declared void on this ground. One can immediately discern the level of difficulty in this category
of common mistake as compared to the categories spoken of above, because the ‘quality’ of a
contract is open to various interpretations. This is the very dilemma that led to the exacerbation
of the controversy in Great Peace. However, before examining Great Peace, one must regard the
two conflicting decisions on common mistake as to the ‘quality’ of a contract that led to the
climax in Great Peace. These are the cases of Bell v Lever Brothers which postulated the
common law position on common mistake, and Solle v Butcher which articulated the equitable
position on common mistake.
In Bell v Lever Bros. the defendants who were employees of the plaintiffs, were engaged in
activities that would have amounted to a breach of their contract. The plaintiffs unaware of this
breach, had reached an agreement for compensation with the defendants because of having to
terminate their employment at an earlier date. The agreement was to pay the defendants £50,