mistake of fact

Ignorance or forgetfulness of the existence or non-existence of a fact important to the creation of a legal obligation. In general, a party to a contract cannot plead discharge from its obligations under the contract because it was mistaken in the terms of the contract. Any signed document that does not correctly record what the signatories intended may be rectified by a court on application by any one of its signatories. If a mistake of fact occurs in the proceedings of a case, it is rectified by the court in which it occurred. Also called error of fact.