Nor Is It Necessary that Consent to Bargain is Negatived; Rather that Consent: Contract Law Assignment, UCD

Assignment Overview:

1. “Nor is it necessary that consent to bargain is negatived; rather that consent must have been so wrongfully obtained that it can properly be described as an illegitimate and significant cause of the party… giving assent.” – ACC Bank v Dillon [2012] IEHC 474 (Charleton J). Explain Charleton J’s comments with regard to the Doctrine of Duress.

2.“While a fundamentally mistaken assumption can nullify consent so as to make a contract void, this rule is confined within very narrow limits. It is in the interest of commercial convenience that, in general, apparent contracts should be enforced.” — Fitzsimons v O’Hanlon [1999] 2 ILRM 551 What categories of mistake are recognized under Irish Contract Law, and what must a party demonstrate if they are to rely on them?

3. “It was observed in Allcard v Skinner ‘no court has ever attempted to define undue influence’ … It is something which can be more easily recognized when found than exhaustively analyzed in the abstract.” – Royal Bank of Scotland v Etridge [2001] UKHL 44 What relationships might give rise to undue influence, and how have the Courts attempted to categorize these relationships?

4. a) Give one example of a contract made illegal under the statute and one example of a contract made illegal at common law.

b) The maxim ‘Loss lies where the fault is’ generally applies to illegal contracts. Outline the exceptions to this maxim.