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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Misrepresentation
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A quick definition of Misrepresentation:
Misrepresentation is when someone says or does something that is not true or leaves out important information on purpose to trick someone else. This is called fraud. It can happen in many different ways, like when a person lies about a product they are selling or when a scientist says they tested something when they really didn't. Even if someone just gives their opinion, it can still be a misrepresentation if they are trying to trick someone and their opinion is not true. If someone doesn't tell you something important that you need to know, that can also be a misrepresentation.
A more thorough explanation:
Misrepresentation is when someone makes a false or misleading statement or leaves out important information on purpose to deceive someone else. This is a part of common law fraud and other types of fraud like securities fraud.
There are many ways someone can misrepresent something. For example, a chemist in a drug lab might sign a certificate saying a drug is something it's not, even though they didn't test it properly. This is a type of misrepresentation called an affirmative misrepresentation.
However, not all statements that turn out to be wrong are misrepresentations. If someone says something they believe to be true, but it turns out to be false, that's not necessarily a misrepresentation. But if someone says something they know is false or leaves out important information, that is a misrepresentation.
For example, if a real estate agent knows a house has a big problem like an infestation of ants, but doesn't tell the buyer, that's a misrepresentation. The buyer might not have bought the house if they knew about the ant problem.
Another example is if a company advertises a product as being the best, but they don't have any evidence to back that up. That's a misrepresentation because they're making a claim they can't prove.
Overall, misrepresentation is when someone lies or leaves out important information on purpose to deceive someone else. It's a type of fraud that can have serious consequences.