Negligent Misrepresentation Based on a Statement to the General Public
The Eighth Circuit recently issued an opinion in Moses.com Securities, Inc. v. Comprehensive Software Systems, Inc. containing a good description of the prima facie cases for fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent omission, and negligent misrepresentation under Missouri law. Two aspects of the Court’s discussion of negligent misrepresentation warrant mentioning. First, the plaintiff must prove that the information was provided by the defendant to the plaintiff in a particular business transaction. Thus, a press release to the public at large did not suffice in this case. Second, a party is not justified in relying on a speaker’s representation that concerns a future action of a third party that is outside of the speaker’s control. Tennessee law goes further, providing that no statement of future action can form the basis for a negligent misrepresentation claim, even if a statement that the speaker herself will perform the action.