California Codes, Civil Code - CIV, Division 3 — Obligations, Part 2 — Contracts, Title 1 — Nature of a Contract, Chapter 3 — Consent, Section 1577
Mistake of fact is a mistake, not caused by the neglect of a legal duty on the part of the person making the mistake, and consisting in:
1. An unconscious ignorance or forgetfulness of a fact past or present, material to the contract; or,
2. Belief in the present existence of a thing material to the contract, which does not exist, or in the past existence of such a thing, which has not existed.
Notes
Defines mistake of fact as a mistake not caused by neglect of a legal duty and involving unconscious ignorance or forgetfulness of a material past or present fact, or a mistaken belief that a material thing presently exists or previously existed when it does not or did not exist.
Use as reference
Lexinter.net | California Code, Civil Code - CIV § 1577 | https://laws.lexinter.net/codes/california/civil-code/division-3/part-2/title-1/chapter-3/section-1577