual tyranny and the infinite varieties of fraud."
Allcard v Skinner (1877) LR 36 Ch D 145, per Lindley LJ

Undue influence in English law is a field of contract law and property law whereby a transaction may be set aside if it was procured by the influence exerted by one person on another, such that the transaction cannot "fairly be treated the expression of [that person's] free will".[1][2][3]

Historically the doctrine had predominantly been invoked where the person who is exercising undue influence over another person either enters into a contract with the affected person or receives a gift from them. However, much of the recent case law relates to three party cases, where one person (often a husband) exerts undue influence on a second person (the wife) to enter into a transaction (providing a guarantee or security for the husband's debts) with a third party (often a bank). The doctrine originally developed because of perceived limitations in the law relating to duress. Although the modern law is different, previously in order to set aside a contract for duress it was necessary to show a threat of violence to the person (this is now no longer the case), and the doctrine developed in response to more subtle forms of coercion.[4] Accordingly, many earlier cases which refer to undue influence are capable of being reconsidered as actually relating to duress or unconscionable bargains in the modern sense.

The leading authority on undue influence is now the decision of the House of Lords in Royal Bank of Scotland v Etridge (No 2)[2] However much of the earlier case law continues to be relevant. There has been no real statutory intervention in this area of the law. Despite the wide array of cases considering the doctrine, there remains some disagreement as to the precise ambit of the doctrine.

  1. ^ Mark Pawlowski and James Brown (2002). Undue Influence and the Family Home. Cavendish. p. 7. ISBN 1-85941-720-5.
  2. ^ a b Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Etridge (No 2) [2001] UKHL 41
  3. ^ Peel, Edwin (2015). Treitel on The Law of Contract (14th ed.). Sweet & Maxwell. 10-013. ISBN 978-041-403739-7.
  4. ^ Peel, Edwin (2015). Treitel on The Law of Contract (14th ed.). Sweet & Maxwell. 10-016. ISBN 978-041-403739-7.