Bona fide purchaser

Bona fide purchaser

A bona fide purchaser (BFP)ndash referred to more completely as a bona fide purchaser for value without noticendash is a term used in the law of real property and personal property to refer to an innocent party who purchases property without notice of any other party's claim to the title of that property. A BFP must purchase for value, meaning that he or she must pay for the property rather than simply be the beneficiary of a gift. Depending on the laws of the relevant jurisdiction, when a party fraudulently conveys property to a BFP, such as by selling the BFP property that has already been conveyed to someone else, that BFP takes good title to the property despite the competing claims of the other party so long as the BFP properly records the transaction. Other parties with claim to ownership will have a cause of action against the party who made the fraudulent conveyance.

A bona fide purchaser for value without notice will not be bound by equitable interests that he/she does not have actual or imputed notice of, as long as they have taken "such inspections as ought reasonably to have been made" [ "Kingsnorth Finance Trust Co Ltd " v "Tizard" [1986] 1 WLR 783 ] .

BFPs are also sometimes referred to as "Equity's Darling." However, as Jeffrey Hackney has pointed out, [Jeffrey Hackney, Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, "Understanding Equity and Trusts", ISBN 0-00-686072-9] the title is somewhat misleading; in cases where legal title is passed to a bona fide purchaser for value without notice, it is not so much that equity has any great affection for the purchaser - it is simply that equity refuses to intervene to preserve any rights held by the former beneficial owner of the property. The relationship between the courts of equity and the BFP are better characterised as benign neglect. However, equity still undoubtedly recognises the right of the beneficial owner to claim against the former legal owner where the sale was improper.

In the United States, the patent law codifies the bona fide purchaser rule, usc|35|261. Unlike the common law, the statute cuts off both equitable "and" legal claims to the title.

See also

* Nemo dat quod non habet
* Title insurance in the United States

Footnote


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • bona fide purchaser — bona fide pur·chas·er n: a purchaser who purchases in good faith without notice of any defect in title and for a valuable consideration – called also bona fide purchaser for value; ◇ There are particular requirements for a bona fide purchaser of… …   Law dictionary

  • bona fide purchaser — One who has purchased property for value without any notice of any defects in the title of the seller. Walters v. Calderon, 25 Cal.App.3d 863, 102 CaLRptr. 89, 97. One who pays valuable consideration, has no notice of outstanding rights of others …   Black's law dictionary

  • bona fide purchaser — One who has purchased property for value without any notice of any defects in the title of the seller. Walters v. Calderon, 25 Cal.App.3d 863, 102 CaLRptr. 89, 97. One who pays valuable consideration, has no notice of outstanding rights of others …   Black's law dictionary

  • bona fide purchaser — One who purchases a chattel for value, without notice of a defect in the title of the person from whom he purchased or of the right of a seller in the chain of title to avoid or rescind the sale which he made. 46 Am J1st Sales § 465. One who… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • bona fide purchaser for value — USA bona fide purchaser, Also known as BFP, bona fide purchaser for value, good faith purchaser, innocent purchaser for value, purchaser in good faith …   Law dictionary

  • bona fide purchaser —    In finance, an individual who has bought an asset (e.g., a promissory note, bond or other negotiable instrument) for a stated amount, unaware of any facts that would have cast doubt on the right of the seller to have sold it in good faith… …   Business law dictionary

  • bona fide purchaser — noun : a purchaser who buys in good faith without notice of any defect and for a valuable consideration …   Useful english dictionary

  • bona fide purchaser — person who truly intends to buy something …   English contemporary dictionary

  • bona fide — bo·na fide / bō nə ˌfīd, bä nə ; ˌbō nə fī dē, fī də/ adj [Latin, in good faith] 1 a: characterized by good faith and lack of fraud or deceit a bona fide offer b: valid under or in compliance with the law retirement incentives made part of a bona …   Law dictionary

  • Bona fide — Bo na fi de [L.] In or with good faith; without fraud or deceit; real or really; actual or actually; genuine or genuinely; as, you must proceed bona fide; a bona fide purchaser or transaction. [1913 Webster] || …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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