 |
| BCCI SA v. Aboody | |
|---|---|
| Court | Court of Appeal |
| Full case name | Bank of Credit and Commerce International Société Anonyme v. Aboody and another |
| Citation(s) | [1992] 4 All ER 955 |
| Case opinions | |
| Slade LJ | |
| Keywords | |
| Undue influence | |
Bank of Credit and Commerce International S.A. v. Aboody [1992] 4 All ER 955 is an English contract law case relating to undue influence.
Mrs. Aboody signed a document making a charge over the family home in favour of Bank of Credit and Commerce International, to secure her husband’s borrowing for his company. Mr. Aboody had bullied her, and she had signed to get some peace.
Slade LJ held that because of National Westminster Bank plc v Morgan [1985] UKHL 2 "manifest disadvantage" had to be shown even in cases of actual undue influence. The transaction was not manifestly disadvantageous, but this requirement was subsequently overruled in CIBC Mortgages plc v Pitt [1993] UKHL 7 (21 October 1993).
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Unconscionability is a doctrine in contract law that describes terms that are so extremely unjust, or overwhelmingly one-sided in favor of the party who has the superior bargaining power, that they are contrary to good conscience. Typically, an unconscionable contract is held to be unenforceable because no reasonable or informed person would otherwise agree to it. The perpetrator of the conduct is not allowed to benefit, because the consideration offered is lacking, or is so obviously inadequate, that to enforce the contract would be unfair to the party seeking to escape the contract.
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