Wood v. Boynton

64 Wis. 265 · Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1885

Facts

Plaintiff, ignorant of its true nature, sold a small stone for one dollar to a jeweler. Both parties were unaware the stone was an uncut diamond worth approximately $700. Upon discovering its value, the plaintiff tendered the purchase price plus interest and demanded the stone's return, which the defendants refused.

Issue

Can a seller rescind a sale and recover possession of an item when both the seller and buyer were mutually ignorant of the item's true value at the time of sale, and there was no fraud or mistake as to the identity of the item itself?

Holding

No. The court affirmed the lower court's judgment for the defendants, holding that the plaintiff could not rescind the sale.

Rule

A sale cannot be rescinded solely on the grounds of mutual ignorance regarding the intrinsic value of the item sold, or inadequacy of price, if there was no fraud, misrepresentation, or mistake as to the identity of the thing sold.

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Case brief last reviewed 2026-06-04. Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.