Isle Royal Mining Co. v. Hertin
Michigan Supreme Court
26 Am.Rep. 520 (1877)

- Written by Richard Lavigne, JD
Facts
Hertin (defendant) mistakenly harvested timber from land owned by the Isle Royal Mining Company (plaintiff). Hertin cut the timber into firewood and stacked it on the shore of a nearby lake. Isle Royal Mining Company took possession of the wood and Hertin filed suit seeking compensation for the value of the labor expended cutting and stacking the logs. The trial court instructed the jury that Hertin was entitled to recover labor costs so long as it also found that he had harvested the timber by mistake and not in bad faith. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Hertin. Isle Royal Mining Company appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cooley, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 964,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,500 briefs, keyed to 1,006 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
- AI-generated podcast version of every brief — listen on the go, between classes, or whenever reading isn’t an option. New
Understand your casebook readings in seconds
Use our case briefs to comprehend your casebook readings faster, supplement your notes and outlines, and outshine your peers in class.
Get instant access to over 47,500+ expert-written case briefs in a searchable database keyed to 1,006 law school casebooks.


