misrepresentation

Misrepresentation

an untrue statement of fact which induces a party to contract

can be in any form:

• spoken e.g. this car was owned by a famous person

• written e.g. advert – lose 10 pounds in one week

• conduct e.g. turning back mileage on a car

Untrue statement

• if the statement is true then there is no ground for complaint

• can be in any form (written/spoken/conduct)

• can be made by either party

• silence cannot amount to a misstatement – disclosure

the buyer should ask questions to safeguard himself – caveat emptor

Fletcher v Krell

a woman applied for a job of governess. She was not asked, nor did she volunteer that she was a divorcee, which due to the morals of that period meant she would not get the job. There was no misrepresentation as the applicant was under no duty to disclose her status and she was not asked about it

but there are exceptions:

• changed circumstances

where a statement was true when made but due to a change of circumstances has become false by the time it is acted upon, there is a duty to disclose the truth

With v O'Flannagan

a GP told the purchaser of his practice that it produced a certain annual income. However, between the statement and the contract the GP fell ill and many of the patients left the practice, making the original statement inaccurate. The non disclosure by the GP of the drop of annual income was a misrepresentation

• partial revelation – 'half truth'

a statement that does not present the whole truth may be regarded as a misrepresentation

Dimmock v Hallett

a seller of land told the purchaser there were tenants on the land, which the purchaser wanted, but failed to complete the statement by saying that all the tenants had handed in their notices and were leaving. This…