Earl v. Saks & Co.
Supreme Court of California
226 P.2d 340 (1951)
Barbee, shopping for a mink coat for Earl (plaintiff) at Saks & Co. (defendant), repeatedly insisted he would pay no more than $4,000, unaware that Earl and Saks had secretly agreed she would pay the remaining $1,000 of the actual $5,000 price so Barbee could believe he was buying and gifting the full coat himself. After Barbee gifted the coat and Earl paid Saks the secret balance, Barbee and Earl had a falling out, and Barbee tried to rescind the sale upon learning of the secret arrangement; the trial court ruled for Saks on both Earl's conversion claim and Saks's countersuit for the remaining balance.
Whether a contract induced by fraud is voidable by a party if the party obtained something substantially different from that which he was led to expect.