Question 1 (c)
True or false: voidable contracts; fraud; the object of damages
12 marks
- Time to write
- About 24 minutes
- Notes
- Crux notes
Question
Question 1 (c) · 12 marksState, giving reasons, whether each of the following statements is true or false:
A court of law cannot enforce a voidable contract.
Fraud is a willful misrepresentation of the facts.
In case of breach of contract, the objective of damages is to punish the person who has failed to perform his obligation. (3×4=12)
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- true or…A verdict for each (True or False), then the reason that decides it.
- (3×4=12)3 items at 4 marks each: give each its share.
Write it in this order
The parts stand alone: start with the one you are surest of.
A step that gives the answer away stays hidden: tap it to see it.
- Read each statement; find the word that decides it 2 min
- 1 (i) Voidable contract 4 marks 7 min
- 2 (ii) Fraud as a wilful misrepresentation 4 marks 7 min
- 3 (iii) Damages compensatory 4 marks 6 min
- Check: a verdict and a reason for every statement 2 min
Short on time? A few lines on every part beat a full answer to one: each part is capped at its own marks.
Try it first. About 24 minutes for 12 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
(i)False A voidable contract is an agreement “enforceable by law at the option of one or more of the parties”, but not at the option of the other or others (s. 2(i)). Until it is avoided it is a valid contract, and the party whose consent was not free may choose to enforce it in a court of law. It is unenforceable only at the instance of the party who caused the defect in consent.
(ii)True Fraud is an intentional misstatement: the person making the suggestion does not believe it to be true and acts with intent to deceive. Misrepresentation, by contrast, is an innocent misstatement made by one who believes it to be true. So fraud is a wilful (deliberate) misrepresentation of facts, and for that reason the defrauded party may also claim damages, which a party misled innocently cannot.
(iii)False Damages for breach of contract are compensatory, not punitive. Section 73 entitles the party who suffers by a breach to receive compensation for any loss or damage caused to him that naturally arose in the usual course of things from the breach, or that “the parties knew, when they made the contract, to be likely to result from” it; no compensation is given for remote and indirect loss. The object is to put the injured party in the position he would have been in had the contract been performed, not to punish the party in default.
Where the 12 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (i) Voidable contract | 4 |
| 2 | (ii) Fraud as a wilful misrepresentation | 4 |
| 3 | (iii) Damages compensatory | 4 |
| Total | 12 |
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