Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 1476

Mistake vitiating consent in contracting. Its establishment through a mistake as to the value of the subject matter of the contract such that it appears that, had he not fallen into it, he would not have consented to the contract. The condition for this: proof that the other contracting party fell into the same mistake with him without influence from him and that it could have been remedied, or knew of its occurrence, or could easily have discerned it. - 298 - Obligation - Fraud vitiating consent in contracting. It may be established by a purely negative act consisting of one contracting party concealing an important matter that greatly affects the contracting, such as the actual value of the subject matter of the contract, while knowing or discerning at the time of contracting that the other contracting party is ignorant of that value, thereby inducing him to contract at a value grossly below the true value of the thing forming the subject matter of the contract. This constitutes a breach of the duty of truthfulness and candour requiring him to disclose this matter to his fellow contracting party. The multiplicity of sources of this obligation. Its effect. - Inferring the occurrence or absence of mistake or fraud vitiating consent. Within the authority of the trial court. The condition for this: that this be within the framework of the provisions of law governing these two defects and be reasonable, not inconsistent with the requirements of reason, logic, and the nature of things according to the ordinary-person standard. - The appellant's reliance in his defence on having made a mistake as to the value of the property sold and on the purchaser having known this and concealed it from him. His adducing as evidence the gross difference between the sale price to her and the true price of the property on the date of sale, and her resale of it to another on the very day of its purchase. A material defence. The judgment's conclusion that the appellant had not made a mistake, in a manner that neither addresses this defence nor constitutes a valid response to it. It vitiates the judgment and requires its cassation. Lesion: