Edgington v. Fitzmaurice
Chancery Division
29 Ch. 459 (1885)
- Written by Megan Petersen, JD
Facts
Edgington (plaintiff) issued a loan of 1,500 pounds to a business controlled by Fitzmaurice (defendant). To obtain the loan, Fitzmaurice and the other directors and officers of the business misrepresented that they had acquired valuable property subject to a payment of 500 pounds twice yearly on a total mortgage of 21,500 pounds. Fitzmaurice stated the loan was needed to complete renovations to buildings on the property, and to purchase horses and vans to be used to obtain cheap fish from the coast. Edgington brought suit against Fitzmaurice for fraud on the grounds that the loan agreement made with him failed to include a second mortgage taken out against the property, that the entire balance of the first mortgage could come due at any time, and that the real reason for the loan of 1,500 pounds was to pay off pressing liabilities of the company and not to improve the buildings or buy horses or vans to develop the business of the company. The trial court held for Edgington, and Fitzmaurice appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bowen, L.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.