VI
TIATI
NGELEMENTOFCONTRACT
A‘vi
tiat
ingel ementofcontract’i
sthetechni
calter
mf orthet
hingswhichmakeacont
ractv
oid
orvoidable.Ther
ear ef
iveviti
ati
ngfact
orsthatundermineacontract
:Misr
epr
esent
ati
on,
Mistake,Duress,UndueInf
luenceandIll
egali
ty.
MI
STAKE
Toal ay
man, anyobviousmisunderst
andi
ngofthecontractbyei
therpartycoul
dbecategori
zed
asami stake.Howev erthi
sisnotthecase.Mist
akeinthelawofcontractonlyappl
iest
o
fundament al
f act
sthatgototherootofthecontr
act.
LordAtkini
nthecaseofBel l&anorvs.
LeverBrothersLtdAllER51.Inthiscase,
LordAtki
nstated:
“
Ifmi
stakeoper
atesatal
l
,itoper
atessoast
onegat
eori
nsomecases,
nul
l
ifyconsent
”.
From t
heabove,
ifconsenti
snull
i
fiedi
nacontr
act
,it
seffecti
storenderthecont
racti
nef
fect
ive.
Thus,t
heeff
ectofami st
akeinacontr
actwoul
dbetorenderthatcont
ractvoi
d.
CATEGORI
ESOFMI
STAKE:
Undert
hecommonl
aw,
iti
sgener
all
yaccept
edt
obeoft
hreet
ypes:
CommonMi
stake
Mut
ual
Mist
ake
Uni
l
ater
alMi
stake
1.
COMMONMI
STAKE
Thi
soccurswhenbothparti
estothecontr
actaremist
akenaboutt hesamest ateofaff
air
s.
Thi
sstat
eofaffai
rscouldei
therbeamistakeofsubj
ectmatteroroftit
le.Forexample,i
fAbuy
s
acarf
rom Bwhileunknowntothem,thecarhadbeendestr
oy ed,
itisacommonmi stake.
Commonmi
stakei
sgener
all
yoft
hef
oll
owi
ngcl
assi
fi
cat
ion:
*Mistakeast ot
heexistenceoftheSubjectmatt
er(resexti
nct
a):Thisi
sembodi edinthe
exampl egiv
enabov e,wherethecarwasdestr
oyed.Thus,mistakeastotheexistenceofthe
subjectmattesoccurswhenbot hpart
iescont
ractunderthemistakenbel
ieft
hatt hesubj
ect
matterexist
ed,wheninf act
,itdi
dnot.
InCouturi
ervs.Hasti
ebothpar t
iesenteredintoacont r
actforthesaleofacargoofcorn.
Unknownt obothparti
es,duri
ngt hevoyaget hecorngotfermentedandi twassubsequentl
y
soldoffbythecaptai
noft heship.Whent hesellersuedforthecontractpr
ice,
thecourthel
d
thatt
hiswasacaseofr esexti
ncta,asar esult
,thecontr
actwasv oided.
, Also,int
hecaseofGal l
owayvs.Gall
oway,bothpar t
iesent
eredi
ntoamarriagesett
lement
contract
.Subsequentl
y,i
twasdiscover
edthattheirmarri
agewasvoi
dabi nit
io(i
tneverexi
sted
i
nt heeyesoft hel
aw).Thecour
theldthatsi
ncet herewasneveramarr
iage,ther
ecan’tbea
mar r
iageset
tlement.
*Mi stakeastoTitl
e( ressua):Thi
soccursinasituati
oninwhichparti
estothecont r
actare
mi stakenastothet it
leofthegoodsbeingsold.Itusual
lyoccur
swhent hebuy erofthegoodsis
alsot heownerofsuchpr oper
tyunknowntohi m.InthecaseofCooperv s.Phi
bbs,Xagr eedto
takel easeofafisheryfrom Y,unknowntobot hpart
ies,
thefi
sheryalr
eadybelongedt oX.Itwas
heldt hati
nthissituati
on,theagreementofleasewasv oidf
ormistake.
Also,
inthecaseofAbr aham vs.Chi efAmoduTi jani
Oluwa,thedefendantat t
achedawritof
fi
.fat
oal andt hathebelievedbel
ongedt ohisj
udgmentdebt or.Theplaint
iffwasn’
tsur
eofhis
ti
tl
eandasar esult,
heboughtt hel and.Subsequentl
y,heconfirmedthatthelandwasreall
yhis
own.Het hussoughtar efundofthepr i
cehepai d.Thecourtheldthattheinit
ial
sal
ewasv oi
d
duetothef actthatther
ewasami stakeastotit
le.
2.
MUTUALMI
STAKE
Mut ualmist
akeoccur sinasi t
uati
oninwhi chbot hpar
tiesmaketheer ror.Howev er,unl
i
ke
commonmi stake,i
toccur swhenbot hpartiesaremistakenaboutdiff
er entthingsasitwas
statedinsei
venvhi neley.Forexample,i
nasi tuati
oninwhi chAagreest osel l
hisjeeptoB.I
fA
i
nt endedtosellhi
sLexusbutBt houghtitwasaToy ot
a, ther
eisanor equiredconsensusad
i
dem bet weenthepar t
ies.Asar esul
t,t
hecont racti
svoi dformutual
mi stake.
I
tshouldhoweverbenot
edt
hatmut
ual
mist
akewoul
donl
ybeappl
i
cabl
eift
heer
rormadewas
areasonabl
eone.
3.
UNI
LATERALMI
STAKE
Thisoccurswhenonepar tyismist
akenconcerningthef actsofthecontr
actandtheotherpar
ty
i
sawar eofthisandexploit
sitt
ohisownadv antage.Ifthisisdiscov
ereditwoul
drenderthe
contr
actvoid.Mostcasesofunil
ateralmi
stakeconcer nmi stakeofi
denti
tyandmistake
concerni
ngthetermsoft hecontr
act.
*
Mist
akeofI
dent
it
y
Thisoccurswhenthemistakenpar
tygoesint
ot hecont
ractduetoami sconcept
ionconcer
ning
theidenti
tyoft
heotherpart
y.Inor
derforapleaofmistakenident
it
ytosucceed,thef
oll
owing
conditi
onsmustbefulf
il
led:
Thatt
hemistakenpar
tyi
ntendedt
ocont
ractwi
thaper
sondi
ff
erentf
rom t
heper
sonwi
thwhom
hecontr
act
edwi t
h.
TIATI
NGELEMENTOFCONTRACT
A‘vi
tiat
ingel ementofcontract’i
sthetechni
calter
mf orthet
hingswhichmakeacont
ractv
oid
orvoidable.Ther
ear ef
iveviti
ati
ngfact
orsthatundermineacontract
:Misr
epr
esent
ati
on,
Mistake,Duress,UndueInf
luenceandIll
egali
ty.
MI
STAKE
Toal ay
man, anyobviousmisunderst
andi
ngofthecontractbyei
therpartycoul
dbecategori
zed
asami stake.Howev erthi
sisnotthecase.Mist
akeinthelawofcontractonlyappl
iest
o
fundament al
f act
sthatgototherootofthecontr
act.
LordAtkini
nthecaseofBel l&anorvs.
LeverBrothersLtdAllER51.Inthiscase,
LordAtki
nstated:
“
Ifmi
stakeoper
atesatal
l
,itoper
atessoast
onegat
eori
nsomecases,
nul
l
ifyconsent
”.
From t
heabove,
ifconsenti
snull
i
fiedi
nacontr
act
,it
seffecti
storenderthecont
racti
nef
fect
ive.
Thus,t
heeff
ectofami st
akeinacontr
actwoul
dbetorenderthatcont
ractvoi
d.
CATEGORI
ESOFMI
STAKE:
Undert
hecommonl
aw,
iti
sgener
all
yaccept
edt
obeoft
hreet
ypes:
CommonMi
stake
Mut
ual
Mist
ake
Uni
l
ater
alMi
stake
1.
COMMONMI
STAKE
Thi
soccurswhenbothparti
estothecontr
actaremist
akenaboutt hesamest ateofaff
air
s.
Thi
sstat
eofaffai
rscouldei
therbeamistakeofsubj
ectmatteroroftit
le.Forexample,i
fAbuy
s
acarf
rom Bwhileunknowntothem,thecarhadbeendestr
oy ed,
itisacommonmi stake.
Commonmi
stakei
sgener
all
yoft
hef
oll
owi
ngcl
assi
fi
cat
ion:
*Mistakeast ot
heexistenceoftheSubjectmatt
er(resexti
nct
a):Thisi
sembodi edinthe
exampl egiv
enabov e,wherethecarwasdestr
oyed.Thus,mistakeastotheexistenceofthe
subjectmattesoccurswhenbot hpart
iescont
ractunderthemistakenbel
ieft
hatt hesubj
ect
matterexist
ed,wheninf act
,itdi
dnot.
InCouturi
ervs.Hasti
ebothpar t
iesenteredintoacont r
actforthesaleofacargoofcorn.
Unknownt obothparti
es,duri
ngt hevoyaget hecorngotfermentedandi twassubsequentl
y
soldoffbythecaptai
noft heship.Whent hesellersuedforthecontractpr
ice,
thecourthel
d
thatt
hiswasacaseofr esexti
ncta,asar esult
,thecontr
actwasv oided.
, Also,int
hecaseofGal l
owayvs.Gall
oway,bothpar t
iesent
eredi
ntoamarriagesett
lement
contract
.Subsequentl
y,i
twasdiscover
edthattheirmarri
agewasvoi
dabi nit
io(i
tneverexi
sted
i
nt heeyesoft hel
aw).Thecour
theldthatsi
ncet herewasneveramarr
iage,ther
ecan’tbea
mar r
iageset
tlement.
*Mi stakeastoTitl
e( ressua):Thi
soccursinasituati
oninwhichparti
estothecont r
actare
mi stakenastothet it
leofthegoodsbeingsold.Itusual
lyoccur
swhent hebuy erofthegoodsis
alsot heownerofsuchpr oper
tyunknowntohi m.InthecaseofCooperv s.Phi
bbs,Xagr eedto
takel easeofafisheryfrom Y,unknowntobot hpart
ies,
thefi
sheryalr
eadybelongedt oX.Itwas
heldt hati
nthissituati
on,theagreementofleasewasv oidf
ormistake.
Also,
inthecaseofAbr aham vs.Chi efAmoduTi jani
Oluwa,thedefendantat t
achedawritof
fi
.fat
oal andt hathebelievedbel
ongedt ohisj
udgmentdebt or.Theplaint
iffwasn’
tsur
eofhis
ti
tl
eandasar esult,
heboughtt hel and.Subsequentl
y,heconfirmedthatthelandwasreall
yhis
own.Het hussoughtar efundofthepr i
cehepai d.Thecourtheldthattheinit
ial
sal
ewasv oi
d
duetothef actthatther
ewasami stakeastotit
le.
2.
MUTUALMI
STAKE
Mut ualmist
akeoccur sinasi t
uati
oninwhi chbot hpar
tiesmaketheer ror.Howev er,unl
i
ke
commonmi stake,i
toccur swhenbot hpartiesaremistakenaboutdiff
er entthingsasitwas
statedinsei
venvhi neley.Forexample,i
nasi tuati
oninwhi chAagreest osel l
hisjeeptoB.I
fA
i
nt endedtosellhi
sLexusbutBt houghtitwasaToy ot
a, ther
eisanor equiredconsensusad
i
dem bet weenthepar t
ies.Asar esul
t,t
hecont racti
svoi dformutual
mi stake.
I
tshouldhoweverbenot
edt
hatmut
ual
mist
akewoul
donl
ybeappl
i
cabl
eift
heer
rormadewas
areasonabl
eone.
3.
UNI
LATERALMI
STAKE
Thisoccurswhenonepar tyismist
akenconcerningthef actsofthecontr
actandtheotherpar
ty
i
sawar eofthisandexploit
sitt
ohisownadv antage.Ifthisisdiscov
ereditwoul
drenderthe
contr
actvoid.Mostcasesofunil
ateralmi
stakeconcer nmi stakeofi
denti
tyandmistake
concerni
ngthetermsoft hecontr
act.
*
Mist
akeofI
dent
it
y
Thisoccurswhenthemistakenpar
tygoesint
ot hecont
ractduetoami sconcept
ionconcer
ning
theidenti
tyoft
heotherpart
y.Inor
derforapleaofmistakenident
it
ytosucceed,thef
oll
owing
conditi
onsmustbefulf
il
led:
Thatt
hemistakenpar
tyi
ntendedt
ocont
ractwi
thaper
sondi
ff
erentf
rom t
heper
sonwi
thwhom
hecontr
act
edwi t
h.
