"Principal" vs. "principle"

In a curious coincidence, three courts confused the words "principal" and "principle" in opinions issued within the past ten days:

• "[N]ot all class members will want to [rescind] because it requires returning the loan priniciple in exchange for the release of the lien ...." Andrews v. Chevy Chase Bank, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir. Sept. 24, 2008) (slip op. at 8).

• "HP argues the trial court erred in refusing to apply the principals of Daugherty to the determination of class certification." Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Superior Court, ___ Cal.App.4th ___ (Sept. 26, 2008) (Sixth Appellate District) (slip op. at 7).

• "Hence, negligent driving of postal trucks was a principle activity for which Congress wanted to create liability when the FTCA waived sovereign immunity." MB.Financial Group, Inc. v. United States Postal Service, ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Sept. 25, 2008) (slip op. at 13770) (via California Appellate Report).

Comments

[Greg May]

Ha!

Maybe these come in bunches. Professor Martin found the same mistake in a pair of Ninth Circuit decisions last year.

That reminded me of a pet grammar peeve on which I actually published an article: "sole" vs. "solo."