What is Innocent Misrepresentation?
Misrepresentation in general is a legal term that means “a false statement of fact that has the effect of inducing someone into a contract.” For example, telling someone a stereo is “practically new” so that they buy it, when it is in fact 5 years old and heavily used. Innocent misrepresentation is one of the three recognized varieties of misrepresentations in contract law. Essentially, it is a misrepresentation made by someone who had reasonable grounds for believing that his false statement was true. So in the above example, if the seller didn’t know the stereo was actually old, he would only be liable for an innocent misrepresentation. In the real world, however, it is often the case that because the other two varieties of misrepresentation (negligent and fraudulent) are much more difficult to prove (because of the complexity of proving intent), often this is the only course of action left available.
