Also known as: false or misleading statement · false or misleading representation · misleading · false statement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statement or communication that is either factually untrue or creates a deceptive impression through omission of material facts or ambiguity. The characterization triggers duties to correct or exclude the statement and supports liability or sanctions when the recipient relies on the inaccuracy.
Faith Fitzgerald represents a client in a contract dispute before a state court. She cites favorable precedent but knows of controlling authority directly on point that favors the opponent. Fitzgerald remains silent when the tribunal asks whether all relevant cases have been disclosed. The court later discovers the omission and sanctions Fitzgerald for the false impression created.
Fumiko Fujimoto testifies in a civil fraud trial. The defendant seeks to introduce her ten-year-old misdemeanor conviction for shoplifting to impeach credibility. The court finds the conviction's probative value on honesty is low and that its introduction would mislead the jury into overvaluing the prior act. The evidence is excluded.
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Faye Fuller sells a commercial building to Francesca Fowler. Fuller truthfully states the roof was replaced five years earlier but omits that the replacement used substandard materials known to leak within two years. Fowler later discovers the leaks and sues for fraudulent misrepresentation based on the incomplete disclosure.
Ferrum Metals manufactures a prescription antibiotic. It warns physicians of a rare but serious cardiac risk in the package insert. The warning is buried in fine print and uses technical language that a reasonable physician would not notice. A patient suffers the cardiac event after the physician prescribes the drug without appreciating the risk.
Fiona Foster runs a solo practice and advertises that she has "decades of trial experience." In reality Foster has never tried a case to verdict. A prospective client retains her based on the advertisement and later learns the claim was false. The client files a grievance alleging a misleading communication about services.
Farid Farahani is called as a witness in a contract dispute. The opposing party offers evidence of his prior federal conviction for mail fraud. The court determines that the elements of the crime required proof of a dishonest act or false statement. The conviction is admitted for impeachment without further balancing.
A communication is false or misleading if it contains a material misrepresentation of fact or law or omits a fact necessary to keep the statement as a whole from being materially misleading. This standard applies to both statements to tribunals and lawyer advertising.
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Rule 403 permits exclusion of relevant evidence when its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of misleading the jury. Courts apply this to keep jurors from being distracted or confused by evidence whose surface appeal exceeds its actual logical force.
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A representation that states the truth so far as it goes becomes fraudulent when the maker knows or believes it is materially misleading because of the failure to state additional or qualifying matter. The Restatement treats such half-truths the same as outright lies for purposes of tort liability.
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Yes. If the court can readily determine that the elements of the crime required proof or admission of a dishonest act or false statement, the conviction must be admitted regardless of punishment or balancing under Rule 403.
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…know, at times, resorts to exaggeration, to vilification of men who have been, or are, prominent in church or state, and even to false statement. But the people of this nation have ordained in the light of history, that, in spite of the probability of excesses and abuses, these liberties are, in the long view, essential to…