Bisset v Wilkinson [1927] AC 177<\/strong><\/p>\n Whether a statement is one of fact or opinion for the purposes of rescinding a contract<\/p>\n The defendant in this matter was the purchaser of land in New Zealand which was purchased by the claimant for the purpose of sheep farming. The appeal, to which this judgment relates, is on the defendant\u2019s counterclaim. During the purchase process, the claimant informed the defendant that the land being purchased was capable of sustaining 2000 sheep. However, after the purchase the defendant discovered that this was only possible if very careful land management was carried out, and that the land as it stood could not sustain this number of sheep. The defendant therefore sought to rescind the contract on the basis that the claimant\u2019s statement was a misrepresentation.<\/p>\n The issue in this circumstance was whether the statement made by the claimant could be considered a statement of fact in terms of being a representation, or whether it was simply an opinion held by the claimant.<\/p>\n It was held that the claimant\u2019s statement was nothing more than an opinion as to the capacity of the land, based on the claimant\u2019s knowledge of farming, together with the defendant\u2019s knowledge of the current stock. The statement was not therefore held to be a representation. In any event, the defendant had not been able to demonstrate that the land was not capable of carrying the 2000 sheep that the claimant had stated, and therefore the claimant\u2019s appeal was allowed and the contract could not be rescinded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether a statement is one of fact or opinion for the purposes of rescinding a contract. The defendant in this matter was the purchaser of land in New Zealand which was purchased by the claimant for the purpose of sheep farming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85],"class_list":["post-5621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cases","tag-uk-law"],"yoast_head":"\nFacts<\/h3>\n
Issues<\/h3>\n
Decision\/Outcome<\/h3>\n