Equity Seminar 2 Quiz

Equity arose as a body of law…

• Because early Lord Chancellors would not tolerate plaintiffs without clean hands

• Gradually, in chancery in response to the inaccessibility and inflexibility of the medieval common law

• As a direct result of the passing of the Judicature Acts

• In Anglo Saxon times as a result of the sense of justice and fairness often associated with Anglo Saxon rulers such as Alfred the Great

Which statement best explains how the separation of title arose?

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• To enable medieval peasants to avoid paying death duties

• Because the monarch owns all the land in the UK

• Because the Lord Chancellors began to rule that under certain circumstances, it is necessary to recognise that the true owner of the property is someone other than the owner of that property

• To enable those who were away on crusade to remain legal owners of their estates

How did the Lord Chancellor become a judge?

• He was in charge of medieval Government

• He administered the court system

• He issued writs

• He dealt with petitions to the king

The Earl of Oxford case (1615) 1 ch Rep 1 was important because…

• It established the principle that where there is conflict between the common law and equity then equity will prevail

• It established that injunctions offered a suitable alternative to damages

• That equity will not allow a statute to be used as an instrument of fraud

• It developed the concept of Equity’s Darling

Who was the first non-ecclesiastic Lord Chancellor?

• Lord Eldon

• Lord Shaftsbury

• Lord Nottingham

• Lord Ellesmere

What was the name given to the early medieval trust that allowed a land owner to convey the legal title to another but, retained for his benefit?

• The feudal ‘friar’

• The medieval ‘use’

• The great ‘estoppel’

• The land ‘lease’

Why was the court of conscience said to vary like the length of the chancellor’s foot?

• Because the early Lord Chancellors were ecclesiastics who dispensed justice according to their own opinions rather than based upon a system of precedent

• Because medieval kings were accustomed to exercising the royal prerogative of justice in order to interfere with decisions of the Lord Chancellor

• Because, before Lord Eldon, none of the Lord Chancellors were legally trained

• Because the writing up of cases was too expensive

The Judicature Acts 1873-1875 were of major importance to the development of equity because

• Equity is no longer a separate body of law with its own rights and remedies and courts

• The court of chancery now contains both common law and equity judges but, remains a separate body of law with its own rights and remedies

• Equity is a separate body of law but, its administration has become fused by courts having jurisdiction over both common law and equity

• It gave statutory effect to the rule that equity prevails over the common law