Rose 2d of Aberlone was a gentle, 1,420 lb. cow that lived in Michigan in 1886. Rose’s owner, Hiram Walker & Sons, was a cattle breeder who bought her for $850. After a few years, Walker concluded that Rose could have no calves. As a barren cow, she was worth much less than $850, so Walker agreed to sell her for beef to T. C. Sherwood. Walker told Sherwood that Rose was “probably barren, and would not breed.” After some negotiation, Walker agreed to sell Rose for “five and one-half cents per pound, live weight, fifty pounds’ shrinkage,” or $80. But when Sherwood came to collect Rose, the parties realized that (surprise!) she was pregnant. As a confirmed breeder, Rose was now worth about $1,000. Walker refused to part with the happy mother, and Sherwood sued for breach of contract. Walker defended, claiming that both parties had made a mistake and that the contract was voidable. After the lower court ruled the contract was enforceable, Walker appealed. Issue: Does a bilateral mistake render a contract voidable? Excerpts from Justice Morse’s Decision: A party who has given an apparent consent to a contract of sale may refuse to execute it, or he may avoid it after it has been completed, if the assent was founded, or the contract made, upon the mistake of a material fact—such as the subject matter of the sale, the price, or some collateral fact materially inducing the agreement; and this can be done when the mistake is mutual. If there is a difference as to the substance of the thing bargained for, then there is no contract; but if it be only a difference in some quality or accident, the contract remains binding. The mistake of the parties went to the whole substance of the agreement. The parties would not have made the contract of sale except upon the understanding and belief that she was incapable of breeding, and of no use as a cow. A barren cow is substantially a different creature than a breeding one. There is as much difference between them for all purposes of use as there is between an ox and a cow that is capable of breeding and giving milk. The mistake affected the character of the animal for all time, and for its present and ultimate use. She was not in fact the animal, or the kind of animal, the defendants intended to sell or the plaintiff to buy. The mistake affected the substance of the whole consideration, and it must be considered that there was no contract to sell or sale of the cow as she actually was. The thing sold and bought had in fact no existence. Defendants had a right to rescind, and to refuse to deliver, and the verdict should be in their favor. Required: a. What type of mistake is present in this case? b. Would the Defendant have been able to rescind the contract if they made a unilateral mistake? c. Why is a court decision from 1887 still relevant today?
> Stratford Skalkos was a manager at Avon Products. He issued Avon checks to pay his personal debts. So that no one in the company would know what he was doing, he disguised the name of the payees. For example, to pay his American Express bill, he issued a
> Brican LLC was running a scam. The victims were dentists who wanted to lease multimedia systems (called Exhibeos”) for use in their waiting rooms. Each Exhibeo consisted of a computer and a television which could, say, demonstrate proper flossing techniq
> Christina Blasco entered into a “payday loan” with Money Services Center (MSC). MSC loaned Blasco $500 and return Blasco left MSC with a signed check for $587.50 which it promised not to cash for two weeks. (Note that Blasco is laying 17.5% interest for
> A court in Nevada entered an award in favor of Mark and Janet Brandell for $435,066.82 against United Productions, Inc. (UP) and Harry R. Jones. When UP and Jones failed to pay the judgment, the court ordered both of them to appear and answer questions c
> Robert D. Potts was a partner at Deloitte & Touche. He served as the concurring partner for audits of Kahler Corp. Kahler owned the University Park hotel, which it listed in its financial statements as “an asset held for sale” although the hotel did not
> Arthur Andersen audited Enron Corporation’s financial statements. When Enron’s financial and accounting problems began to surface at the beginning of August, a senior accountant at Enron told two Andersen partners that Enron could face severe accounting
> The town of Sanford, Maine, decided to auction off a lot it owned. The town advertised that it would accept bids through the mail, up to a specified date. Arthur and Arline Chevalier mailed in a bid that turned out to be the highest. When the town refuse
> For 19 years, Ernst & Ernst audited a small brokerage firm, First Securities Company of Chicago (First Securities). Leston B. Nay was president of the firm and owned 92 percent of its stock. He convinced some customers to invest funds in “escrow” account
> ABAT was a Delaware corporation operating in China that designed and manufactured lithium batteries for use in consumer products. Because its stock was listed on a U.S. stock exchange, ABAT was required to file financial statements with both the U.S. Sec
> Grant Thornton (GT) audited Winstar, a broadband communications company that provided businesses with wireless internet connectivity. Winstar was one of GT’s largest and most important clients, but only 12 percent of the company’s fees came from auditing
> The First National Bank of Keystone could do nothing right. For five years, it issued risky mortgage loans on which borrowers defaulted. Keystone Management lied about the value of the loans. When the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) began
> Steven Leber (Leber) was the trustee of the Steven E. Leber Charitable Remainder Unitrust (“Trust”) which, at its peak, had assets of $4 million. The Defendant, Paul Konigsberg (Konigsberg), was a certified public accountant and the named partner of Koni
> Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. was a publicly-traded company whose financial statements were audited by Coopers & Lybrand, LLP for many years. When Oregon sold the stock in one of its subsidiaries, Coopers advised Oregon—incorrectly and negligently, as it turn
> In 1960, The New York Times ran a full-page advertisement paid for by civil rights activists. The ad described an “unprecedented wave of terror” by the police of Montgomery, Alabama, against civil rights protesters. It stated that the police had assaulte
> It was late night at the Del Lago hotel bar. Bradley Smith and 40 of his closest fraternity brothers had been partying there for hours. Around midnight, guests from a wedding party made a rowdy entrance. One of Smith’s friends brashly hit on a young woma
> Maria Kerkoulas owned the Pub Zone bar, frequented by many motorcycle gangs, and knew from her own experience and conversations with police that some of the gangs, including the Pagans, were dangerous and prone to attack customers for no reason. Kerkoula
> The defendant, attempting to heal the plaintiff, left him blind in one eye. The plaintiff has sued in trespass, a forerunner of today’s tort action. The defendant made a procedural argument, claiming that the plaintiff should have brought an action of co
> Discovery in civil litigation is rarely the subject matter for legal dramas on television or in the movies, so the discussion of discovery will be unfamiliar to many students. Students should understand its role in our adversary system as defined in the
> Microsoft Libya hired a Libyan citizen, Mahmoud Kedkad, to work as a Marketing Lead in Tripoli. Kedkad signed a one-year employment agreement (2010 Contract) providing that: This contract is subject to the prevailing labor law applicable in Libya. The L
> Oak Ridge FM, Inc. and Dick Broadcasting Company (DBC) entered into a contract that gave DBC a right of first refusal to purchase all the assets of Oak Ridge’s radio station WOKI-FM. The agreement also provided that: No party may assign its rights, inte
> Heritage wanted to buy a substance called TBCC from Phibro but, because of uncertainty in the industry, the two companies could not agree on a price for future years. It turned out, though, that the price of TBCC tended to rise and fall with that of copp
> Scott Minkler alleged that when he was a child, his Little League baseball coach, David Schwartz, had molested him. During the period when these terrible events occurred, David was living at the home of his mother, Betty Schwartz, and some of the episode
> Jones Brothers Construction was the general contractor on a job to expand American Airlines facilities at O’Hare International Airport. Jones Brothers invited Quake Construction to bid on the employee facilities and automotive maintenance shop (“the proj
> Dr. Robert Mayo was a tenured faculty member of the engineering department at North Carolina State University (NCSU). In July, he informed his department chair, Dr. Paul Turinsky, that he was leaving NCSU effective September 1. Turinsky accepted the resi
> William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers, Inc. sold fine art and antiques at public auctions. Albert Rabizadeh wanted to buy a nineteenth-century Russian silver and enamel box, with an estimated value of $4,000, that was to be sold at one of J
> Mr. and Ms. Ahrens wanted to buy a trailer court owned by Charles Dodd. The Ahrenses drafted and signed a contract to buy “Blue Bell Trailer Court” for $305,000. The contract stated that the trailer court included 31 acres. Dodd held the deed to a 33.72-
> From May 1992 through January 1993 plaintiff Bed, Bath & Beyond negotiated with defendant La Jolla Village Square Venture Partners (“La Jolla”) for a lease of retail space in La Jolla Village Square, a shopping center La Jolla was then in the process of
> Adam Curry was an MTV video disc jockey (“VJ”) and host of the popular Headbanger’s Ball and MTV Top 20 Video Countdown. In the early days of the Internet, when VJs had big hair and many major companies (including MTV) were not yet online, Curry dreamed
> In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the FBI questioned more than 1,000 people with suspected terrorist links. It then detained those it deemed to be “of high interest,” most of whom were Arab Muslim men. Javaid Iqbal, a Pakistani Muslim, was arrested and c
> As introduced in the chapter opener, Howard Browning and Lynn Poirier were a couple. Early on, they promised to share any lottery winnings equally. Fourteen years after that oral promise, Poirier purchased a winning ticket and collected one million dolla
> Tommy and Eleanor Daves gave their daughter Lisa Baker the deed to a two-acre property with a house on it, keeping for themselves a life interest in the parcel. When they died, the property returned to their daughter. Two years later Tommy and Eleanor di
> A tenant had rented land from Richardson. However, Campbell claimed the property was really his. Unless the tenant could prove that Richardson owned the land, he would have no right to stay there. Richardson's tenant offered a deed (which was then calle
> A former colleague recruited Luke to join his new company as a director, leading a team of about 30 people. Luke was replacing Jill, who had been fired for failing to deliver on an important project. The team he was to lead suffered from low morale and a
> Rob is in the business of buying dental practices. He finds solo practitioners, buys their assets, signs them to a long-term contract and then improves their management and billing processes so effectively that both he and the dentists are better off. Ro
> As IT professional describes how short-term thinking threatened him and his company: The CIO of my company was the kind of boss who expected people to do as they were told. Everyone in the company kowtowed to him, even his peers. Years before, he had in
> Wesley Autrey was standing on a train platform with his two young daughters, and a man he did not know. Suddenly, this man had a seizure, causing him to fall on the tracks. Autrey heard a train approaching, and knew he had only seconds to act. Leaping on
> When Orlanda graduated from college, she got a job as a software engineer in Silicon Valley. After two years working in technical support, one of her customers offered her a job at his company. It turned out that her new firm was in shambles, but, after
> James is on the management team of a health insurance company called HIC. At a team meeting, the CEO announces that from now on, HIC will not hire smokers, and all employees will be regularly tested for nicotine. This policy would reduce the firmâ&
> The Stored Communications Act (SCA) protects the privacy of electronic communications stored by service providers (that is, by companies offering an internet connection). This statute prohibits the government from accessing a user’s electronic files with
> Although International Shoe manufactured footwear only in St. Louis, Missouri, it sold its products nationwide. It did not have offices or warehouses in the state of Washington, but it did send about a dozen salespeople there. The salespeople rented spac
> Throughout the early 1990s, Royal Dutch Petroleum, a Dutch company, and Shell, a British company, were engaged in oil exploration and production in Nigeria. When local residents protested the oil companies’ practices, the firms allegedly paid the Nigeria
> Forestal Guarani S.A., in Argentina, entered into an oral agreement to sell wooden finger-joints to Daros International, Inc. in New Jersey. Forestal sent Daros the products but Daros declined to pay the full amount. When Forestal sued Daros in the U.S
> Avenues in Leather (Avenues) imported Calcu-Folios, which are 13 inches tall by 11 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep. They are made of paperboard covered in plastic with a padded handle. It is zippered on three sides and contains an interior sleeve, severa
> Antigua is a small Caribbean nation. When it began hosting gambling websites, its economy thrived, boosted by U.S. gamblers. But when the United States started criminally prosecuting Internet gambling, Antigua’s profits plummeted. The United States had t
> Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) was a Saudi Arabian corporation owned by the Saudi government. In the 1970s, it entered into joint ventures with Mobil and Exxon, under contracts governed by Saudi law. The agreements forbade the participants fr
> Perlman filed a request under FOIA with the Department of Justice ("DOJ") seeking the release of a 143-page Report of Investigation ("ROI") by DOJ's Office of the Inspector General. The ROI discussed allegations of impropriety on the part of INS official
> The reverend Abraham Kennard bilked hundreds of churches out of millions of dollars through a phony grant scheme. Abraham created the Network International Investment Corporation and then approached churches and other nonprofits with an offer: for every
> Amy Maida sued her employer, RLS Legal Solutions for various claims relating to her job. RLS asked that the case be dismissed because Maida had signed an arbitration agreement. Maida had signed the contract but argued it should not be enforced because sh
> Jonathan Messina had been a successful sales executive for Integra Optics for over a year when the multinational fiber optics company asked him to sign a non-compete agreement. Integra’s proposed agreement prohibited Messina from working for Integra comp
> For two decades, James Obergefell and John Arthur were in a committed same-sex relationship in Ohio. Arthur got very sick, and the couple was eager to marry before he died. Since same-sex marriage was illegal in Ohio and Arthur could not easily move, the
> Brian Donovan, in the market for a used car, spotted a newspaper ad for a local Lexus dealer listing a sapphire blue Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas for $25,995. Jaguars of the same year and mileage cost about $8,000 to $10,000 more than the auto at the Lexus age
> Billy Stevens owned a paint company and on several occasions he ordered employees to dump 55-gallon paint drums and pallets of old paint cans on property that he owned. Employees notified the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of this dumping and the
> Plaintiffs alleged that Robert Beeman purchased dilapidated houses in poor sections of Baltimore, searched for unsophisticated, low-income buyers, and promised them a renovated home for a mere $500 down payment. Beeman had the buyers sign contracts for g
> While Charles Engel’s wife was out of town, he sat home alone, drinking mightily. During this period, he made an agreement with G. M. Babcock to trade a 320-acre farm and $2000 worth of personal property for a hotel. Engel’s property was worth approximat
> Kevin Green paid $4,600 cash for a used Camaro from Star Chevrolet. When the car blew a gasket, the dealer refused to give Kevin his money back. Kevin repaired the car himself and drove it on the highway, where it was wrecked. Kevin sued Star, and the tr
> David Nosal worked for an executive search firm, Korn/Ferry (K/F). Shortly after he left the company to start a competing business, he convinced some of his former colleagues to log into the company’s confidential database and give him customer names and
> Ernesto Miranda was a mentally ill, indigent citizen of Mexico. The Phoenix police arrested him at his home and brought him to a police station, where a rape victim identified him as her assailant. Two police officers took him to an interrogation room bu
> David Novak suffered a brain aneurysm and was unconscious. An ambulance took him to Saint Regional Medical Center, where doctors successfully operated. Novak remained in the hospital for two months and then was discharged. Novak did not pay the Medical
> Wendell Lund was a dutiful son to his parents, Orville and Betty. For most of his life, he lived and worked on the family farm. As an adult, he did not pay rent, and his parents provided him means and general assistance with the work of the farm. Althoug
> Ryan Leslie, a rapper, was distraught when someone stole his computer and external hard drive because they contained some music he was writing. In an effort to retrieve his items, he created a series of YouTube videos, news articles, and social media pos
> New London, CT was declining economically. In order to revitalize the city, state and local officials decided to redevelop a section of the city called Fort Trumbull. The development plan included residential, business, and hotel use. The state bought mo
> The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is the biggest shopping day of the year. One major retailer advertised a “Black Friday only” laptop for $150. On Thanks giving night, hundreds of people waited for the store to open to take advantage of
> You are an executive vice-president of StikM, a company that manufactures various adhesive products and sells them to manufacturers and retailers. Your company uses large quantities of Apocryphonium, an essential chemical that is manufactured by only one
> John Hancock Life Insurance Co. receives lots of cash in premium payments, which it then invests so that it will have enough funds to pay claims from its policy holders. To this end, it entered into a leveraged lease with Hoosier Energy. This transaction
> In 1991, Bill Clinton was Governor of Arkansas. Paula Jones worked for a state agency, the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC). When Clinton became President, Jones sued him, claiming that he had sexually harassed her. She alleged that, in
> Fred Goodman bit into a Wendy’s hamburger and was injured by a triangular piece of cow bone, about one sixteenth to one quarter inch thick and one half inch long. The restaurant purchased all of its meat from Greensboro Meat Supply Company (GMSC). Wendy’
> A latte (which means “milk” in Italian) is a coffee drink made with milk and often topped with milk foam. According to the Starbucks menu, its Grande lattes contained 16 fl. Oz. A group of heated Grande-latte-drinkers sued Starbucks for breach of expres
> In 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC introduced the PlayStation 3 (PS3) gaming system, as ““the most advanced computer system that serves as a platform to enjoy next generation computer entertainment.” Sony promoted PS3’s innovative capabilit
> John Beal ran a cleaning business. He purchased a window blind cleaning machine from Daniel Griffin for $18,000. Griffin told Beal that the best way to ship the machine was by “electronic” means, in other words, with the special care given to sensitive e
> Bess Harmon owned a two-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse named Phantom Recall. Harmon, who lived in Tennessee, boarded her horse with Steve Dunn. Dunn cared for Phantom Recall and showed him at equestrian events. Harmon instructed Dunn to sell the horse
> Steve Sitton forged a check belonging to his brother, went to Nowlin’s Jewelry, and misrepresented that he had his brother’s authorization to make a purchase. He bought a gold ladies’ Rolex watch with a diamond bezel for $9,438.50. The next day, Sitton c
> Edward Salib owned a Winchell’s Donut House in Mesa, Arizona. Salib displayed large signs in his store window. The City ordered Salib to remove the signs as they violated the Sign Code which prohibited covering more than 30% of store’s windows with signs
> With a fraudulent check Scott Simmons purchased a 15-carat, heart-shaped diamond ring for $70,000 from Archer Estate Jewelers. Simmons took the diamond, and the accompanying gemological certificate, to a jewelry store/pawnshop operated by Glenn Verdult.
> On a Friday afternoon, Karl and Linda Kennedy went to John Nolan Ford to buy a new Ford Mustang. The parties signed all necessary documents, including a New Vehicle Buyer’s Order, an Agreement to Provide Insurance, and credit applications. The Kennedys m
> Ohio State University (OSU), experiencing a drought in its men’s basketball program, brought in coach Jim O’Brien, to turn things around. The plan was successful. In only his second year, he guided the team to its best record ever. The team advanced to t
> Bonus Case: Brunswick Hills Racquet Club Inc. v. Route 18 Shopping Ctr. Associates Facts: Brunswick Hills Racquet Club (Brunswick) owned a tennis club on property that it leased from Route 18 Shopping Center Associates (Route 18). The lease ran for 25 y
> Rashard Mendenhall, an NFL football player, had a longstanding endorsement agreement with Hanesbrands (HBI), in which he promised to promote Champion athletic apparel. In Section 17(a), the agreement provided: If Mendenhall commits or is arrested for any
> Brighton Homes developed residential housing in the Miami area and contracted with Knight-Ridder to run advertisements in the Miami Herald newspaper. The contract required Brighton to designate the size of the ad and stated that Knight-Ridder would print
> A Country Life Insurance agent persuaded Donald and Anna Mae Anderson to buy a life insurance policy, accepting from them a check for $1,600. He gave the Andersons a “conditional receipt for medical policy,” which stated that the Andersons were covered,
> The Basketball Marketing Company (BMC) markets, distributes, and sells basketball apparel and related products. BMC signed a long term endorsement contract with a 16-year-old Serbian player, Darko Milicic, who was virtually unknown in the United States u
> To ensure fair competition and client privacy, many financial services firms sign an agreement known as the Protocol for Broker Recruiting. It outlined the procedures that all member firms, and their employees, had to follow when hiring financial advisor
> Jim and Bonnie Hyler enjoyed traveling about the country with a camping trailer that they pulled behind their car. Jim sustained a back injury that left his right leg numb and he was unable to hook up the trailer to the car. The Hylers visited Autorama a
> Indiana’s public indecency statute prohibits any person from appearing nude in a public place. A nightclub called the Kitty Kat Lounge, and several dancers who wished to perform nude, filed suit, seeking an order that the statute was unconstitutional. Th
> Christian Kjaer and his relatives (Sellers) owned a small island off the coast of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Some investors, led by Miami Dolphins football player Jason Taylor agreed to buy it for $21 million. Under the contract, Taylor paid a $1
> Joseph Toscano was the general manager of Fields Pianos (Fields) in Santa Ana, California. He was unhappy with his job, and decided to seek other employment. In July, Greene offered Toscano a sales management job, starting September 1. Toscano relied on
> Bi-Economy Market, a family-owned meat market, was insured by Harleysville Insurance. The “Deluxe Business Owner’s” policy provided replacement cost for damage to buildings and inventory. Coverage also included “business interruption insurance” for one y
> The Hadleys operated a flour mill in Gloucester. The mill’s crankshaft broke, causing the mill to grind to a halt. The Hadleys employed Baxendale to cart the damaged part to a foundry in Greenwich, where a new one could be manufactured. Baxendale promise
> Hawkins suffered a severe electrical burn on the palm of his right hand. After years of living with disfiguring scars, he went to visit Dr. McGee, who was well-known for his early attempts at skin grafting surgery. The doctor told Hawkins “I will guarant
> Case law tells us that a course syllabus is not a binding contract—but how about your school’s honor code? Under what conditions could an honor code be a contract?
> Walker-Thomas Furniture Company, operated a retail furniture store in an economically disadvantaged DC neighborhood. The store’s standard boilerplate contract provided, in fine print, that when a purchaser bought more than one item, any payment she made
> Barbara Richards leased an apartment at Twin Lakes, a complex owned by Lenna Ransburg. The written lease declared that: • Twin Lakes would “gratuitously” maintain the common areas. • Richards’ use of the facilities would be “at her own risk.” • Twin La
> For the most recent 16 years, Kathy King had worked at Head Start, which provided haircuts, coloring and styling for men and women. King was primarily a stylist, though she had also managed one of the Head Start facilities. King quit Head Start and began
> A and B, a married couple, were having difficulties conceiving a child. They chose to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF), which involves removing the woman’s eggs and combining them in a petri dish with the man’s sperm. A and B’s process yielded multip
> In 1984, outside the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Gregory Johnson participated in a protest against policies of the Reagan administration. Participants gave speeches and handed out leaflets. Johnson burned an American flag. He was arrested a
> American Express Travel Related Services (American Express) alleged that New York resident Titus Assih missed a credit card payment. His interest rate ballooned from 12.24% to 21%, and eventually to 27.99%. Assih made small payments for a time, but soon
> Authentic Home Improvements (Authentic) performed work on Diane Mayo’s home. Mayo sued for return of the money she paid. In court, Authentic admitted that it had no contractor’s license when it began the work, but had expected to obtain it shortly. The c
> Suulan Chem asked an acquaintance, insurance agent Thuan Wu to purchase an insurance policy on the life of her young son, Michael. Wu purchased a short term policy through Surety Life Insurance. Later, without telling Chem, he renewed that policy and bou
> Brodsky signed an option contract to buy land from Culbertson. Brodsky was to deliver a check for $5,000, representing “earnest money,” to a bank. The bank would hold the check in escrow, uncashed, for 60 days. Brodsky could inspect the property and perf
> When Anthony Willoughby was diagnosed with diabetes, he notified his company’s Human Resources department. Despite treatment, Willoughby experienced side effects that included swelling, dizziness, blurred vision, and frequent bathroom use. Heat caused th
> United Airlines required its pilots to have uncorrected vision of at least 20/100. It refused to hire twin sisters with 20/200 vision, even though their vision could be corrected to 20/20. The sisters sued under the ADA, claiming that United Airlines was
