Pre-contractual statements: When can they come back to bite you?

Parties may say all sorts of things when negotiating a contract. Where sophisticated commercial parties are involved, most pre-contractual statements will, no doubt, be both carefully considered and accurate. But as we all know, things can go wrong.
 
Where a pre-contractual statement turns out to be false, the implications can be serious. The counterparty may have a right to unwind the contract, or to claim damages, or both. In an extreme case, there may be criminal liability for fraud.
 
In this third of our series of contract disputes practical guides, Kirsten Massey, James Norris-Jones and Sarah Pollock consider the circumstances in which parties may be liable for pre-contractual statements, the remedies that may be available to a counterparty, and some practical steps that can be taken to minimise the risks. You can click here to download the PDF guide.

Clients and contacts of the firm can also register to access the archived version of our webinar exploring these issues by contacting Jane Webber. The webinar lasts an hour and qualifies for one CPD point. Or if you would prefer a shorter version focusing on key practical tips, James has also presented this 8 minute podcast.

There are two previous editions in the series, listed below, both of which can be accessed from the home page for our contract disputes series (which is also linked under "our guides" in the top menu):

• When do you have a binding contract? It may be more (or less) often than you think
• What does your contract mean? How the courts interpret contracts