FRAUD. 
by'liim. Cro.jfac. 469. But when fraud is not exprefsly 
averred, it fliall not be prefunied ; nor fliall the court 
adjudge it to be fo, till the matter is found by a jury. 
10 Rep .56. 
All frauds and deceits, for wliich there is no remedy 
by the ordinary courle of law, are properly cognifablein 
equity; and it is admitted, that matters of fraud were 
one of the chief branches to which tlie jurifdiiStion of 
chancery was originally confined. It would be cndlefs 
to enumerate the feveral cafes, wherein relief has been 
given againfi: frauds : but the following inftances are too 
material to be omitted. Wherever fraud orfurprife can 
be imputed to, or collected from, the circumftances of tlie 
tranfadlion, equity will interpofe a/id relieve againfi; it. 
Fvick,i 6 i. z P.Wms. aFerw. 1S9. It is faid, how¬ 
ever, that it mud not be underftood, from cafes of this 
kind being generally brought into equity, that the courts 
of law are incompetent to reliev.e ; for where the fraud 
can be clearly efiablilhed, courts of law exercife a con¬ 
current jurifdiiStion with courts of equity; and will re¬ 
lieve by making void the infirument obtained by fuch 
corrupt agreement or fraud. iBarr. 396. Therefore where 
the obligor was an unlettered man, and the bond was not 
read over to him, he was allowed to plead this circum- 
fiance in an aftion on the bond. ^Hen.V. 15. So if the 
bon'd be in part read to an unlettered man, and fome of 
its material contents be omitted or mifreprefented. zRoL 
Ab. 28. It is obl'ervable that lord Coke, in the fame paf- 
fage where he confines the jurifdidf ion of courts of equity 
to fuch “frauds, covin, and deceit, for which there is no 
remedy by the ordinary coiirfe of law,” feems to admit 
that all frauds were not relievable at law. 37^.84. The 
chancery may decree a conveyance to be fraudulent, 
merely for being voluntary, and without any trial at law ; 
yet it has been infified, that fraud or not, was triable only 
by a jury. Pre. Ck. 14. 
A poor man was drawn in to fell an efiate, at a great 
under-value ; but no fraud appearing, though the pur- 
chafe was not a fair bargain, the feller could not be re¬ 
lieved in equity, to fet it afide. Preced. Cane. 206. There 
does not appear to be afingle cafe in the books in which it 
has been held that mere inadequacy of price alone is a 
ground for a court of equity to annul an agreement, 
though executory, if the fame appear to have been fairly 
entered into, and underfiood by the parties, and capable 
of being fpecifically performed; ftill lefs does it appear 
to have been conlidered as a ground for refeinding an 
agreement actually executed. Gilb.Rcp. 155. To fet 
afide a conveyance there muft be an inequality of price 
fo ftrong, grofs, and manifefi, that it mull be impollible to 
fiate it to a man Of common fenfe, without producing an 
exclamation at the inequality of it. iBro.C.R. 9. A 
firong argument in fupport of this rule may be drawn 
from thole cafes jn which lofing bargains have been actu¬ 
ally efiablilhed and decreed. See 2 423. lEq.Ab, 
170. But though courts of equity will not l elieve againfi 
agreements merely on the ground of the conlideration be¬ 
ing inadequate, yet if there be fuch inadequacy as to fliew 
that the perfon did not underftand the bargain he made, 
or was fo opprefied that henvasglad to make it, knovving 
its inadequacy, it will fliew a command over him which 
may amount to a fraud. 2 Fez. 155. zP. JVins. 203, 
A. being tenant in tail, remainder to his brother B. in 
tail, A. not knowing of the intail, makes a fettlementon 
his wife for life for her jointure, without levying a fine, 
or fuffering a recovery, which B. who knew of the intail 
ingrolTes, but does not mention any thing of the intail, 
becaufe, as he confelfed in his anfwer, if he had fpoke 
any thing of it, his brother, by a recovery, might have 
cut off the remainder, and barred him; and although 
after A.’s death, B. recovered in ejedlment againfi the 
widow by force of the intail ; yet Ihe was relieved in 
chancery, and a perpetual injunClion granted for this 
fraud in B. in concealing the .intail, which if it had been 
difclofed, the fettlement might have been made good by 
V0L..VIII. No. 480. 
17 
a recovery. Preced. Chanc. 35. Sd where a mother being 
abfolute owner of a term, the fame being limited to her 
in tail, is prefent at a treaty for her Ion’s marriagej and 
hears her fon declare, that the term was to come to him 
at his mother’s death, and is a witnefs to the deed, 
whereby the reverfion of the term is fettled on the ilfue 
of the marriage after the mother’s death; file was com¬ 
pelled in equity to make good the fettlement. 2 Vern. 130. 
Where the defendant, on a treaty of marriage for his 
daughter with the plaintiff, (igned a writing comprillng 
the terms of the agreement, and afterward defiring to 
elude the force thereof, and get loofe from his agree¬ 
ment, ordered his daughter to put on a good humour, 
and get the plaintiff to deliver up that writing, and then 
marry him, which Ihe accordingly did, and the defendant 
flood by at the corner of a fireet to lee them go by to be 
married ; the plaintiff was relieved on the point of fraud. 
lEq.Ab. 20. zVern. 373. It feems agreed that if a wo¬ 
man on the point of marriage, charge or convey her pro¬ 
perty to a mere firanger, for whom (he was not under 
even a moral obligation to provide, that fuch conveyance 
will be decreed a fraud on the marital rights. zC.R. 41. 
If A. has a prior incumbrance on an efiate, and is a 
witnefs to a fubfequent mortgage, but does not difclofe 
his own incumbrance ; this is fuch ^ fraud in him for 
which his incumbrance fliall be pofiponed. zVern. 151. 
So if A. having a mortgage on a leafeliold efiate lends 
the mortgage deed to the mortgagor, with an intent to 
borrow more money, that is fuch a fraud in the mort¬ 
gagee, for w'hich his mortgage fliall be pofiponed to the 
fubfequent incumbrance. zVcr?i. 726. See the artidle 
Mortgage. 
Since the cafes of Kerrick v. Branfby, {Bro. P.C. )and 
Webb'ti. Cleverden, {zAtk. 424,) it appears to have been 
fettled that a will cannot be fet afide in equity for fraud 
5 nd inipolition ; becaufe a will of perfonal efiate may be 
fet afide for fraud in the eccleliaftical court, and a will of 
real efiate may be fet afide at law ; for in fuch cafes, as 
the aniimts lejlandi is wanting, it cannot be confidered as a 
w'ill. 2 4 f//i. 324. Though equity will not fet afide a will 
for fraiid,^ nor refirain the probate of it in the proper 
court, yet if the fraud be proved, it will not aflifi the 
party pradtifing it, but will leave him to make what ad¬ 
vantage he can of it. zVern. 76. But if the validity of 
the will has been already determined and adted upon, 
equity will refirain proceedings in the prerogative court, 
to controvert its validity. \Alk. 628. That the party 
prejudiced by the fraud may file a bill in equity for a dif- 
covery of all its circumftances is unqueflionable : the in¬ 
variable‘pradlice in fuch cafes is to leek relief, and the 
ilfue directed is to furnifii the ground upon which the 
court is to proceed in giving relief. Fonblanquc's Treat, 
Eq. c. 2. 
If a fecurity be obtained from a perfon by fraud and 
pradtice, upon a pretence of a demand that is fidtitioits, it 
will be relieved againfi in equity. zVern. 123. There 
are likewife feveral infiances where a parol agreement 
intended to be reduced into writing, but prevented by 
fraud, has been decreed in equity, notwithfianding the 
ftatute of frauds and perjuries; as where upon a mar¬ 
riage treaty, infirudtions were given by the hufband to 
draw a fettlement, which he privately countermanded, 
and afterwards drew in the woman by perfuafions and 
alFurances of fuch fettlement to marry him : it was de¬ 
creed, that he fliould make good the fettlement. So 
where a parol agreement was concerning the lending of 
money on a mortgage, and the covenants propofed were 
an abfolute deed from the mortgagor and a deed of de- 
feafance from the mortgagee, and after the mortgagee had 
got the deed of conveyance, he refufed to execute the de- 
feafance : it was decreed againfi him on the point of fraud. 
I Eq. Ab. 90. 
By I Rich. TI. c.9, no gift or feoffment of lands or 
goods fliall be made by fraud for maintenance. And the 
diffeifees fliall have their recovery againfi the firfi difleifors 
F «s 
