Facts
- Mrs Thompson’s daughter, Mrs Foy, built an extension on to Mrs Thompson’s house, then agreed that her daughter would ‘buy her out’, purchasing the estate from her
- Prior the finalisation of the agreement, Foy purported to mortgage the property to a bank, claiming that she was the owner
- Thompson later gifted the house to Foy
- The mortgage payments were defaulted on,and the bank sought repossession
Issue
- Was Mrs Thompson entitled to have the gift set aside for undue influence?
Decision
Reasoning
- Although possible, the criteria for undue influence, as set out in RBS v Etridge [2001] were not satisfied
- Foy did have a beneficial interest in the property by virtue of proprietary estoppel
- Actual occupation, in the establishment of a successful claim under Schedule 3, paragraph 2 of the Land Registration Act, must have present both at the time of completion and registration of a transaction