A pre-contractual statement that turns out to be untrue can unravel an entire bargain, so the rules here govern what survives and what can be undone. This chapter begins with the nature of misrepresentation and its elements, then examines what counts as a false statement of fact or law — including opinions, silence, half-truths and conduct — and the requirement that the statement induced the contract. It moves through the three types of misrepresentation, from fraud to negligent misrepresentation under s.2(1) of the 1967 Act to innocent misrepresentation, and the measures of damages each attracts, including the fiction of fraud. It closes with rescission and the four bars that can defeat it, the controls on excluding liability, and how misrepresentation overlaps with breach of a contractual term.
