Class notes
Mistake in a contract
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Topic 3- Mistake30/10/18
Latent Ambiguity that prevents agreement: Raffles v Wichelhaus 1864
Case of uncertainty therefore it was not considered a contract, one party thought
the shipping date was October and one thought it was december
02/10/18
Mistakes of Identity will cancel a contract: a conman goes to buy something on behalf of a
third party, cheque is used so they can use a fake identity, fraud, seller then sues as they
haven’t received the money due to fake details on the cheque. The third party has also been
conned as they didn’t know the goods were bought in the wrong way.
Legal context: Mistake was pleaded as you cannot give what you haven’t got
The original contract would be void as the rouge bought them by fraud
Therefore, the rouge doesn’t have the authority to sell the goods to the third party
Seller can only get the goods back from the third party if there is evidence that the
original contract was void for mistake
If the original contract wasn’t void for mistake, then the seller doesn’t have the
authority to get the good back from the third party as they are now the legal owner
of the goods.
The law will decide if the contract with the conman is void
If the courts find a meeting of the mind then it is a valid contract, if the seller
intended to deal with the rouge then it is a valid contract, if the meeting is done face
to face then it is assumed the seller intended to make a contract
Phillips v Brooks Ltd 1919
Rogue went into a jeweller pretending to be someone else to buy jewellery for his
wife, wanted to pay by cheque
The shop keeper checked the address of the man before accepting the cheque
The rouge sold it to a third party
Contract was not void as the seller intended to make a contract with that man, face
to face meeting
Ingram v Little 1961
Two sisters made an advert to sell a car- private
A rouge under a fake name agreed to buy the car and the sisters went to the post
office to check their identity
Contract was void for mistake because the sisters only agreed to deal with the fake
name not the actual name of the rouge
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