Abstract
This note considers the recent House of Lordsdecision in Royal Bank of Scotland plc. v.Etridge (No. 2). It concerns the familiarscenario of a wife jointly mortgaging (orproviding a guarantee for a mortgage of) thefamily home in order to secure financialsupport for a business run by her husband. Ina landmark judgement, Lord Nicholls set out newand specific procedures to be followed bylenders and solicitors who are providingindependent advice, in order to counter anyargument by the wife that the charge should beset aside because her signature on the lender'scharge has been obtained by the undue influenceof her husband. This note considers the impactof the decision upon the parties involved insuch transactions. Special consideration isgiven to the surety wife and her chances ofdefending possession proceedings brought bylenders in the post Etridge era.
REFERENCES
Council of Mortgage Lenders, Lenders' Handbook for England and Wales, 2nd edn (London: Council of Mortgage Lenders, October 2002).
Council of Mortgage Lenders, The Mortgage Code, 2nd edn (London: Council of Mortgage Lenders, reprinted April 2001).
Federation of Small Businesses, “Finance for Small Business Growth” (Federation of Small Businesses, April 2002, see website: http://www.fsb.org.uk/).
Fehlberg, B., “The Husband, the Bank, the Wife and her Signature-the Sequel”, Modern Law Review 59 (1996), 67–694.
Giliker, P., “Barclays Bank v. O'Brien Revisited:What a Difference Five Years Can Make”, Modern Law Review 62 (1999), 60–613.
Morris, D., “Wives are Told: Don't Blame the Bank, Sue Your Solicitor”, Feminist Legal Studies 7 (1999), 19–202.
O'Hagan, P., “Legal Advice and Undue Influence: Advice for Lawyers”, Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 47 (1996), 7–80.
Pawlowski, M. and Greer, S., “Constructive Notice and Independent Legal Advice: A Study of Lending Institution Practice”, Conveyancer 65 (2001), 22–248.
Price, N.S., “Undue Influence: Finis Litium?”, Law Quarterly Review 115 (1999), –11.
The British Bankers' Association, The Building Societies Association and the Association for Payment Clearing Services, The Banking Code (London, January 2001).
The British Bankers' Association and Association for Payment Clearing Services, The Business Banking Code (London, March 2002).
Thompson, M.P., “Redefining O'Brien”, Conveyancer 63 (1999), 12–136.
Wong, S., “No Man Can Serve Two Masters: Independent Legal Advice and Solicitor's Duty of Confidentiality”, Conveyancer 62 (1998), 45–465.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Morris, D. Surety Wives in the House of Lords: Time forSolicitors to `Get Real'?Royal Bank of Scotland plc v. Etridge (No. 2) [2001] 4 All E.R. 449. Feminist Legal Studies 11, 57–69 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023203713984
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023203713984