Source: https://thekuhnlawfirm.com/minnesota-fraud-susceptible-knowledge-mean/
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 11:12:01+00:00

Document:
It is clear to us that the load-bearing capacity of the ground on which a structure is built is subject to scientific analysis by appropriate borings and tests. Where, as here, a building is constructed by the person who owns and is in possession of the land, in the absence of evidence of extraordinary circumstances, not present here, we hold that the capacity of the building site to bear the load placed on it is susceptible of knowledge.
Other courts have found that to be actionable, a misrepresentation generally must relate to an existing or pre-existing fact which is susceptible of knowledge. Higgins v. Lawrence, 107 Mich.App. 178, 309 N.W.2d 194 (1981); 37 Am.Jur.2d Fraud and Deceit § 45. A statement of opinion or belief such as occurs in “puffing” generally cannot constitute a misrepresentation. W. Prosser, The Law of Torts, § 10.9, at 726 (4 ed. 1971).
Furthermore, projections, predictions and financial forecasts made on a reasonable basis are not actionable merely because they may ultimately prove incorrect. Polin v. Conductron Corp., 552 F.2d 797 (8th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 857, 98 S.Ct. 178, 54 L.Ed.2d 129 (1977); Lucas v. Florida Power & Light Co., 575 F.Supp. 552, 569 (S.D.Fla.1983). And as a general rule, an honest but mistaken estimate as to the value of a business is generally considered to be an opinion and not an actionable misrepresentation. Essenburg v. Russell, 346 Mich. 319, 78 N.W.2d 136 (1956).
“As a general rule, in order to constitute actionable fraud, a false representation must relate to a matter of fact which either exists in the present or has existed in the past. It must also relate to a fact which is susceptible of knowledge; otherwise, there is nothing in relation to which the person making it could state what he knew to be untrue.
“The principle is fundamental that fraud cannot be predicated upon what amounts to, as a matter of law, or in factual cases is found by the triers of the facts to be, the mere expression of an opinion, which is understood by the representee to be only such or cannot reasonably be understood to be anything else.” 23 Am.Jur., Fraud and Deceit, § 27.
Reliance in fraud cases is generally evaluated in the context of the aggrieved party’s intelligence, experience, and opportunity to investigate the facts at issue. Murphy v. Country House Inc., 307 Minn. 344, 351, 240 N.W.2d 507, 512 (1976); Davis v. ReTrac Mfg. Co., 276 Minn. 116, 118-19, 149 N.W.2d 37, 39-40 (1967). When a party conducts an independent factual investigation before it enters into a commercial transaction, that party cannot later claim that it reasonably relied on the alleged misrepresentation. Davis, 149 N.W.2d at 39-40.

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