Katie and Andrew enter into a contract which states that Andrew will deliver Thompson apples to Katie. The parties are not aware that there are actually two kinds of Thompson apples - Virginia Thompson apples and Alabama Thompson apples. The two types of apple taste very different and have very different uses. Andrew intends to ship Virginia Thompson apples, while Katie is expecting to receive Alabama Thompson apples. Is the contract void for mutual mistake?
Incorrect. The law is normally concerned only with what the contract objectively appears to mean, so it does not matter that the parties were subjectively mistaken as to each other's intentions. The court will look at what a reasonable person would take the parties to have agreed to, and that will be the contract. However, if a reasonable person would see the contract as completely ambiguous, the contract is void for mutual mistake: Raffles v Wichelhaus.