Characteristics of Equitable Interests Flashcards
(27 cards)
Are equitable interests easy to create?
- are they easy to terminate?
yes
yes
What are the 3 types of interests?
- purely legal
- purely equitable (no law counterpart = exclusive jurisdiction)
- equitable versions of legal interests (concurrent jurisdiction)
What are the 3 creation rules in equity?
- exclusive jurisdiction
- equity supplementing the law
- mere equities arising from the right to rescind / rectify transactions
What is exclusive jurisdiction?
created in equity if the person creating the interest has the intention -> express trusts
What does equity supplementing the law state?
- What is the contract itself called?
- What does it generate in equity?
- a contract for valuable consideration will give rise to an equitable interest
- estate contract -> contract for the sale of an interest in land
- a vendor-purchaser constructive trust
3 cases that support a contract for valuable consideration will give rise to an equitable interest?
quote from 3rd case
- Holroyd v Marshall [1862]
- Walsh v Lonsdale [1882]
- IRC v G Angus & Co [1889] []
“it is an entire mistake to suppose that an agreement is equivalent to a conveyance”
What is the Doctrine of Walsh v Lonsdale?
“equity regards as done what ought to be done”
What are the limitations (3) for valuable consideration?
- Which 2 cases support the 3rd limitation?
- you need there to be a contract
- contract needs to be capable of specific performance
- purchaser cannot grant proprietary interests to third parties until they receive the interest under the conveyance -> usually legal title
- Southern Pacific Mortgages Ltd v Scott [2015]
- Tasker v Small [1837]
What equitable interest arises from reliance and representation?
proprietary estoppel
Where do mere equities arise from?
- what type of right are they (proprietary or personal)?
- Where is this established?
- rights to rescind or rectify transactions
- proprietary
- Land Registration Act 2002 s.116
4 cases that give definitions of mere equity
- Equity Trust (Jersey) Ltd v Halabi [2022]
- NCA v Robb [2015]
- Latec Investments Ltd v Hotel Terrigal Pty Ltd (1965)
- National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth [1965]
What does Equity Trust say mere equities are?
‘an inchoate right binding on specific property’
inchoate = just begun and so not fully formed or developed / anticipating / preparatory
What does NCA v Robb say about mere equities?
- what is the simplified explanation of a mere equity?
- “where a transaction […] is voidable for fraud, the fraudster acquires legal and beneficial title” -> “when the transaction is rescinded or set aside […] the equitable title to that property re-vests in the victim” -> “prior to the event (the rescission of the transaction) the victim’s power to rescind constitutes a mere equity”
- mere equities usually arise when there is some fraud or mistake
- if there is fraud, equity may give you the right to rescind → for some purposes equity considers you the real owner of the property you conveyed away, but not for all purposes -> that’s why it’s only a mere equity
- you only get full proprietary right after you go to a court of equity and obtain an order for rescission
What does Latec say about mere equities?
“in which an equity is asserted which must be made good before an equitable interest can be held to exist”
What does National Provincial say about mere equities?
“But a mere “equity” naked and alone is, in my opinion, incapable of binding successors in title even with notice; it is personal to the parties”
What are the formalities for express trusts?
- declaration must be evidenced in writing
- LPA 1925 s.53(1)(b)
What are the formalities for resulting & constructive trusts?
- no formality required
- s.53(2) LPA
What are the formalities for express equitable interests?
- require writing for their creation
- s.53(1)(a) LPA
- require writing for their disposal
- s.53(1)(c) LPA
What are the formalities for contracts for sale of an interest in land?
- must be in writing
- s.2(1) LPMPA
- any equities which depend on a contract cannot arise unless the contract is in writing
What are the formalities for proprietary estoppel?
- no formality required
- may have issues if it being used to enforce a bargain not in writing
- s.2 LPMPA
What is the content of equitable rights that can also exist at law?
- which case supports this?
- “a specifically enforceable lease is as good as a lease”
- R v Tower Hamlets LBC, ex p von Goetz [1999]
- authority to say that once created, the actual content of an equitable interest is basically the same as in common
What is the content of rights which are not capable of existing at law?
- s.1 LPA 1925 → lists all rights capable of existing at laws
- s.34(2) LPA 1925 → effectively discusses joint tenancies
- LPA 1925 s.1(6) → a tenancy in common used to exist in common law, but now only exists in equity
Do we need to know how to terminate non-registered land?
No
How do you terminate a beneficial interest in registered land? (2 ways)
- s.29 LRA 2002 + s.30
- overreaching [s.2(1) LPA 1925 & s.27 LPA]
