Mrs and Mr Perry decided to construct a building, which they could rent out to stores as part of a shopping complex. In order to make a proper return on their investment, they determined that their development had to be constructed for less than $120 000. The Perrys met with an architect who guesstimated that he could design a plan that could be constructed for $120 000 or less. The Perrys agreed to have the architect draw up the design plans for a fee of $5000. When the Perrys later brought the architects plans to a contractor, they were told that construction of that building would in fact far exceed their spending limit. The Perrys now refuse to pay the architect the agreed fee for his plans on the basis of what they claim to be a pre-contractual misrepresentation about the cost to implement his construction plant.

Please read Business Decision 9.1 (Statement of Fact or Opinion) on page 214 of Chapter 9.

(a) Should the architect's "guesstimate" be characterized as a statement of fact or opinion ?. Explain and support your answer.

(b) Does the fact that the architect is an expert make any difference

to your answer ? Explain and support your answer.

(c) Would your answer change if you knew that the Perrys regularly commissioned buildings like this one ? Explain and support your answer.

PLEASE ANSWER FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE BASING YOUR ANSWER ON REPRESENTATIONS AND CONTRACTUAL TERMS