(C) SOMNAMBULISM
It has sometimes been suggested that, if the claimant entered into a transaction with the defendant whilst sleepwalking, the transaction can be set aside.[1] Sleepwalking is to be treated as a form of temporary mental incapacity. Whilst it is highly unlikely that such a case would ever arise, transactions entered into whilst sleepwalking should be treated in the same way as acts performed whilst intoxicated. Consequently, any transaction entered into whilst sleepwalking should only be rescinded if the claimant lacked understanding of what he or she was doing and the other party knew that the claimant was sleepwalking. If the claimant signed a contract whilst sleepwalking this could be set aside on the ground of non est factum, since the claimant would not have been aware of the nature of the document which he or she was signing.[2]
