Law of Contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law of Contract - Essay Example It is common for one party to make statements during the course of negotiations for a contract with the object and perhaps the effect of inducing the other party to enter into a contract. Where a contract of sale has been reduced to writing, assurances which were given by the seller as to his land or his goods, as the case may be, will probably be held not to form part of the contract if they are not referred to in the document. A statement of fact that is false will be actionable as a misrepresentation where the misrepresented intends it to be acted on and where it is reasonably relied on by the misrepresentee. The issue of misrepresentation can be traced from 1881 in Redgrave v Hurd[1881] 20 Ch.D.1, in which the plaintiff, a solicitor, inserted in the Law Times an advertisement offering to â€Å"take as partner an efficient lawyer and advocate, about forty, who would not object to purchase advertiser’s suburban residence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The defendant replied to the advertisement, and had two interviews with the plaintiff, at which, as Fry J found, the plaintiff had represented that his business was bringing in either about  £300 a year, or from  £300 to  £400 a year. At a third interview, the plaintiff produced summaries of business done in 1877, 1878 and 1879. The summaries showed gross receipts not quite amounting to  £200 a year.