WordPress has been very flaky today. I actually think it’s powweb’s servers that are at fault, not the software, because the wiki sites died at the same time and in the same manner as the blog site.Still contract law.
Chapter 14 today, on assent and mistakes.
Assent must be genuine for a contract to be valid. Four things can override assent
- Mistakes
- Misrepresentation
- Undue Influence
- Duress
Mistakes can be unilateral or bilateral. A unilateral mistake is a mistake by one party. A bilateral mistake is a mistake made by both parties. A unilateral mistake generally doesn’t void the contract. Only if the unmistaken party was aware of the other party’s mistake and did not attempt correction, or if the mistake was a mathematical error that didn’t involve gross negligence would the contract normally be avoidable.
Fraudulent misrepresentaton can void a contract when one party can be shown to have misrepresented a fact, with intent to deceive, and the other party justifiably relied on the misrepresentation. Nonfraudulent misrepresentation can be innocent misrepresentation, where the party committing the misrepresentation did so inadvertantly, and negligent misrepresentation, where the misrepresenting party was provided wrong information due to negligence.
Undue Influence can void a contract; generally, it means that one party had leverage with which they forced the other party into the contract. For instance, threats of foreclosing on assets by a bank could be used to force renegotiation of the loan; this would be undue influence.
Duress is violence or the threat of violence used to induce a party to agree to a contract. If duress is proven, it voids a cotract.