A. Introduction

AuthorJohn D. McCamus
ProfessionProfessor of Law. Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
Pages689-690

Page 689

As we have seen in Chapter 10, a variety of remedies are available to an individual who is induced into an agreement by a misrepresentation. Whether the misrepresentation is fraudulently or innocently false, the misrepresentee may be able to rescind the agreement. If the misstatement is made fraudulently or negligently, the misrepresentor may be liable in tort to claim for compensatory damages. A further alternative form of relief may be available if a misrepresentation inducing a contract can be characterized as being subject to an implicit undertaking that the representation is true. In such circumstances, it may be possible to render that undertaking enforceable either as a collateral contract that is subsidiary to the main contract induced by the representation or, indeed, as part of that main contract itself. In either case, the falsity of the representation would constitute a breach of the implicit undertaking and would give rise to a claim for damages for breach of contract. If the undertaking is a simple warranty that the statement is true, liability will be strict and not dependent on a finding of fraud or negligence. The measure of damages in a claim for breach of contract would be in the expectancy measure, a measure of relief that is potentially more comprehensive than a compensatory award in tort as it may include an element of the profit that would have been secured if the statement had, in...

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