Jimmy sells an old station wagon to Mary and tells her that it is in excellent condition. He did not bother to verify the statement of the previous owner that the car was making strange noises. Under these circumstances, Mary could best contest the agreement on the grounds of .

Negligent Misrepresentation

Explanation:

In contract law jurisdictions, a misrepresentation is a term that describes an untrue or misleading statement of fact, made by a party to a contract during negotiations, which affects the decision of the other party to a contract, that is, making other party agree to a contract.

There are three types of Misrepresentation, and they are:

1. Innocent Misrepresentation: a situation in which a misrepresentation made by party who had tenable grounds for believing that his false statement was true.

2. Negligent Misrepresentation: in situation in which a false statement is made to get another party to agree to the terms of a contract, when the party who made the statement had a duty to know.

3. Fraudulent Misrepresentation: an intentional false statement that is used to trick another party into an agreement.

Also, it is to be noted, that the misled party can seek for rescission of the contract, (party going to stages where they are before entering into contract) based on Misrepresentation and sometimes can be awarded damages as well.

Hence, in this case, since Jimmy did not bother to verify the statement of the previous owner that the car was making strange noises, before selling the old station wagon to Mary, which is considered as Negligent Misrepresentation. Therefore, under these circumstances, Mary could best contest the agreement on the grounds of Negligent Misrepresentation