Cases that went all the way.

Mrs Donnelly entered into a trust deed, was discharged from it, and then made a Payment Protection Insurance claim against the bank. The bank fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court but was unsuccessful.

The principle of law determined was that discharge from a Trust Deed discharged the debtor completely. When she became aware that a claim was available, she applied to the bank after the date of discharge, and was eventually paid after litigation.

In a separate action, the Royal Bank of Scotland attempted to undo the discharge mentioned above.

The court said that it was competent to take an action of reduction to reduce any deed, but reduction is an equitable remedy. It would not have been equitable, given the procedure that might have to be incurred, for Mrs Donnelly to be made bankrupt again after five years, when she had moved on with her life, bought a house, was financially stable and was in employment that required a fiduciary bond.

Mrs Smith jointly owned a property with her husband, who needed banking facilities for his business. To provide them, the bank required a Standard Security over the property. Mrs Smith was not legally advised; she was simply told by the bank and her husband that she had to sign, and she did.

This case opened up a new chapter in civil and commercial law on the necessity of advice when signing a document.