Rescission

On the MBE the tell is a plaintiff who has already cancelled and now wants money: bar answers treat rescission and damages as inconsistent, so they force an election of remedies—a party who rescinds disavows the deal and recovers restitution (the value of benefits conferred), not lost expectancy. Watch the affirmation trap: a party who knows of fraud or a defense yet keeps performing or accepts benefits waives the right to rescind and is stuck enforcing the bargain. Mutual rescission is itself a contract; the consideration is each side’s surrender of remaining duties, so where one party has fully performed, look for a separate accord or release.

Don’t confuse rescission with reformation, which keeps the bargain alive, or with mistake—mistake is the ground, rescission the remedy. Against breach, a non-breaching party rescinds only for material breach; a minor breach yields only damages and both sides must still perform. Memory hook: rescission rewinds, reformation rewrites.