Wood v. Boynton

64 Wis. 265 · Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1885

Facts

The plaintiff, unaware of its true nature, sold a small stone to a jeweler for one dollar. The stone was later discovered to be a rough diamond worth approximately $700. The plaintiff tendered the purchase price plus interest and demanded the stone's return, but the defendants refused, leading to this action for possession.

Issue

Can a seller rescind a sale and recover possession of an item when both parties were ignorant of its true value at the time of sale, and there was no fraud or mistake as to the identity of the item sold?

Holding

No, the court affirmed the lower court's judgment for the defendants, holding that the plaintiff could not rescind the sale. The title to the stone passed to the defendants, and the plaintiff failed to establish grounds for rescission.

Rule

A sale cannot be rescinded merely because the item sold later turns out to be immensely more valuable than the parties supposed at the time of sale, provided there was no fraud or mistake as to the identity of the thing sold.

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Case brief last reviewed 2026-04-18. Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.