Full case name Balfour v Balfour Citation(s) [1919] 2 KB 571 | Decided 25 June 1919 End date June 25, 1919 | |
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Legislation cited Married Women's Property Act 1882 Ruling court Court of Appeal of England and Wales Similar Merritt v Merritt, Rose & Frank Co v JR Crom, Jones v Padavatton, Carlill v Carbolic Smoke B, Felthouse v Bindley |
Balfour v balfour case summary for contract law
Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 KB 571 is a leading English contract law case. It held that there is a rebuttable presumption against an intention to create a legally enforceable agreement when the agreement is domestic in nature.
Contents
- Balfour v balfour case summary for contract law
- Intention to create legal relations balfour v balfour
- Facts
- Judgment
- Significance
- References
Intention to create legal relations balfour v balfour
Facts
Mr Balfour was a civil engineer, and worked for the Government as the Director of Irrigation in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Mrs Balfour was living with him. In 1915, they both came back to England during Mr Balfour's leave. But Mrs Balfour had developed rheumatic arthritis. Her doctor advised her to stay in England, because a jungle climate would be detrimental to her health. As Mr Balfour's boat was about to set sail, he promised her £30 a month until she came back to Ceylon. They drifted apart, and Mr Balfour wrote saying it was better that they remain apart. In March 1918, Mrs Balfour sued him to keep up with the monthly £30 payments. In July she got a decree nisi and in December she obtained an order for alimony.
At first instance, Sargant J held that Mr Balfour was under an obligation to support his wife.
Judgment
The Court of Appeal unanimously held that there was no enforceable agreement, although the depth of their reasoning differed. Warrington LJ delivered his opinion first, the core part being this passage.
Then Duke LJ gave his. He placed weight on the fact that the parties had not yet been divorced, and that the promise had been made still whilst as husband and wife.
Lord Justice Atkin took a different approach, emphasising that there was no "intention to effect legal relations". That was so because it was a domestic agreement between husband and wife, and it meant the onus of proof was on the plaintiff, Mrs Balfour. She did not rebut the presumption.
Significance
The case is often cited in conjunction with Merritt v Merritt [1970] 2 All ER 760; [1970] 1 WLR 1211. Here the court distinguished the case from Balfour v Balfour on the fact that Mr and Mrs Merritt, although still married, were estranged at the time the agreement was made and therefore any agreement between them was made with the intention to create legal relations. Both cases are often quoted examples of the principle of precedent.