A court cannot make findings of fraud (in the sense of deliberate dishonesty or reckless indifference to the truth) consistent with, but going beyond, a pleaded case of misleading and deceptive conduct or innocent misrepresentation, where the allegation has not been put to the party. The aphorism 'fraud unravels everything' does not confer a broad discretion to rewrite contracts; the question remains whether restitutio in integrum can be achieved through the orders available to a court of equity. Rescission in equity may be refused on discretionary grounds even in cases of fraudulent misrepresentation.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 70 later cases that cite this judgment.
12 of the 70 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.