The appeal in this case was taken to the district court of appeal in and for the third appellate district. There the order appealed from was reversed. The opinion, prepared by Hart, J., reads in part as follows:—

Within due time, the respondents applied to this court for an order that the cause be heard and determined here. In their application they state that the opinion filed in the appellate court correctly states the facts, so far as it does state the facts. They expressly “accept as unquestioned and undoubted law every principle announced by that court in support of its judgment.” Under these circumstances, we may well rest our disposition of the matters considered in the appellate court on the grounds there stated, and we accordingly approve and adopt the foregoing portions of the opinion of that court.

It is, however, contended by the respondents that the court of appeal overlooked a material fact, alleged by respondents and found in their favor by the trial court. The plaintiffs’ .answer to the cross-complaint averred that in its circulars and prospectuses the defendant represented that “the history of the previous operations of said cross-complainant corporation showed that the dividends and accumulations on the shares of the capital stock of the said corporation so purchased would be sufficient, together with said monthly payment of sixty cents per share, to make full and complete payment for all of said shares of stock so purchased within said seven years from the date of said purchase.” It was further alleged that the defendant knew that this representation was false. The court found specifically that the defendant made this statement with knowledge of its falsity.

The rule that mere expressions of opinion cannot constitute actionable fraud is, no doubt, subject to some qualification. A party inducing another to contract in reliance upon estimates or opinions professedly based upon alleged facts known to the party stating them to be non-existent will not be permitted to escape responsibility by the plea that he was merely declaring his opinion. A statement that the history of the defendant showed that its stock would mature in seven years is clearly a statement of fact, and, if falsely made and relied on, would furnish ground for relief to the party misled by it.

But the most careful scrutiny of the record fails to disclose any evidence to support the finding that any such representation was made by the appellant. The claim is that the alleged statement of the defendant is to be found in the circular or prospectus brought to the attention of the plaintiff. Some of the contents of this pamphlet are set forth in the opinion filed in the district court of appeal. As is there said, the tables illustrating the result of an investment amount to nothing more than “speculation or as involving a mere expression of opinion of the officers of the appellant upon the proposition.” The circular contains only two statements which refer in any way to past history or experience. Under the head “Its system,” it is stated that “The system of this association is the result of years of experience and is practical, not theoretical.” This is followed by other paragraphs devoted to the subjects of “State supervision,” “Features,” “Explanatory” (showing in detail the plan of investment), “Bent or Home Purchase,” “Agreement between the shareholder and the association,” “Withdrawals,” etc. Obviously the sentence quoted does not purport to refer to any stated period or time of maturity of shares. It deals solely with the “System” of the association, a system which, under the law and as shown on the face of the contract of the respondents, precludes the idea of stock maturing in a fixed number of years. The language cannot be construed to mean any more than that the defendant’s plan of operation is not a new or untried one.

The other statement relating to experience falls equally short of supporting the finding. In a part of the circular devoted, in the main, to general maxims extolling the practice of thrift and economy, it is said that “experience has shown that some system is necessary to induce the majority of persons to lay aside a part of their income. The most efficient system will combine regularity, safety, and profit. The • experience of the past fifty years shows that no system of investment has been so safe and so profitable as that adopted by this association.” We find in this language nothing calculated to convey the impression that the experience of the defendant had shown that its stock had matured or would mature in seven years. Furthermore, under any construction that may be given to it, the declaration that the defendant’s system was the safest and most profitable mode of investment could not have been understood as derived from its own experience. The conclusion is, as the prospectus declares, based on fifty years’ experience, while the circular itself shows that the defendant association had been in existence for a much shorter period.

The statement on motion for new trial properly challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the finding under discussion. For the reasons stated, it must be held that the finding is not supported, and that it furnishes no ground for reaching a conclusion different from that announced by the appellate court.

The order denying a new trial Is reversed.