Law:

Section:

(a) Appeal--- ----Appellate court, powers of---Findings of fact recorded by Trial Court/judge, reversal of---Scope---When a matter was raised on appeal, the (Appellate) court must have regard to the limited power of an appellate court to reverse the findings of fact of the judge who had heard the evidence---Appellate court needed to defer to the findings of fact of the first instance judge unless satisfied that the judge was "plainly wrong"---When deciding that a judge at first instance who had heard the evidence had gone "plainly wrong", the Appeal court must be satisfied that the judge could not reasonably have reached the decision under appeal---Rationale of the legal requirement of appellate restraint on issues of fact was not just the advantages which the first instance judge had in assessing the credibility of witnesses, but also the fact that it was the first instance judge who was assigned the task of determining the facts, not the appeal court---Re-opening of all questions of fact for redetermination on appeal would expose parties to great cost and divert judicial resources for what would often be negligible benefit in terms of factual accuracy---Likelihood was that the judge who had heard the evidence over an extended period would have a greater familiarity with the evidence and a deeper insight in reaching conclusions of fact than an appeal court whose perception may be narrowed or even distorted by the focused challenge to particular parts of the evidence. Thomas v Thomas 1947 SC (HL) 45; McGraddie v McGraddie 2014 SC (UKSC) 12; Henderson v Foxworth Investments Ltd 2014 SC (UKSC) 203; [2014] 1 WLR 2600; Beacon Insurance Company Limited v Maharaj Bookstore Ltd [2014] UKPC 21; Yuill v. Yuill [1945] P 15 (at p 19); In re B (A Child) (Care Proceedings: Threshold Criteria) [2013] 1 WLR 1911; Anderson v City of Bessemer 470 US 564 (1985), pp 574-575 and Housen v Nikolaisen 2002 SCC 33, para 14 ref. (b) Contract--- ----Promise---Legally binding promise---Intention of parties---Provision and purpose of a loan---Appellant-property developer applied to respondent-bank for a loan in order to purchase a plot of land for development---Property developer had to…