Section 32 Generally

• Library: Remedies 2006

Reformation of legal instruments is an equitable remedy that allows a court to rewrite (reform) the document to conform to the parties’ true intent. Walters v. Tucker, 308 S.W.2d 673, 675 (Mo. 1957); Leimkuehler v. Shoemaker, 329 S.W.2d 726, 730 (Mo. 1959). Reformation of written instruments is an extraordinary power that should be guarded with care and is only exercised with great caution in cases of fraud or mistake. Dehner Urban Redevelopment Corp. St. Louis v. Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., 567 S.W.2d 700, 704 (Mo. App. W.D. 1978). To justify a request for reformation, a party must show that the instrument does not meet the true agreement of the parties, and there must be clear evidence of one of the grounds for the remedy. Brennan v. Mo. State Employees’ Ret. Sys., 734 S.W.2d 230, 232 (Mo. App. W.D. 1987). Reformation is not used to make a new contract, but to correct the document to conform to the parties’ true agreement. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. v. McGuire, 905 S.W.2d 150, 154 (Mo. App. W.D. 1995); Morrison v. Jack Simpson Contractor, Inc., 748 S.W.2d 716, 717 (Mo. App. E.D. 1988). Equity will not create a contract where none existed in the first place. Bohlken v. Monsees, 655 S.W.2d 604, 607...