To Err is Human, to Moo Bovine: The Rose of Aberlone Story

12 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2008 Last revised: 12 May 2009

Date Written: 2007

Abstract

In 1887 the Michigan Supreme Court decided the case of Sherwood v. Walker, involving a contract for a cow. It is still studied by law students today as the seminal case on the law of mutual mistake. But some popular beliefs about the case turn out themselves to be mistaken. This law review commentary explores the classic "case of the barren cow," including the parties to the lawsuit, its surprising aftermath, and its continuing importance in the law of contracts. The article was selected for reprinting in the 2009 Green Bag Almanac & Reader of Exemplary Legal Writing.

Keywords: Contract law, classic cases, mutual mistake, contract rescission, legal education

Suggested Citation

Stockmeyer, Norman Otto, To Err is Human, to Moo Bovine: The Rose of Aberlone Story (2007). Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, Vol. 24, p. 491, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1223402

Norman Otto Stockmeyer (Contact Author)

Cooley Law School ( email )

300 S. Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 13038
Lansing, MI 48901
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.cooley.edu/faculty/norman-stockmeyer

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