Howell v. Waters

Howell (plaintiff) bought land from Waters (defendant) after viewing the property with Waters's agent, Hoell, whose description of the property's boundaries included at least 125 acres more than what was actually conveyed in the deed, even though Waters had given Hoell an accurate sketch of the true boundaries. Howell sued for rescission on a mutual-mistake theory (though the facts arguably would have also supported fraud, which he did not plead); the trial court directed a verdict for Waters, and Howell appealed.