Jerome v Ward

This case involved an appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiff, Mr. Ward, had employed the defendant, Mr. Jerome, to purchase a property on his behalf, agreeing to pay a commission. Mr. Jerome subsequently purchased the property for £17,000 and then presented Mr. Ward with a contract for sale, purportedly from himself as vendor to Mr. Ward as purchaser, at the price of £18,000. Mr. Ward signed this contract and paid a deposit after being told by Mr. Jerome's solicitor that the owners insisted on the contract being drawn up in that form. Mr. Ward later sought to recover his deposit.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the plaintiff was induced to sign the contract by fraudulent misrepresentations made by the defendant, and whether the plaintiff was entitled to rescind the contract and recover his deposit. Specifically, the court considered whether the defendant had falsely represented the price he paid for the property and the reason for the contract being structured as a sale from himself to the plaintiff, and whether these misrepresentations entitled the plaintiff to repudiate the agreement.

The High Court, affirming the decision of the Supreme Court, held that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to find that the plaintiff was induced to sign the contract by false representations. These representations included the defendant's assertion that he had paid £18,000 for the property and the explanation that the contract was structured in that manner due to the vendors' insistence. The court found that these representations were untrue and fraudulent, and that the plaintiff, upon discovering the truth, was entitled to rescind the contract within a reasonable time. The jury's findings that the plaintiff had repudiated the contract within a reasonable time after discovering the facts, and that the defendant's actions constituted fraudulent misrepresentation, were upheld.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.