Chamberlain v. Fuller (1887) 9 a. 832

"No rogue should enjoy his ill-gotten plunder for the simple reason that his victim is by chance a fool."

Eastern Trust & Banking Co. v. Cunningham (1908) 103 Me. 455

"[W]here one carelessly relies upon a pretence [sic] of inherent absurdity and incredibility, upon mere idle talk, or upon a device so shadowy as not to be capable of imposing upon anyone, he must bear his misfortune, if injured.... But...if one intentionally misrepresents to another facts particularly within his own knowledge, with an intent that the other shall act upon them...he cannot afterwards excuse himself by saying "[y]ou were foolish to believe me.""

Bixler v. Wright (1917) 116 Me. 133

"The law dislikes negligence. It seeks properly to make the enforcement of men's rights depend in very considerable degree upon whether they have been negligent in conserving and protecting their rights. But the law abhors fraud. And when it comes to an issue whether fraud shall prevail or negligence, it would seem that a court of justice is quite as much bound to stamp out fraud as it is to foster reasonable care."

Derry v. Peek (1889) 14 App. Cas. 337

"[F]raud is proved when it is shewn that a false representation has been made (1) knowingly, or (2) without belief in its truth, or (3) recklessly, careless whether it be true or false. Although I have treated the second and third as distinct cases, I think the third is but an instance of the second, for one who makes a statement under such circumstances can have no real belief in the truth of what he states. To prevent a false statement being fraudulent, there must, I think, always be an honest belief in its truth.... [I]f fraud be proved...[i]t matters not that there was no intention to cheat or injure.... [I]f I thought that a person making a false statement had shut his eyes to the facts or purposely abstained from inquiring into them, I should hold that honest belief was absent, and that he was just as fraudulent as if he had knowingly stated that which was false...." - Lord Herschell