Fronia,a neighbour of David,wished to borrow a sum of money from a local bank.David was quite wealthy but elderly,with very poor eye sight.He frequently requested Fronia to read his newspaper to him when Fronia would drop by for a visit because reading was exceedingly difficult for him.
One evening,Fronia placed a paper before David and explained to him that he wished to borrow a sum of money but required a letter of reference before the bank would make the loan.She requested David to sign to the paper to satisfy this requirement.David trusted his friend Fronia,and signed the paper at his request without reading it.
Unknown to David,the paper was a guarantee of Fronia's indebtedness,and not a letter of reference,and Fronia later defaulted on her debt.
A)David may successfully plead non est factum as a defence to any claim by Fronia's creditor.
B)If Fronia had told David that the paper was a guarantee for $1500 when it was in fact for $2000,David could still successfully plead non est factum as a defence.
C)Fronia required David's signature on the paper because the Statute of Frauds requires a guarantee to be in writing and signed to be enforceable.
D)Fronia required David's signature on the paper because the Statute of Frauds requires a guarantee to be in writing and signed to be enforceable and David may successfully plead non est factum as a defence to any claim by Fronia's creditor.
E)All of the responses are correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Fronia required David's signature on the paper because the Statute of Frauds requires a guarantee to be in writing and signed to be enforceable, and David may successfully plead non est factum as a defence to any claim by Fronia's creditor. Non est factum is a defence that can be used if a person was led to sign a document under a mistaken belief about its content, and if successful would result in the document being set aside. In this case, David was led to believe that he was signing a letter of reference, but in reality, he was signing a guarantee of Fronia's debt. Because he did not read the document, he can argue that he signed it under a mistaken belief about its content and use non est factum as a defence. However, since the guarantee was required to be in writing and signed, Fronia's creditor may still have a valid claim against David, even though he can use non est factum as a defence.

Fronia,a Neighbour of David,wished to Borrow a Sum of Money