Sec. 197. Reformation of Land Contracts. Sec. 198. Illustrative Michigan Decisions. Sec. 199. Mistakes of Law. Sec. 200. Evidence.

Sec. 201. Bill of Complaint to Reform a Land Contract-Form. Sec. 202. Decree Reforming Land Contract-Form.

Sec. 203. Pleadings and Briefs of Counsel Used in Late Michigan Cases In volving the Reformation of Instruments.

Sec. 197. Reformation Of Land Contracts

Whenever a contract has been drafted with the intention of carrying into execution an agreement previously made, but which by a mistake of the draftsman or scrivener, either as to law or fact, does not fulfill that intention, there is ground to correct the mistake by reforming the instrument and the question as to whether or not such a mistake has been made is a subject of inquiry open to parol testimony.1

The reasons requiring a reformation are reduceable to two general classes:

1st: Cases where the contract, by its terms, includes subject matter which was not intended by the parties to come within its operation.

2nd: Those contracts, wherein by means of mistake, surprise or fraud some part of the subject matter intended to be included within the contract has been omitted.

In the first case, parol evidence is admissible to prove that the contract contains the subject matter. In the other case, parol evidence is admissible to prove that it does not contain all of the subject matter.2