Question

Peggy offers to sell Shelby a purebred Scottish terrier puppy for $800. Shelby and Peggy do not discuss the dog's ancestry, but Shelby believes that the dog came from champion lines and agrees to the price. Shelby later discovers that the puppy is worth only $200. Can Shelby rescind the contract based on her mistake?

Answer 1

Shelby cannot rescind the contract based on her mistake because she made a unilateral mistake when engaging in the contract, but Peggy is not responsible for that mistake. Shelby's mistake is considered a value mistake since she miscalculated the value of the dog.

If the mistake was a about a material fact (e.g. believing to buy one dog but actually buying another dog) then the contract could be rescinded, but if its a value mistake probably not.