Raffles v. Wichelhaus case brief

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Raffles v. Wichelhaus; (Ct of Exchequer, 1864); CB 582; Notes 33

No K if parties have different subjective expectations

• Facts: Peerless ships case. Two ships named Peerless, K didn’t specify which. P thought he was buying cotton off Peerless that sailed in Oct., D thought he was selling from Peerless that sailed in Dec. D refused to accept cotton when it came on the Dec. ship.
• Issue: is there a binding K?
• Holding: did not agree to same terms, so no K. No meeting of the minds.
• Rule: where mutual mistake over term that goes to the heart of the agreement (i.e. material difference), K is void per se.
• Commentary: Restatement sections not too far from this opinion. Consult Rstmt § 20 (effect of misunderstanding) and § 201 (whose meaning prevails)