CACI No. VF-301. Breach of Contract - Affirmative Defense - Unilateral Mistake of Fact
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2023 edition)
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VF-301.Breach of Contract - Affirmative Defense - Unilateral
Mistake of Fact
We answer the questions submitted to us as follows:
1. Was [name of defendant] mistaken about [insert description of
mistake]?
1. Yes No
1. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then answer question 2. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
2. Did [name of plaintiff] know that [name of defendant] was mistaken
and use that mistake to take advantage of [him/her/nonbinary
pronoun/it]?
2. Yes No
2. If your answer to question 2 is yes, then answer question 3. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
3. Was [name of defendant]’s mistake caused by [his/her/nonbinary
pronoun/its] excessive carelessness?
3. Yes No
3. If your answer to question 3 is no, then answer question 4. If you
answered yes, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
4. Would [name of defendant] have agreed to enter into the contract
if [he/she/nonbinary pronoun/it] had known about the mistake?
4. Yes No
Signed: Presiding Juror
Dated:
After [this verdict form has/all verdict forms have] been signed, notify
the [clerk/bailiff/court attendant] that you are ready to present your
verdict in the courtroom.
New April 2004; Revised December 2010
216
Directions for Use
The special verdict forms in this section are intended only as models. They may
need to be modified depending on the facts of the case. This form is not a stand-
alone verdict form. It may be incorporated into VF-300, Breach of Contract, if the
elements of the affirmative defense are at issue.
This verdict form is based on CACI No. 330, Affırmative Defense - Unilateral
Mistake of Fact. The verdict forms do not address all available affirmative defenses.
The parties may need to create their own verdict forms to fit the issues involved in
the case.
If there are multiple causes of action, users may wish to combine the individual
forms into one form. If different damages are recoverable on different causes of
action, replace the damages tables in all of the verdict forms with CACI No. VF-
3920, Damages on Multiple Legal Theories.
CONTRACTS VF-301
217
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