Cresswell v Potter
Encyclopedia
Cresswell v Potter [1978] 1 WLR 255 is an English contract law
case relating to exploitation of weakness
allowing escape from a contract.
).
is to be ‘poor and ignorant’, the second is whether the sale was at a considerable undervalue and the third is whether there was any independent advice. In more modern euphemisms, ‘poor and ignorant’ would be ‘member of the lower income group’ and ‘less hghly educated’. Because Ms Cresswell was a van driver for a tobacconist and now a PO telephonist, and had slender means and was on legal aid, this was enough.
On the point of independent advice, he noted that on one side stood Mr Potter, his solicitor and the inquiry agent and on the other Ms Cresswell alone.
English contract law
English contract law is a body of law regulating contracts in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth , and the United States...
case relating to exploitation of weakness
Iniquitous pressure in English law
Unconscionability in English law is a field of contract law and the law of trusts, which precludes the enforcement of consent based obligations. "Inequality of bargaining power" is another term used to express essentially the same idea for the same area of law, which can in turn be further broken...
allowing escape from a contract.
Facts
Ms Cresswell was a telephonist for the Post Office. She divorced from Mr Potter, and then contracted to convey him her interest in Slate Hall in return for release from mortgage liability. Two years later, Mr Potter sold the property for £3350, making a £1400 profit. Ms Cresswell successfully argued that she should get half because he had exploited her weaknesses so much as to vitiate her consent to the contract, and she was vulnerable to this because she was the modern equivalent to a "poor and ignorant" person (Fry v LaneFry v Lane
Fry v Lane 40 Ch D 312 is an English contract law case relating to exploitation of weakness, allowing escape from a contract.-Facts:...
).
Judgment
Megarry J said the first of the (non exhaustive) requirements from Fry v LaneFry v Lane
Fry v Lane 40 Ch D 312 is an English contract law case relating to exploitation of weakness, allowing escape from a contract.-Facts:...
is to be ‘poor and ignorant’, the second is whether the sale was at a considerable undervalue and the third is whether there was any independent advice. In more modern euphemisms, ‘poor and ignorant’ would be ‘member of the lower income group’ and ‘less hghly educated’. Because Ms Cresswell was a van driver for a tobacconist and now a PO telephonist, and had slender means and was on legal aid, this was enough.
On the point of independent advice, he noted that on one side stood Mr Potter, his solicitor and the inquiry agent and on the other Ms Cresswell alone.
See also
- English contract lawEnglish contract lawEnglish contract law is a body of law regulating contracts in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth , and the United States...
- Iniquitous pressure in English lawIniquitous pressure in English lawUnconscionability in English law is a field of contract law and the law of trusts, which precludes the enforcement of consent based obligations. "Inequality of bargaining power" is another term used to express essentially the same idea for the same area of law, which can in turn be further broken...
- Lloyds Bank Ltd v BundyLloyds Bank Ltd v BundyLloyds Bank Ltd v Bundy [1974] is a landmark case in English contract law, on undue influence. It is remarkable for the judgment of Lord Denning MR who advanced that English law should adopt the approach developing in some American jurisdictions that all impairments of autonomy could be collected...
[1975] QB 326 - Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co., 350 F.2d 445 , was a court opinion, written by Judge J. Skelly Wright, that had a definitive discussion of unconscionability as a defense to enforcement of contracts in American contract law. As a staple of first-year law school contract law courses, it has...
350 F.2d 445 (C.A. D.C. 1965)