Intention to create legal relations Flashcards
What is required for an agreement to be legally binding
there must be an intention to create legal relations (ITCLR)
What is the presumption regarding ITCLR in domestic or social agreements
There is a rebuttable presumption that there is no ITCLR in domestic or social agreements
What is Balfour v Balfour [1919 2KB 571
The husband worked overseas and for health reasons the wife could no longer live where he worked. She was supposed to be paid £30 per month for living expenses.
What did the court hold for balfour
the promise was not legally enforceable because there had been no intention to create legal relations.
Assess Balfour
the arrangements made between husband and wife are not contracts because the parties did not intend that they should be attended by legal consequences. The courts would have been over worked if arrangements were held to result in legal obligations
what can displace the presumption of no ITCLR in domestic agreements
this presumption can be displaced by evidence
What is the significance of Merrit v Merrit [1970] 1 WLR 1211
if maintenance agreement had been made upon the breakdown of the marriage the agreement would have been enforceable even though entered into between husband and wife
social and domestic
arrangement where parties acted to their detriment or where agreement has been executed
for commercial arrangements there is a presumption that
if there is an intention to create legal relations this can be rebutted by evidence
What are important in order to rebut a case
certainty of terms
seriousness of the agreement
reliance on the agreement
What happened in Jones v Padavatton [1969] 1 WLR 328
the claimant sought to persuade her daughter to become a barrister by paying her fees and giving her a living allowance while she studied as well as buying her a house. After several failed attempts the mother and daughter fell out.
What did the CoA find in Jones v Padavatton
the daughter had no right to stay in the house because there was no legally enforceable contract between her and her mother.
- although the daughter relied on mothers promise the terms of their arrangement were not sufficiently certain and the agreement was only for a reasonable amount of time
policy rationale
agreements such as these are outside the realm of contracts altogether. Common law does not regulate formation of agreements between spouse
What is contractual intent
direct evidence of intention will not be available and the courts must drawn such implications as they may from the surrounding circumstances.
freedom of contract
contractual obligations are voluntarily assumed and based on consent of the parties
how is intention of the parties judged
objectively
what is the objective approach
depends on what was communicated between them by words or conduct not on their subjective state of mind
the use of presumptions
agreements are categorised into social/domestic agreements and commercial agreements.
