mutual mistake
mutual mistake, defined:
a mistake made by both contracting parties regarding the same material subject of an agreement. A mutual mistake, may justify voiding the entire contract because it violates a key requirement of contracts: there must be a meeting of the minds. In the case of a mutual mistake, no meeting of the minds is possible because both parties misunderstood the same aspect of the subject matter.
mutual mistake, as it might be used:
The parties agreed to cancel their contract when they realized their mutual mistake.
An example of mutual mistake:
Fergus' wife, Fiona, was born in Canada and sometimes misses her home terribly. Wanting to do something nice for his wife, Fergus calls a Canadian merchant to buy Fiona a special blanket available only in Canada. The merchant gives Fergus a price of 200 dollars, not realizing that Fergus is calling from Florida. Fergus assumes the merchant means 200 U.S. dollars, when in fact the merchant meant 200 Canadian dollars. Fergus agrees to buy the blanket thinking he has reached a bargain with the merchant. In fact, there is a mutual mistake that will have to be resolved before a true meeting of the minds can be reached.
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Clear-Point Law Dictionary
