Legal Definitions - dolo

Dolo

In legal terms, particularly within systems influenced by Spanish law, dolo refers to the deliberate intent to deceive, defraud, or act with malice. It signifies a conscious and intentional bad faith design to mislead someone, cause harm, or gain an unfair advantage through dishonest means.

• Example 1: Intentional Misrepresentation in a Sale

  Imagine a real estate developer selling a property. They are aware that the land is prone to severe flooding during heavy rains, a fact that would significantly devalue the property. However, they intentionally conceal this critical information from potential buyers, even going so far as to provide doctored inspection reports that omit any mention of flood risk.

  This situation illustrates dolo because the developer acted with a deliberate and malicious design to deceive buyers. Their intentional concealment of vital information constitutes fraud, aimed at securing a sale that would not otherwise occur if the truth were known.

• Example 2: Malicious Breach of Contract

  Consider a software company that enters into a contract to develop a custom application for a client. From the outset, the software company has no intention of completing the project as agreed, but rather plans to collect an initial payment and then deliver a substandard, incomplete product, knowing it will not meet the client's needs. Their true goal is to quickly move on to other projects after securing the initial funds.

  Here, the software company's actions demonstrate dolo because they entered the contract with a "bad or mischievous design." They deliberately intended to defraud the client by not fulfilling their contractual obligations in good faith, aiming to gain an unfair financial advantage through deceit.

• Example 3: Deceptive Advertising

  A manufacturer launches a new health supplement and, in its advertising campaigns, makes claims about the product's ability to cure serious diseases, knowing full well that these claims are scientifically unfounded and entirely false. The company's marketing strategy is built on intentionally misleading consumers to boost sales.

  This is an instance of dolo because the manufacturer engaged in deliberate deceit (fraudulent advertising) with the intent to mislead the public. Their "bad design" was to exploit consumers' health concerns for financial gain by presenting false information as truth.