Equitable Maxims Flashcards
Intro
Chancery court created equitable principles which are not positive forms of law rather trends that judges follow
Note that they overlap and contradict eachother and some no longer apply
List all 11 equitable maxims
Equity will not suffer a wrong without a remedy
Equity will follow the law( as a starting point)
He who seeks equity must do equity
He who seeks equity must come with clean hands
Delay defeats equity
Equality is equity
Equity looks at intent rather than form
Equity looks at what was done and what ought to have been done
Equity imputes intention to fulfill obligation
Equity acts in personam
Where equities equal, the first in time prevails/ the law prevails
Equity will not let a wrong suffer without a remedy
Name cases
Rational was to fill in the discrepancies that existed in common law
However not everyone who’s been wronged will have a remedy in equity
Re diplock
Homes v mileage
Re diplock
The maxim should not be interpreted too literally
Equity will only intervene on the basis of established principles and precedent
Homes and mileage
It is incorrect to say that because there is no remedy in common law that there will be one in equity
It’s role is to mitigate the severity of CL but it does not have a remedy for every wrong
Equity follows the law (as a starting point)
Name case
Shouldn’t be interpreted too literally
Contradicts with maxim of equity looks at intent
Incorrect to say that equity always follows the law as it was made to fill the discrepancies which you existed
Example: equity will not follow the law if it will lead to fraud
Jones v Kernott
Jones v Kernott
Concerned couple who had lived together and were joint legal owners
The defendant left and left pl to pay off 90 percent of the mortgage
Held: pl was the 90% beneficial owner of the property. Equity will follow the law as a starting point but the presumption can be displaced to give way to the intention of the parties
He who seeks equity must do equity
State the case
Equity will only grant a relief provided that the def was treated fairly
Pl must be prepared to act fairly and justly
Example: when seeking an interlock injunction, pl will be required to take an undertaking in damages if unsuccessful, if they don’t they’ll be held in contempt of court
Chaplain v times newspapers
Chaplain v times newspapers
Concerned pl seeking interlock injunction trying to prevent employer from terminating their contracts but weren’t prepared to refrain from picketing
Held: equitable relief not granted because they weren’t prepared to not distrupt their emoloyer in the future
Denning - he who is seeking equiry must be willing to do their part
He who seeks equity must come with clean hands
Looks at past conduct
Equitable relief will only be granted provided that the pl has not engaged in prior dishonest behaviour
The unclean hands has to be linked to the relief sought
Argyll v Argyll
Overton v bannister
Smelter corporation v o’driscoll
Argyll v Argyll
Concerned wife trying to prevent husband from releasing confidential info about her
Issue: wife had committed adultry
Held: uncleanliness refers to anything related to the remedy, must be a close causal connection between the unclean hands and the remedy being sought
Unfair to not grant an interlock injunction in this circumstance
Overton v Bannister
Concerned beneficiary who misrepresented to age, said she was 21 age of majority but she was 19 so the trustees gave her trust. Then she sued them for breach of trust .
Held: claim unsuccessful as she had misrepresented her age
Smelter corporation v o’driscoll
Pl agent told def that they needed to sell their land cuz it was under compulsory purchase. Didn’t know that it wasn’t. Seeking a specific performance order
Held: accepted that the agent was innocent such that a remedy could be granted, however the def was under a fundamental misapprehension as to the true facts which would make it unjust to grant an order of this sort
What does presumption of resulting mean
When you have property which is in the name of someone who has not financially contributed to it, equity reverts it back to the original purchaser
What does the presumption of advancement mean
When a husband buys property in wife’s name, it’s deemed as a gift and rebuts the presumption of resulting
