Appeal Court. 16th April,
1935.
Appeal from judgment of the
Supreme Court of Sierra Leone.
Deed of Conveyance by Patient in
favour of Medical
Adviser Presumption arises of
undue influence by former of
latter Such Presumption must be
rebutted-Duty of Court 1:n the
hearing of appeals on question
of fact from a Judge alone and
from a Judge sitting with a
Jury distinguished.
The facts of the case are
sufficiently set out in the
judgments.
C. E. Wright
for the Appellant.
J. P. Boston
for the Respondent.
The following judgments were
delivered:-
STROTHER STEWART, J.
This is' a case in which
appellant seeks that a Deed of
Conveyance in which certain
property was conveyed by her to
respondent should
(inter alia)
be set aside on the ground that
it was obtained from her by
undue influence arising from the
fact that respondent was her
medical adviser.
The appellant is an elderly
woman who is a widow, and is of
the age of eighty-six years. The
respondent is a much younger
man. They are not related to
each other. The respondent
commenced practising as a
medical man in 1919, and, in
1920, attended an elderly female
relative of his, who was a
friend of appellant, and resided
with her.
Appellant says that that was the
first occasion on which he
attended her. Respondent says
that he had known appellant
since he was a boy, but there is
nothing to show that there was
any special relationship between
her and appellant up to the time
he came to her house after he
qualified as a medical man.
The appellant appears to have
been a healthy woman for her
age, but what ailments she had,
after the time respondent
attended his relative who was
residing with her, were treated
by respondent. She appears to
have had another doctor before
such time, but such doctor never
attended her again after
respondent began to attend her.
Appellant had two serious
illnesses, in 1928 and 1930
respectively, on which occasions
respondent attended her. He also
appears to have given her tonics
on other occasions. Appellant
has had no illness since 1930.
I am of opinion that the proper
deduction to be derived from the
evidence is that respondent was,
up to
1930, the medical adviser of
appellant. The transaction which
is impugned in this case took
place towards the end of that
year, and the beginning of 1931.
It concerned one of three houses
belonging to appellant.
The versions of appellant and
respondent differ as to the
nature of the transaction.
Appellant says that she agreed
to sell the house to respondent
for the sum of
£1,500, and that he paid her the
sum of £:200 on account of the
purchase money. She executed a
Deed of Conveyance to
respondent, of the house, dated
the 4th day of :February, 1931,
in which it was set out that the
purchase price was £1,500, and
receipt of that sum was therein
acknowledged. It is common
ground that such purchase price
was never paid, and the said sum
of £200 was subsequently re-paid
to respondent by appellant.
Appellant asked respondent for a
receipt for the said sum of
£200, as being part payment of
the purchase price of the said
house, and as cancelling' the
Deed of Conveyance already
referred to. Respondent refused
to give her the receipt she
asked for, characterising it as
"a wicked receipt", but accepted
the said sum of £200, and gave
her back the said Deed of
Conveyance " as a security."
Respondent on the other hand
says that the house was given to
him as a gift, and that the £200
he gave her was not in respect
of the purchase of the house,
but was a token of friendship
and gratitude given by him to
appellant at the suggestion of
appellant. He says that the form
in which the house was conveyed
to him was also the suggestion
of appellant, as she did not
want it to be known that she had
given the house to respondent as
a gift, as she might be pestered
by other people hoping to
benefit in a similar way. He
said she returned the £200 to
him when she learned that he had
mortgaged a house of his in
order to raise it. The case is
being fought by respondent on
the ground that the house was
given to him as a gift.
The learned trial Judge decided
in favour of respondent on the
ground that the evidence did not
disclose fiduciary relationship
as pleaded, and that the
relationship between appellant
and respondent was rather that
of quasi mother and son.
He said it was difficult to
understand how a casual
attendance on two occasions
could be said to create such a
relationship as to make that
relationship of a confidential
and fiduciary character. He came
to the conclusion that appellant
had made the gift spontaneously,
and well understanding the
effect of same.
I differ, with great reluctance,
from a learned, and experienced
Judge, but I am of opinion that
the attendances of respondent
were not merely two" casual"
attendances. There is no
evidence that her old family
doctor ever attended her after
1920, when respondent first
visited he!' house as a medical
man. The evidence
on the other hand shows that
respondent attended to all her
ailments after that date, and
there' is nothing to show that
she ever dispensed with his
services as a medical man, or
would not have called him in
as her medical attendant, if she
had had any illness subsequent
to her last one. Respondent
admitted that her illness in
1930 was a serious one, and that
she was in grave danger, and
that she thought she would not
recover. All the evidence tends
to show that she had great
confidence in respondent, and
was very much impressed by what
he had done for her in her
illnesses. I think, therefore,
that the relationship of medical
man and patient existed at the
time the transaction already
alluded to took place.
Such relationship creates a
presumption of undue influence,
and the onus is upon respondent
to rebut such presumption. I do
not think he has done so. I
think that if, in fact, the
relationship between appellant
and respondent became that of
quasi
mother and son, it is impossible
to say that it did arise out of
the relationship. of medical man
and patient.
It is curious that
when-according to the evidence
of respondent-he was offered a
house, the house he accepted was
the best one, and one which was
the chief source of appellant's
income. It. was respondent who
suggested the solicitor who
should advise appellant as to
the transaction, and respondent
saw the solicitor before he
interviewed appellant.
Respondent was present when the
deed was executed. It was
respondent's wife, who had only
known appellant since the said
transaction, who accompanied her
when she went to withdraw her
will-which
dealt otherwise with the
property than as set out in the
said transaction-from the
registry. It was respondent who
paid the cost of the conveyance.
I am not satisfied that
appellant was put in a position
to have absolutely independent
advice, or to exercise her will
entirely free from respondent.
Appellant appears to have
quickly made up her mind to
denounce the said Deed of
Conveyance, and it is
significant that although she
signed the authority to the
tenant of the house in question
to pay the rent to respondent
when respondent brought it to
her, the very next day-when
respondent was absent-she was
personally countermanding such
order.
I do not think, therefore,
respondent has discharged the
onus placed upon him of proving
that the transaction complained
of was not the result. of the
influence he had acquired over
appellant as her medical
adviser.
I think, therefore, the appeal
should be allowed with costs in
this Court and in the Court
below, and that an order as
prayed by the appellant be made.
The Court below to carry out.
MACQUARRIE, J.
I agree.
In my opinion, the presumption
of undue influence which arises
from the existence of the
relationship of doctor and
patient at or about the time of
the execution of the deed has
not been rebutted by the
respondent, on whom lies the
onus of doing so. The learned
trial Judge held that respondent
had proved that the gift was the
spontaneous act of appellant
fully appreciating the effect of
the deed she signed~ I am unable
to agree with this finding. The
finding that respondent never at
any time used his influence or
suggested to appellant that she
should make this gift is of a
negative nature and, in view of
his conduct throughout, is not
such as to rebut the
presumption. He took a part in
getting the solicitor, Mr.
Barlatt, for appellant, gave him
information concerning the
transaction before he went to
see appellant; was himself
present with the solicitor's
clerks and no one else at the
execution of the deed; and was
the channel of communication
between appellant and Mr.
Barlatt after their interview.
Some of these matters also bear
on the question of Mr. Barlatt's
independence, on which question
the Court below said he was not
respondent's solicitor at the
time. I do not think this is a
sufficient proof of Mr.
Barlatt's independence, such as
to make his advice to appellant
such as should be given in her
interests only. And on careful
consideration of Mr. Barlatt's
evidence, I am unable to hold
that he sufficiently brought
home to her the exact
consequences of her act in
signing the deed; although no
doubt he acted in all good
faith.
Finally, the presence of the
respondent, the recipient of the
gift, and the absence of anyone
to advise appellant, at the
actual execution of the deed,
are to my mind circumstances
which, amongst others, make it
impossible to infer a
spontaneous act of free will on
the part of appellant.
The statements made by her to
respondent's mother and wife do
not appear to me to be of any
value. The former went to thank
appellant actually before the
deed was made; while the latter
met appellant for the first time
after it was made. At such time
appellant was still subject to
the influence of the
relationship.
This opinion does not in any way
ignore the findings of fact by
the Court below but does draw
inferences from these facts
which differ from those drawn by
the Court below.
For these reasons I agree with
the order proposed in the
judgment (of Strother-Stewart,
J.) that has just been
delivered.
BROOKE, J.
Counsel for the appellant in
opening his case rightly
prefaced his remarks with a
reference to the fact that the
judgment is appealed from as
being against the weight of
evidence. It is
appropriate to consider, as in the
case of
Macauley v. Tukuru
reported in Nigeria Law Reports
Vol. I at page 35, the principle
on which this Court should act
when dealing with the question as
to whether a judgment is against
the weight of evidence. It has
been held in England that an
appeal from a Judge is not
governed by the rules applicable
to the granting of new trials
after a trial and verdict by a
jury. This was laid down by the
Court of Appeal in
Coughlan v. Cumberland
L.R. 1898 1 Ch. 704. The following
is an extract of the judgment of
the Court (delivered by Lindley,
M.R.)-
"The case was not tried with a
jury, and the appeal from the
Judge is not governed by the rules
applicable to new trials after a
trial and verdict by a jury. Even
where, as in this case, the appeal
turns on a question of fact, the
Court of Appeal has to bear in
mind that its duty is to rehear
the case, and the Court must
reconsider the materials before
the Judge with such other
materials as it may have decided
to admit. The Court must then make
up its own mind, not disregarding
the judgment appealed from, but
carefully weighing and considering
it; and not shrinking from
overruling it if on full
consideration the Court' comes to
the conclusion that the judgment
is wrong. When, as often happens,.
much turns on the relative
credibility of witnesses who have
been examined and cross-examined
before the Judge, the Court is
sensible of the great advantage he
has had in seeing and hearing
them. It is often very difficult
to estimate correctly the relative
credibility of witnesses from
written depositions; and when the
question arises which witness is
to be believed rather than
another, and that qu~stion turns
on· manner and demeanour, the
Court of Appeal always is, as must
be, guided by the impression made
on the Judge who saw the
witnesses. But there may obviously
be other circumstances, quite
apart from manner and demeanour,
which may shew whether a
statement is credible or not; and
these circumstances may warrant
the Court in differing from the
Judge, even on a question of fact
turning on the credibility of
witnesses whom the Court has not
seen."
An extract from the judgment of
Lord Esher M.R. in
Colonial Securities Trust Coy. v.
Masley
may also be quoted:-
"
Where a case tried by a Judge
without a jury comes to the Court
of Appeal, the presumption is that
the decision of the Court below on
the facts was right, and that
presumption must be displaced by
the appellant."
Applying this principle one comes
with great reluctance to the
conclusion now arrived at in the
judgment just read, after
listening to the exhaustive
arguments of counsel and reviewing
all the facts, that the
relationship of medical attendant
and patient was established, that
the presumption of undue influence
thereby created has not been
rebutted, and that this appeal
must be allowed.
Note.-The
Judgment of the Privy Council
follows at pages 253 - 257 |