Undueinfluence and mortgage borrowing
One Savings Bank Plc v Waller-Edwards [2024[ EWCA Civ 392 – undueinfluence and mortgage borrowing
In this case the appellant appealed against an order for possession made in favour of the bank in relation to a property owned by the Appellant and her former partner (a property developer). The property developer had suggested to the Appellant that she should exchange her home and £150,000 for a property that he was building which had an existing charge registered against it. The appellant was given a second charge. Later the bank was approached for a remortgage and advanced a sum of £384,000 which paid off the first charge and some of the property developer’s perosnal debts. The relationship between the appellant and the property developer ended and they feel into arrears on the remortgage payments. The bank began repossession proceedings in 2021. The appellant sought to set aside the remortgage as between herself and the bank on the grounds of undueinfluence from the property developer. At trial the Judge accepted that there had been undueinflunce, but held that the bank had not been put on enquiry so as to be fixed with constructive notice of the undueinfluence.
On appeal as a matter of fact and degree the Court of Appeal found that the bank was not put on inquiry of the undueinfluence exerted on the Appellant. The appeal was dismissed holding that the correct legal test was that in Royal Bank of Scotland Plc v Etridge ( No.2) [2001] UKHL 44, [2002] 2A.C. 773. Etridge required the court to look at the non commercial hybrid transaction as a whole and to decide as a matter of fact and degree, whether the loan was being made for the purposes of the borrower with the debts, as distinct from the borrower’s joint purposes. The judges below correctly decided that the loan was a joint loan made for joint purposes.
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