Every so often, a debtor is faced with the inevitable, but holds
on to any defence available, no matter how untenable it might be.
The non est factum defence, which we have discussed previously (see
newsletters of
October 2014, October 2011, June 2002, and April 2002), is used
when a person signs a debt obligation, but does not understand what
was being signed. The latest case in which the debtor raised this
defence was Bulut v. Carter, a 2014 decision of the Court
of Appeal for Ontario.
Note
Creditor had various business dealings with debtor. In 2006,
debtor's corporation signed a $300,000 promissory note in
favour of creditor. Debtor personally guaranteed the note. In
addition, three other members of debtor's family also
guaranteed the note. It seems that creditor did not have faith in
the financial ability of debtor's corporation to repay the
note. Creditor's fears were realised when debtor's
corporation defaulted under the note. Creditor made
