Acchione and Canuso v. COM., DEPT. OF TR.

I dissent. The majority’s conclusion is based on a misreading of this Court’s holding in Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission v. Smith, 350 Pa. 355, 39 A.2d 139 (1944), and fosters the erosion of both the competitive bidding process for public contracts and the binding effect of such contracts.

*346Smith clearly requires that, to permit recovery on the basis of constructive fraud, the misrepresentation must be “substantial and not mere inaccuracy or innocent mistake.” Id., 350 Pa. at 362, 39 A.2d at 142. As this Court explained in Branna Construction Corp. v. West Allegheny Joint School Authority, 430…