Legal Definitions - estoppel by silence

Estoppel by silence is a legal term that means a person cannot make a claim or defense in court if they did not share important information that would have changed the situation. This means that if someone stays quiet when they should have spoken up, they cannot later use that silence to their advantage.

Sarah sold a car to Jennifer, but she knew that one of the tires was faulty and could cause an accident. Sarah did not tell Jennifer about the tire, and they got into a bad wreck because of it. In this case, estoppel by silence would prevent Sarah from suing Jennifer because she should have shared the information about the tire before the sale.

Another example could be a landlord who knows that a rental property has a serious mold problem but does not tell the tenant. If the tenant gets sick because of the mold, the landlord cannot use estoppel by silence to avoid responsibility because they should have shared the information about the mold.

These examples show how estoppel by silence works to prevent people from taking advantage of others by withholding important information. It is important to be honest and upfront in all legal and business dealings to avoid running afoul of this legal principle.