Deceit

It was settled law that the elements of the tort of deceit required a representation which was false, dishonestly made, and which was intended to be relied on and had in fact been relied on. The authorities established that a claimant who sought to claim damages for misrepresentation had to show that the representation in question played a real and substantial part in inducing him to enter into the contract in question. It was not necessary for him to prove that the representation was the sole inducement to his decision or that it had played a decisive part. It was not, however, sufficient for him to show merely that he was supported or encouraged in reaching his decision by the representation in question. There was a rebuttable presumption, in a fraud case, that a defendant to whom a fraudulent misrepresentation was made was induced by that representation to enter into the contract in question.