Election of Remedies Doctrine

A recent case out of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals provides a worthy discussion of the election of remedies doctrine: The Florida Supreme Court has stated: The election of remedies doctrine is an application of the doctrine of estoppel and operates on the theory that a party electing one course of action should not later be allowed to avail himself of an incompatible course. The purpose of the doctrine is to prevent a double recovery for the same wrong. Under Florida law, however, the election of remedies doctrine applies only where the remedies in question are coexistent and inconsistent. . ....

29 October

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Rescission of Contract based on Mutual Mistake

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

To state a cause of action for rescission of a contract, a plaintiff must include the following elements in the complaint: (1) The character or relationship of the parties; (2) The making of the contract; (3) The existence of fraud, mutual mistake, false representations, impossibility of performance, or other ground for rescission or cancellation; (4) That the party seeking rescission has rescinded the contract and notified the other party to the contract of such rescission. (5) If the moving party has received benefits from the contract, he should further allege an offer to restore these benefits to the party furnishing them, if restoration is possible; (6) Lastly,...

17 August

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Mutual Mistake or Unilateral Mistake in Contract

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Mistakes unfortunately happen when it comes to written agreements. When they do, a party to a written agreement may try to reform the agreement or rescind the agreement due to the mistake. Reforming or rescinding a written agreement based on a mistake is NOT as easy as it may sound simply because a party claims there was a mistake in the process. There are two types of mistakes that could support a basis to reform or rescind a contract: mutual mistake and unilateral mistake. Typically, both mistakes require a party to prove the mistake and satisfy their burden of proof justifying...