Bentley v. Slavik
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
663 F.Supp. 736 (1987)
Karen Bentley (plaintiff) bought a violin from Charles Slavik (defendant) for $17,500 after inspecting it and reviewing an appraiser's certificate estimating it as a genuine 1835 Bernadel violin worth $15,000 to $20,000; the bill of sale identified it as a Bernadel. After paying the full price and even sending Slavik a note expressing satisfaction, Bentley later learned the violin might not be authentic and, after expert testimony valued it at only $2,000, sued Slavik for breach of contract and mutual mistake when he refused to refund her money.
Whether a buyer who paid a premium price based on the seller's honest but mistaken representation of an item's authenticity, a mistake both parties shared, is entitled to recover the amount she overpaid.