BU231 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Bona Fide Purchaser
Document Summary
Non-existent identity (at a distance: king"s norton metal co. v. edridge. A thief used the name of a non-existent firm to order goods and resold them. Plaintiff"s claimed their contract with the non-existent firm was void and thus sought to recover the goods from the innocent purchaser. Action failed because they had to have intent to contract with someone, and that only person was the thief! Thus, it was only a voidable contract due to the fraud! Originated in medieval times where illiterate relied on the good faith of others: in 1978 house of lords declared non est factum no longer could let someone avoid liability. Even if your illiterate or can"t speak english you should seek legal counsel: not effective if party is relatively sophisticated. Situation where a party receives benefit it is not contractually entitled to. The elements of unjust enrichment are: the conferral of a benefit, knowledge of benefit by recipient, acceptance of the benefit.
