The Truth Behind Fraudulent Misrepresentation

Fraudulent misrepresentation may be claimed by a party attempting to have a contract declared void if three different criteria are met. The first is that there is an occurrence intended to create justifiable reliance on a fraudulent misrepresentation.

The party seeking to have a contract invalidated must show that they entered into the contract due to a justifiable reliance on the other party’s fraudulent misrepresentation. Justifiable reliance only becomes an issue if the claim is not readily apparent to be false. Failure to investigate a claim may be used to support a claim of justifiable reliance. The material misrepresentation must be made about an area that the injured party had no way of proving and thus was forced to rely on the other party’s statement.

Find Out the 2 Forms of Non fraudulent Misrepresentation

Non-fraudulent misrepresentation can take one of two forms: innocent misrepresentation or negligent misrepresentation. Negligent misrepresentation is considered in the eyes of the law to contain the same level of culpability as fraudulent misrepresentation.

Misrepresentation that is negligent in nature is treated by the courts in the same way as a fraudulent misrepresentation. Negligent misrepresentation occurs when a party to a contract does not carry out a reasonable effort to ensure that their claims as the material information at the heart of the contract are true.

If one of the parties to the contract in question does not act with the professionalism that would reasonably be expected from an individual in that position, and the other party relies on that professionalism when entering into the contract, then negligent misrepresentation may be determined by the courts to have happened.

What are the Blue Laws

Blue laws are a diminishing category of law in the United States. Despite being present in thirty-one states, the exact contents of each blue law varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. A law is classified as a blue law if it restricts commercial activity on a particular day.

Normally a blue law prohibits the ability of a business to operate on a Sunday. The prohibition on commerce on Sunday derives from Christian religious tradition. As a result, blue laws in some states instead preclude businesses from being open on consecutive weekend days out of respect for different Sabbath observances by different religious groups.

Most states that contain blue laws apply them to the sale of alcohol. Alcohol sales may be restricted from being sold at all on Sundays. In blue law states which do not prohibit the sale of alcohol entirely on Sunday, limitations may be placed upon the hours during which alcohol may be sold. These blue law restrictions typically preclude the sale of alcohol to hours during which church sessions would not be held.

A blue law can also restrict the sale of alcohol between certain hours during the week. Restaurants in some blue law jurisdictions can obtain permits to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages so long as a particular percentage of their revenues come from food sales.

Depending on the State, towns may be allowed to opt out of observing blue laws. Some states allow local jurisdictions to opt in or out of blue laws by a majority vote. Other states restrict the ability of a local jurisdiction to opt out of blue laws based on particular criteria. In South Carolina, for example, an area can only opt out once it can demonstrate a certain level of sales tax receipts.

Blue laws may be supported for a variety of reasons. Car dealerships sometimes support blue laws because it allows them to afford their employees a day off without being concerned that a competitor is open.

There may not be support among voters to repeal blue laws. This is the situation in Bergen County in New Jersey, the only part of New Jersey with blue laws that prohibit commercial activity on Sundays. Despite pressure from the State Government to join the rest of the State in repealing blue laws, some Bergen County residents enjoy the fact that the large commercial centers in the county are relatively empty and peaceful on Sundays.

Understanding Severable and or Divisible Contracts

A severable contract is a contractunenforceable that can still remain in effect despite those provisions which are void. In order for the blue pencil test to be satisfied, the phrase stricken by the court must not result in a change to the purpose for which the contract was created by the parties. The contract must still make grammatical sense after the edits have been made to the contract. Otherwise the contract will not be considered to have become a severable contract.

A severable contract can be formed if the parties who entered into the contract do not consider it essential that all the actions be performed together. Divisible contracts may exist if a convenience store orders the soda, chips and candy it sells from the same company in three separate clauses. An indivisible contract is formed if the store hired a vendor to provide the soda, chips, and candy in a single clause.

Whether divisible contracts or indivisible contracts have been formed can often be determined by examining the terms under which consideration has been provided. If the set of contracts provide the consideration in a lump sum, it is usually an indivisible contract. If consideration is itemized for each thing exchanged, a severable contract often exists.

If a contract contains both legal and illegal clauses, the court will attempt to enforce only the legal clauses in the event the contract is already a severable contract. If the court can employ a blue pencil test to create a severable contract, it will.

All You Need to Know About Reliance on Misrepresentation

Fraud is voidable by the injured party. The justifiable reliance cannot be easily disproven and must constitute a claim that a reasonable person would believe. A promisee who entered into a contract with a car salesman that claimed that the car in the contract could go one hundred miles per gallon would not be able to claim justifiable reliance on the salesman’s claim because the claim is unjustifiable.

The claim that a car is brand new, despite extensive and obvious damage to the car, would not be grounds for justifiable reliance by an individual claiming the salesman duped them. Justifiable reliance only applies to instances where the injured party relied upon a claim that could not be easily disproved.

A person could claim justifiable reliance if they bought a car they believed was in perfect working order but upon driving the car home discovered extensive body damage, a faulty ignition system, failing brakes, or other serious defects in the car. In such a situation, the person may be able to claim that they were damaged by a justifiable reliance on the salesman’s claims.

The party claiming that they were induced to enter into a contract due to justifiable reliance on misrepresentations by the other party must be able to show that their reliance was not based on something that they could reasonably be expected to discover on their own.

Knowing the Exculpatory Clause

An exculpatory clause is a clause of a contract in which one of the parties releases the other party from liability for their actions. An exculpatory clause may or may not be considered contrary to the public interest depending upon what field the party seeking the release of liability typically operates.

A contractual clause which limits liability is not automatically grounds that the contract will be declared unenforceable during a contract dispute. Limited liability clauses are permitted in many contracts. The only time they may become an issue is if the contract dispute involves an exculpatory clause that seeks to invalidate the liability claim regardless of which party is at fault.

An exculpatory claim in which the liability for all personal injury or monetary damage will frequently be upheld if the party seeking relief is a private business, such as an amusement park, health club, or general recreational facility. Relief is often granted from suits filed against parties that are not considered essential to the public good or involved in public health. For these types of companies, exculpatory clauses are generally held to be enforceable.

A contract dispute with a public utility company, a bank, or a company which carries public goods in which an attempt is made to invoke an exculpatory clause is usually bound for failure. The courts have generally invalidated exculpatory clauses in these contracts because of the belief that allowing these companies to escape liability would be detrimental to the public good.

If a lease contains an exculpatory clause it may be enforceable or unenforceable depending on the purpose for which the property is leased. If an exculpatory clause is present when there is a contract dispute regarding the lease of a commercial property, the exculpatory clause will usually be enforced.

If the property is residential, the exculpatory clause in the contract dispute will usually be considered unenforceable by the courts. This distinction is made because it is generally considered more detrimental to the public good to inflict harm against individuals than is harming a commercial enterprise.

What You Need to Know About Withdrawing Acceptance

An offer and acceptance is the analysis of a traditional approach in contract law that is used to determine whether an agreement is valid between two parties. The term “agreement” consists of an offer by a party or individual (known as the “offeror”) to another entity known as the “offeree.”

The two sides enter negotiations based on the contract and its explicit stipulations. When the two sides agree on the intricacies associated with the agreement, a contract becomes realized.

When an offeree accepts the stipulations of an agreement or a contract, they are held responsible for fulfilling the intended roles of their agreement. If the offeree withdraws acceptance, depending on the form of the agreement, they will be held liable to fulfill the underlying terms of the agreement. There are instances where the offeree will be able to terminate the agreement, but a violation or a reneged stipulation must be present in the agreement.

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