Fry v Lane
Encyclopedia
Fry v Lane 40 Ch D 312 is an English contract law
case relating to exploitation
of weakness, allowing escape from a contract.
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
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
of weakness, allowing escape from a contract.
Facts
JB and George Fry worked as a plumber and laundryman, earning £1 a week. But they had the reversion of their Uncle’s estate, subject to the life tenancy of their Aunt. They sold it in 1878 to Mr Lane for £170 and £270 respectively. They were advised by an inexperienced solicitor who also acted for Mr Lane. When the Aunt died in 1886, the interests were each worth £730, and in 1878 it would have been £475.Judgment
Kay J cited Evans v Llewellin and Haygarth v Wearing saying equity most commonly interferes in favour of an expectant heir, in his youth, or ‘a poor man with imperfect education’. Where such circumstances are shown the onus is on the purchaser to show it was ‘fair, just and reasonable’ (Lord Selborne LC, Aylesford). The undervalue was ‘so gross as to amount of itself to evidence of fraud.’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)