Also known as: mistakes · mistaken · error · misapprehension
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An erroneous belief that does not correspond to the facts at the time of the relevant transaction or event.
Megan Moore sold waterfront land to Mariam Mansour under a contract promising clear title to the full parcel. At closing the deed omitted a disputed strip that both parties had assumed belonged to the seller. After discovering the error, Mansour sued for breach of the omitted promise. Because the mistake was mutual and went to a basic assumption about the land conveyed, the court permitted the contract claim to proceed despite merger of the deed.
Melanie Morris sued the wrong corporate defendant for a slip-and-fall at a store. Within the Rule 4(m) period she amended the complaint to name the correct owner, Meridian Motors. The amendment related back because Meridian Motors knew or should have known that the action would have been brought against it but for the mistake in identity.
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Maurice Marshall was convicted after the trial court gave an erroneous jury instruction on intent. Defense counsel did not object at trial. On appeal the court examined the mistake under the plain-error standard because the error affected Marshall's substantial rights even though it was not brought to the trial court's attention.
Mina Mehta was charged with knowingly passing counterfeit bills. The prosecution offered evidence that Mehta had passed similar counterfeit notes two months earlier. The court admitted the evidence under Rule 404(b)(2) to prove absence of mistake regarding the genuineness of the currency.
Meredith Maxwell contracted to sell rare equipment to Midwest Airlines for a price based on an erroneous internal cost sheet. Enforcement would have produced a windfall far exceeding any commercial expectation. Because the effect of the mistake was unconscionable, the court granted relief under the Restatement rule.
Morgan Financial's surveyor directed workers onto land possessed by Maxwell Manufacturing under the honest but mistaken belief that the parcel was part of Morgan's easement. The entry was intentional. Maxwell Manufacturing recovered damages for trespass even though the belief was reasonable and not induced by the possessor.
A mutual mistake permits avoidance when it concerns a basic assumption on which the contract was made and has a material effect on the agreed exchange of performances. Courts also consider whether the risk of the mistake was allocated to one party by agreement or custom.
Merger does not bar claims based on mutual mistake. The buyer may still sue to rescind or reform the deed when both parties shared an erroneous belief about a material fact at closing.
Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is admissible to prove absence of mistake when the evidence is relevant to a non-propensity issue and its probative value is not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice.
A mistaken belief of law or fact does not excuse liability for intentional entry onto land in the possession of another when the mistake was not induced by the possessor.
…was not; he prepared the list of names by which the clerk filled up commissions and believed Ramsay's name was omitted by mistake. He believed none of the commissions for justices of the peace signed by Mr. Adams were recorded; after being prepared they were carried to Mr. Adams for signature and then back to the…