What is mistake in a contract?
What is mistake in a contract?
According to Wikipedia’s article on legal mistake, a mistake is an erroneous belief, at contracting, that certain facts are true. When there is a mistake in a contract, the court can declare the contract void ab initio (from inception) or voidable, or in some cases give and equitable remedy.
How does a mistake affect a contract?
If you discover a mistake in a contract, one consequence may be that the contract becomes void ab initio. This means that the court takes the contract as not existing, based on this mistake. If the mistake is more insignificant, the contract may still be enforceable.
What mistake will not make a contract void?
A contract will not generally be void for mistake if it relates to the quality of the subject matter, as this is unlikely to render performance fundamentally different to that originally agreed. A mutual mistake is one where the parties are at cross-purposes.
Does mistake make a contract void or voidable?
Common mistake (where the mistake is shared by both parties, is fundamental and directly affects the basic definition of what the parties are contracting for). The mistake will render the contract void if it robs it of all substance.
Which of the following is true when there is a mutual mistake in a contract?
Which of the following is true when there is a mutual mistake in a contract? When both parties to a contract are mistaken about either a current or a past material fact, only the offeror can rescind the contract.
What is common mistake in contract law?
A common mistake is the circumstance where all parties to a contract are “mistaken” regarding a fundamental matter of fact. If both parties are under the same misapprehension (e.g. the existence of goods under a sale of contract) it may render the contract void at law or, in some circumstances, voidable in equity.
What happens if there is a typo in a contract?
Yes. The only way a spelling mistake will cause problems in a contract is if it somehow alters the meaning of that contract or if it causes the phrase to have more than one meaning. In such a case, only that particular sentence would be in dispute.
How do you fix a mistake on a legal document?
Proper Error Correction Procedure
- Draw line through entry (thin pen line). Make sure that the inaccurate information is still legible.
- Initial and date the entry.
- State the reason for the error (i.e. in the margin or above the note if room).
- Document the correct information.