Rectification for Common Mistake: Assessing Intent

Thomson Reuters’ PLC Magazine
August.30.2019

Orrick’s Mark Beeley and Rebecca Dipple co-authored an article in Thomson Reuters’ PLC Magazine discussing FSHC v GLAS Trust, a Court of Appeal decision that has clarified the correct test to apply when assessing whether a contract may be amended on the ground of common mistake. “While the decision has helpfully clarified the law in this important area, it also emphasized that rectification should be difficult to achieve,” they explained. “Practitioners should therefore be more assiduous than ever in ensuring that clients’ intentions and instructions are clearly understood, and that the wording of the documents reflects those intentions.”