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Introduction

Becks has lived with his girlfriend, Posh, for three years. They each contribute 50% of the council tax and house rates and have shared the other household expenses equally. Becks offered to buy for �10,000 Posh's share in Big Bank plc which she had inherited from her father. They were worth �100,000 and Becks knew this. Posh agreed because she was afraid that if she did not agree, Becks would leave her. Rooney, Beck's brother, threatened to tell Becks that he and Posh had had an affair before Becks had started to live with Posh. Rooney forced Posh to sign a guarantee for a loan which Rooney was borrowing from a bank as his business was in difficulty. The guarantee was secured by a charge on the flat in which Becks and Posh lived and which Posh owned. Advise posh as to her legal position. What would your advice be based on the following alternative assumptions- (a) Becks had left Posh threatening to publish intimate photographs which he had taken when they were living together; (b) Rooney had become insolvent and the bank was seeking to enforce the guarantee; (c) When Posh had agreed to the sale and guarantee she was only seventeen years of age. When advising Posh as to her legal position in the given scenario, I will look at each aspect of the case separately. I will determine what the legal rules are and how, if at all, they should be applied to the case in hand. ...read more.

Middle

and requires explanation.15 This seems to be the case concerning the transaction between Posh and Becks due to their emotional involvement and the price for which the shares were sold and so may therefore be relied upon to have the contract made voidable and set aside. Turning to Posh's legal position concerning the signing of a guarantee for a loan for Rooney, we must look closely as to haw this was obtained. It is stated that Rooney threatened to tell his brother about his affair with Posh unless she signed the guarantee for the loan which Rooney was borrowing. This would suggest that Posh had felt under pressure to carry out the agreement. Since a contract will only be binding if the parties voluntarily consent to it, it is obvious that where one party is forced to consent by threats or undue persuasion by the other, that consent should be invalid.16 This coercion may be brought about either by duress or by undue influence which, if established, would make any contract voidable. In order for there to be a finding of duress there is a requirement to satisfy each of the following conditions:17 * Pressure was extended on the contracting party. * This pressure was illegitimate. * The pressure induced the claimant to enter the contract. * The claimant had no real choice but to enter the contract. * The claimant protested at the time or shortly after the contract was made. ...read more.

Conclusion

1 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p.7. 2 Jill Poole, Textbook on Contract Law, (2006), p.123. 3 Ibid. 4 Chappell & Co. v Nestle & Co. Ltd [1960] AC 87. 5 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 50. 6 Jill Poole, Casebook on Contract Law, (2006), p. 179. 7 Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571. 8 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 206. 9 Ibid. p.210. 10Jill Poole, Casebook on Contract Law, (2006), p. 571. 11 CIBC Mortgages plc vPitt [1994] 1 AC 200. 12 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 211. 13 Jill Poole, Textbook on Contract Law, (2006), p.569. 14 Barclays Bank plc v O'Brien [1994] 1 AC 180. 15 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 213. 16 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 206. 17 Ibid. 18 Jill Poole, Casebook on Contract Law, (2006), p. 571. 19 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 211. 20 Bank of Credit and Commerce International SA v Aboody [1990] QB 923. 21 Jill Poole, Casebook on Contract Law, (2006), p. 650. 22 Jill Poole, Textbook on Contract Law, (2006), p. 410. 23 Ibid. 24 Theakston v MGN Ltd [2002] EWHC 137. 25 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 215. 26 Jill Poole, Casebook on Contract Law, (2006), p. 668. 27 Royal Bank of Scotland v Eltridge (No.2) [2001] UKHL 44, [2002] 2 AC 773. 28Jill Poole, Textbook on Contract Law, (2006), p. 625. 29 Catherine Elliott, Frances Quinn, Contract Law, (2005), p. 57. 30 Ibid. pp. 57-58. 31 Ibid. p.60. ?? ?? ?? ?? 1 ...read more.

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