Contractual Misrepresentation is where an oral or written statement or series of statements are made, usually during a sales process or contractual negotiation, which statement(s) induce a person or organisation to enter into a contract but turn out to be untrue.
If this happens, the contract is what is termed voidable, meaning that the person or organisation that relied on the statement(s) can elect to adopt the contract nevertheless or alternatively can claim that the contract is void (ie cancelled).
It is therefore very important to keep a close check on the accuracy of pre contract statements as well as the terms of a contract itself.
Robust internal policies and non email reliance disclaimers can assist in alleviating risk - see our post entitled "The increasing importance of email footer content"; but reliance on this rule is not advised at the expense of effective due diligence on external contract partners - see our posts entitled ""Due Diligence" : what is it and why is it so important?" and "Companies House Beta: an invaluable free tool".
If you can relate to the contents of this post and would like the further value of our extensive expertise in this area, please reach out to us in confidence via our "Contact" page or by emailing us at connect@stressbustingexpert.com
For further information in this regard, please consult our "Legal Notices" page.