''Allcard v Skinner'' (1887) 36 Ch D 145 is a judicial decision under

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

dealing with

undue influence Undue influence (UI) is a psychological process by which a person's free will and judgement is supplanted by that of another. It is a legal term and the strict definition varies by jurisdiction. Generally speaking, it is a means by which a person ...

Facts

Miss Allcard was introduced by the Revd Mr Nihill to Miss Skinner, a lady superior of a Protestant religious order named "Sisters of the Poor". She had to observe vows of

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and

obedience Obedience, in human behavior, is a form of "social influence in which a person yields to explicit instructions or orders from an authority figure". Obedience is generally distinguished from compliance, which some authors define as behavior infl ...

. Three days after becoming a member, Miss Allcard made a will bequeathing all property to Miss Skinner, and passed on railway

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

that she came into possession of in 1872 and 1874. She then claimed the money back after she left the sisterhood.

Judgment

Lindley LJ Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley, (29 November 1828 – 9 December 1921) was an English judge. Early life He was the second son of the botanist Dr. John Lindley, born at Acton Green, London. From his mother's side, he was descended from Sir Edw ...

, held that she was unduly influenced but barred by laches from getting restitution. And in any case she would only have been able to recover as much of the gift as remained in the defendant’s hands after some of it had been spent in accordance with her wishes.at 182-3

Cotton LJ Sir Henry Cotton (20 May 1821 – 22 February 1892) was a British judge. He was a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1877, when he was made a Privy Counsellor, until his retirement in 1890. Early life He was born in Leytonstone. His father William ...

said,

Notes

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References

*A Burrows, J Edelman and E McKendrick, ''Cases and Materials on the Law of Restitution'' (2nd Ed, OUP, Oxford, 2007) English unjust enrichment case law English unconscionability case law Lord Lindley cases Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases 1887 in case law 1887 in British law

Facts

Judgment

See also

Notes

References