''Mutual Mistake'' Definition In Texas Contract Law

A "mutual mistake" occurs when both parties are laboring under a misconception as to a common fact and, due to this mistake, the contract fails to state the agreement correctly. Volpe v. Schlobohm, 614 S.W.2d 615, 617-18 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 1981, writ denied). A "mutual mistake" may also occur when parties form a contract based on the assumption of a matter material to the agreement but not expressed in it, and their common assumption is incorrect. Id. at 618. A condition precedent is an event that must happen or be performed before a right can accrue to enforce an obligation. Centex Corp. v. Dalton, 840 S.W.2d 952, 956 (Tex. 1992). A party does not breach a contract by failing to perform if a condition precedent to his performance has not occurred. Municipal Admin. Servs., Inc. v. City of Beaumont, 969 S.W.2d 31, 40 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 1998, no pet.). The term "meeting of the minds" refers to the parties' mutual understanding and assent to the expression of their agreement. Weynand v. Weynand, 990 S.W.2d 843, 846 (Tex. App.-Dallas 1999, pet. denied). The parties must agree to the same thing, in the same sense, at the same time. Id. The determination of a meeting of the minds is based on an objective standard of what the parties said and did and not on their subjective state of mind. Copeland v. Alsobrook, 3 S.W.3d 598, 604 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1999, pet. denied).