Smith v Hughes (1871) LR 6 QB 597

The claimant had purchased a quantity of what he thought was old oats having been shown a sample. In fact the oats were new oats. The claimant wanted the oats for horse feed and new oats were of no use to him. The seller was aware of the mistake of the claimant but said nothing. The claimant brought an action against the seller based on mistake and misrepresentation.

Held: both actions failed. The action based on misrepresentation failed as you cannot have silence as a misrepresentation. The defendant had not mislead the claimant to believe they were old oats. The action based on mistake failed as the mistake was not as to the fundamental terms of the contract but only a mistake as to quality. 

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