Undue influence (as a term in jurisprudence Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of the natural law, civil law, and the law) is an equitable doctrine Equity is the name given to the set of legal principles, in jurisdictions following the English common law tradition, which supplement strict rules of law where their application would operate harshly. In civil legal systems, broad "general clause" allow judges to have similar leeway in applying the code that involves one person taking advantage of a position of power over another person. It is where free will to bargain is not possible.
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Undue influence in contract law
If undue influence is proved in a contract, in U.S. law, the contract is voidable by the innocent party, and the remedy is rescission. There are two categories to consider:
- Presumed undue influence
- Actual undue influence
Presumed undue influence
First subgroup
In the first subgroup, the relationship falls in a class of relationships that as a matter of law will raise a presumption of undue influence. Such classes include:
- Parent/child
- Guardian/ward
- Priest/member of parish
- Solicitor/client
- Doctor/patient
In such cases, the onus of proof lies on a doctor, say, to disprove undue influence on a patient.
Second subgroup
The second subgroup covers relationships that do not fall into the first subgroup, but on the facts of case, there was an antecedent relationship between the parties that led to undue influence. The test is one of whether there was a relationship of such trust and confidence that it should give rise to such a presumption (see Johnson v. Buttress (1936) 56 CLR 113).
In Garcia v National Australia Bank (1998) 194 CLR 395, the High Court of Australia distinguished between cases of actual undue influence and situations where the transaction is set aside because the guarantor does not understand the nature of the transaction. Although there is no presumption of undue influence, a "lender is to be taken to have understood that, as a wife, the surety may repose trust and confidence in her husband in matters of business and therefore to have understood that the husband may not fully and accurately explain the purport and effect of the transaction to his wife; and yet... did not itself take steps to explain the transaction to the wife or find out that a stranger had explained it to her."
Actual undue influence
An innocent party may also seek to have a contract set aside for actual undue influence, where there is no presumption of undue influence, but there is evidence that the power was unbalanced at the time of the signing of the contract.
Undue influence in probate law
"Undue Influence" is the most common ground for will contests and are often accompanied by a capacity challenge. In probate law Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A surrogate court decides the validity of a testator's will. A probate interprets the instructions of the deceased, decides the executor as the personal representative of the, it is generally defined as a testator A testator is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of his/her death. It is any "person who makes a will."'s loss of free agency regarding property disposition through contemporaneous psychological domination by an advisor which results in an excessive benefit to the advisor. It is important to note that "undue influence" is only an issue when the advisor is benefiting, not when advisor is getting a benefit for someone else; in that case it would be considered fraud The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud, but there have also been fraudulent "discoveries", e.g. in science, to gain prestige rather than immediate monetary gain. In litigation most jurisdictions place the burden of proving undue influence on the party challenging the will.
See also
Categories: Contract law A contract is a legally-enforceable promise or set of promises made by one party to another. A contract is a legally binding agreement concerning a bargain which is essentially commercial in its nature and involves the sale or hire of commodities such as goods services or land. Invalid tag extension name: categorytree | Wills and trusts Categories: Property law | Inheritance | Legal documents | Equitable defenses Equitable defenses are usually affirmative defenses asking the court to excuse an act because the party bringing the cause of action has acted in some inequitable way. Traditionally equitable defenses were only available to a court of equity and not available "at law". Recently, and especially in the United States, equitable defenses are | Legal doctrines and principles
New England Journal of Medicine (subscription)
Annual payments to directors that are of the same order of magnitude as AHC salaries present a problematic risk of undue influence on the AHC. ...
