Non Est Factum — Not Reading Is No Excuse

The defence of non est factum renders a signed agreement void and unenforceable. It is commonly pleaded by desperate defendants trying to evade a contract. However, because of its strict requirements the defence is generally confined to cases where the defendant was unable to read the agreement - for example, due to illiteracy. Two cases show that even illiteracy, by itself, may not be enough.

The first, Gadhri1, is an extremely complex BC case that involved three separate actions and took five years to resolve. It arose from a real estate development and joint venture between Raj Gupta (a realtor) and Harmadan Gadhri (a developer), two formerly close friends. Mr. Gadhri asked the court to declare several agreements void because he did not know the English language or real estate development well enough to understand the agreements he had...