The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-05-11
The Law of Mistakes.

The source of almost every lawsuit
is to be founl in mistakes. These are
of Two kinds-mistakes of fact an
mistakes of law. Experience has
proved that the ablest men sometimes
make blunders, and the law has de.
cided that a real mistake of fact in al
important part of a contract will ex
cuse the party mistaken from per
forming his part of the agreement.
For instance /. A man inaie a con-
tract with one ice company and refused
to deal with another. When the bill
was presented he found that the latter
company had supplied his ice. lie re-
fused to pay the bill, and it was de-
cided that the mistake freed him from
liability.
A horse was sold by a trader and
paid for on the spot. While the trade
was going on the horse died. The
buyer brought suit for the money paid,
and it was decided it should be paid
back, since both parties had made a
mistake of fact in supposing the
horse to be alive when the trade was
ended.
If a farmer intending to sell hay
sells oats by mistake insteal, he may
refuse to deliver the oats on that
ground. 1t sometimes happens that a
bill is paid by mistake with counter
felt bank notes. In such a case the
payment is void and the receipt taken
is worthless.
A mistake in the quality of the
thing bargained for is no ground for
breaking an agreement. If a man
buys Il cheap thing, with the idea
that it will serve his purpose as well
as "a more expensive article, he cannot,
because he was mistaken, send it Lack
and recover the money paid.
A mistake of law i, no ground for
refusing to carry out a contract. This
rule is founded on the old maxim, "1g-
norance of the law doth not excuse
And every man is supposed to know
the law of the land he lives in.
Suppose a debtor gives his note,
! promising to pay a sum of money with
lawful interest, thinking that the legal
rate is seven per cent. If ten per cent.
is the legal interest, his ignorance of
the fact will not excuse him from pay
ing the ten per cent.
When well known legal words are
used in n contract, with a mistaken
idea of their legal meaning, they are
binding, in their legal sense, upon the
person using them.
If land is decided to a mar and to
his heirs, he receives the estate abso-
lutely, although both parties intended
that he should only have the estate
during his own life.
Some mistakes of law put an end TO
agreements on the ground that they
are rather mistakes of fact than OF
law. An executor of a will pays
money to a person whom he thinks is
an heir. If the supposed heir be an
imposture, the money a be recov-
cred. If, under IA complicated will, a
person buys rights which are his al
ready, he may get back what he paid
for them.
Mistakes of law in civil cases only
cost money; but mistakes of the Grim
inal law have more serious effects, in
the loss of responsibility and reputa-
ton. Here the plea of Ignorance of
the law will not be accepted. Acrim-
inal must suffer the penalty of his
deed, though he thought it lawful
when he committed 1t.
Formerly an outlaw might be slain
by anybody; but if a private person
should now kill an outlaw, with an
idea that he had a right to do so, 1t
would be punishable as murder
Youths Companion.