Hill v. Wrather

In Hill v. Wrather (1958) 158 Cal. App. 2d 818, plaintiff contracted with two individuals, not known by plaintiff to be married, for a sale of 150 shares of capital stock in a television station, and agreed to increase one of the individuals' interest in the television company from 15 percent to 50 percent in consideration of her agreement to continue managing the station. ( Id. at p. 824.) Later, plaintiff brought a suit for fraud, alleging that the couple had concealed the fact they were married and had this been disclosed, he would not have entered into the contract with them. (Ibid.) The court found the concealment of the marriage immaterial to the transaction because it "had no bearing upon the value of either the property or the services which the defendants bargained for." (Ibid.)