Fraudulent Inducement
We, as individuals and as a society, require true factual statements in important human relationships, especially commercial or business relationships. The law protects your right to justifiably rely on the truth of another person’s factual representations in situations where intentional lies result in damages. Fraud in the inducement occurs where parties to a contract appear to negotiate freely but where, in fact, the ability of one party to negotiate fair terms and make an informed decision is undermined by the other party’s fraudulent behavior.
Under Florida law, to prove that you were fraudulently induced to enter a contract, you must prove that the person with whom you contracted made a false statement of material fact, that the person knew or should have known the statement was false, that the person intended for you to rely on his false statement and that you did, in fact, justifiably rely on the false statement to your detriment.
Fraudulent inducement is a tort independent of the breach of contract. It requires proof of facts that are separate and distinct from the breach. Normally, the fraudulent inducement occurs prior to the formation of the contract and the standard of truthful representation is not derived from the terms of the contract, i.e., whether the person was truthful during the formation of the contract is unrelated to the events giving rise to a breach of the contract.
The lawyers at the Germain Law Group are ready to help you resolve your claim for fraudulent inducement. We will help you recover the full amount of your damages.