Hand v. Dayton-Hudson
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
775 F.2d 757 (1985)
John Hand (plaintiff), an attorney terminated by Dayton-Hudson Corporation (defendant) in a restructuring, was offered $38,000 in exchange for releasing all claims against the company. Before the acceptance deadline, Hand secretly prepared a near-identical release — using the same typewriter and format — but added language excepting age-discrimination and breach-of-contract claims, and had the company's agent sign it without noticing the change. Hand then sued for age discrimination and breach of contract. The company asked the trial court to reform the release back to its original terms and moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Hand appealed.
Whether a contract may be reformed where there is a mistake on one side of the contract and fraud or inequitable conduct on the other side.