19. Undue Influence

This chapter discusses cases of alleged undue influence. Such cases have caused considerable difficulties for the courts in recent years, not in relation to the existence of the doctrine, but to its scope and its relationship with other doctrines, particularly duress, and other cases in which courts have intervened to protect the vulnerable or those who have been exploited. Recent judicial exposition of undue influence has tended to take place in the context of three-party cases rather than two-party cases, that is to say cases in which a wrong has been committed by a third party and not the defendant. Two leading cases of undue influence are analysed: Allcard v. Skinner (1887) 36 Ch D 145 and Royal Bank of Scotland plc v. Etridge (No 2) [2001] UKHL 44, [2002] 2 AC 773 and they are used to illustrate the limits of the modern doctrine of undue influence and in particular the role of presumptions in this area of the law.