Full case name Phillips v Phillips | Date decided February 23, 1993 | |
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Citation(s) [1993] 3 NZLR 159; (1993) 10 FRNZ 110 Judge(s) sitting Cooke P, Casey, Gault, McKay JJ Ruling court Court of Appeal of New Zealand | ||
Phillips v Phillips [1993] 3 NZLR 159; (1993) 10 FRNZ 110 is a cited case in New Zealand, where both parties entering into a contract make the same mistake (often referred to as a common mistake) when a contract is formed, under section 6(1)(a)(ii) of the Contractual Mistakes Act 1977.
Contents
Background
Mrs Phillips was in a de facto relation with Mr Phillips for 12 years. They had 4 children together, and she had worked at several of her husbands businesses. At the breakdown of the relationship, they entered into a separation agreement, which gave Mrs Phillips far less than she was legally entitled to.
However, it was later discovered that such a separation agreement was not legally enforceable, and Mrs Phillips applied to the court to have the separation order set aside under section 6(1)(a)(ii) on the grounds that it was a common mistake, as both parties mistakenly thought that the separation agreement was legally enforceable.
Held
The court ruled that there was a common mistake here, and set aside the previous separation order.