Lenawee County Board of Health v. Messerly

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Lenawee Board of Health v. Messerly
Court Supreme Court of Michigan
Full case nameLenawee County Board of Health v. Messerly
DecidedDecember 23, 1982 (1982-12-23)
Citation(s)331 N.W.2d 203; 417 Mich. 17
Case history
Appealed fromLenawee County Circuit Court (1979), Michigan Court of Appeals (295 N.W.2d 903, 1980)
Court membership
Judges sitting John W. Fitzgerald, Thomas G. Kavanagh, G. Mennen Williams, Mary S. Coleman, Charles Levin, James L. Ryan [lower-alpha 1]
Case opinions
MajorityRyan, joined by Fitzgerald, Kavanagh, Williams, Levin, Coleman
Keywords

Lenawee County Board of Health v. Messerly, 331 N.W.2d 203 (1982) is a US contract law case decided by the Supreme Court of Michigan. It used a risk of loss analysis to justify the denial of rescission as a contract remedy despite the presence of mutual mistake. [1]

Contents

Facts

The Pickles bought a 600-square-foot (56 m2) three unit dwelling for use as a rental property from the Messerly's, only to discover that an illegal septic tank had contaminated the ground.

Raw sewage was seeping out of the ground. Lenawee County condemned the property making it worthless to the buying party Pickles. So, Pickles sought rescission and Messerly sought a deficiency judgment.

Judgment

The Supreme Court of Michigan backed away from the precedent of Sherwood v. Walker in favor of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, and relied on an "as is" clause in the land contract to deny rescission. [2]

See also

Notes

  1. Justice Dorothy Comstock Riley did not take part in the case.

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References

  1. Ayres, I. & Speidel, R.E. Studies in Contract Law, Seventh Edition. Foundation Press, New York, NY: 2008, p. 508
  2. Ayres, p. 508

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