Sound Techniques, Inc. v. Hoffman

In Bates v. Southgate, 308 Mass. 170, 182 (1941), the court held that “contracts or clauses attempting to protect a party against the consequences of his own fraud are against public policy and void where fraud inducing the contract is shown . . . .” This appeal brings before us the question whether Bates applies with equal force when a party enters into a contract containing such a clause, commonly referred to as a merger clause, an integration clause, or an exculpatory clause, *426in reliance upon a negligent rather than deliberate misrepresentation. In this case, the lessee, Sound Techniques,…