Juliette Espersen thought she was selling 83 feet of lake frontage to Michael R. Nowicki.
When a survey later revealed the property consisted of 114.7 feet of lake frontage, Juliette tried to rescind the deal based on "mutual mistake."
After the Chautauqua County Supreme Court granted Michael's request to force the sale, Juliette appealed to the Appellate Division, Fourth Division.
In order for a contract to be rescinded based on "mutual mistake," the error must exist at the time the contract's making and be so substantial in nature that there couldn't have been "a meeting of the minds."
While Juliette claimed that the amount of lake frontage was an important part of the deal, since she didn't obtain a survey and hadn't specified a per-foot price for the frontage, the AD4 refused to release her.
Wherefor art thou Juliette?
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use: Nowicki v. Espersen