Krishna,a neighbour of Dominic,wished to borrow a sum of money from a local bank.Dominic was quite wealthy,but elderly,with very poor eyesight.He frequently requested Krishna to read his newspaper to him when Krishna would drop by for a visit,because reading bothered his eyes.One evening,Krishna placed a paper before Dominic,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 Dominic to sign the paper to satisfy this requirement.Dominic trusted his friend Krishna,and signed the paper without reading it.Unknown to Dominic,the paper was a guarantee of Krishna's indebtedness,and not a letter of reference.Krishna later defaulted on her debt.
-Dominic may plead non est factum as a defence to a claim by Krishna's creditor on the guarantee.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Non est factum is a defence available to a person who signed a document under a mistake as to the nature of the document. In this case, Dominic signed the paper under the impression that it was a letter of reference but in reality, it was a guarantee of Krishna's indebtedness. As he signed the paper under a mistake, he may plead non est factum as a defence against the claim made by Krishna's creditor on the guarantee.

Krishna,a Neighbour of Dominic,wished to Borrow a Sum of Money