MISREPRESENTATION, in point of law, or, as it is most frequently termed, fraudu lent misrepresentation, is that kind of lie for which courts of law will give redress. It consists in a willful falsehood as to some material thing connected or not wit h some contract ; the object being that the party deceived should act upon it as true. The legal result is, that if the party so relying on its truth and acting on it suffer damage, be can sue the deceiver for such damage. It has sometimes been supposed that the deceit or misrepresentation must have reference to some contract, or arise out of some confidential relation between the parties. and that the party making it should have some private interest to serve; but this is mistake; an d recent cases have established, that if a person willfully—i.e., either not knowing anything at all one way or the other about time matter, or knowing the real truth, misrepresent something with the intention that. a stranger should act on such misrepresen tation, and such stranger does so act on it, and suffer damage, then the right of action accrues to the deceived party. One remarkable exception to this doctrine, however, occurs in the case of the contract of marriage, where either party has in general no remedy what ever against the other for misrepresentations as to his or her property, connections, etc. It is not necessary that the misrepresentation should be made in writing, in order to give rise to the action, except in cases where the party gives representations as to the conduct, credit, ability, trade, or dealings of a third party, in order that such third party shall obtain credit, money, or goods thereby. The doctrine of misrepresentation has acquired
great consequence of late, owing to the extension of the system of joint-stock companies, and the practice of the directors and officers publishing or being parties to fraudulent reports, accounts, and circulars as to the credit and stability of such undertakings. It is now settled, that not only every director, but every clerk in the service of the direc tors, who knowingly and willfully concurs and takes a part in publishing or circulating such false reports, whereby strangers are led to believe and act ou them, and thereby suffer pecuniary loss, is liable to an action of damages at the snit of such strangers. It is also a general rule affecting contracts (other than marriage). that misrepresentation in some material point bearing on the contract, and likely to induce the party to enter into such contract, will render the contract void ; but in order to make a trifling misrepresen tation have the same effect, the party must warrant such representation to be true; in which case, whether trifling or not. or whether willful or not, a misrepresentation avoids the contract; and this is generally the case in contracts of life and fire insurance. Against such a practice lord St. Leonards lately remonstrated, as one involving great hardship to the class of insurers, who, after paying premiums for years, find at last their security gone. Another class of fraudulent inierepreseMations, of consequence, and now brought within the criminal to a bite extent, is that of couuterfeiting trade Marks, as to which; see TRADE-MAtuis.