Directory replaced with a file confuses cherry-pick

Hello!

I think I've found a bug. Here is how to reproduce.

1. Create an empty repo.
2. Add the following: file.txt containing "before" and directory problem/  
with file problem/content containing "data". Commit this.
3. From here, create a branch and commit a change to file.txt: change it  
to say "after".
4. Checkout master.
5. Remove directory problem/ and add a file with the same name (problem)  
containing "newdata". Commit this.
6. Try to cherry-pick the commit you made on the side branch on step 3.

Here is what you see:

Automatic cherry-pick failed. After resolving the conflicts, mark the corrected paths with 'git add <paths>' or 'git rm <paths>' and commit the result with:

         git commit -c 64f21a85fa3deb4d3952b0471f442a76e5147b05

And git-status says:

# On branch master # Changes to be committed: # (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage) # # modified: file.txt # # Unmerged paths: # (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage) # (use "git add/rm <file>..." as appropriate to mark resolution) # # added by us: problem # # Untracked files: # (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed) # # problem~HEAD

Expected result: the cherry-pick goes smoothly. The change I'm cherry-picking (modification of file.txt) has nothing to do with the problem file/directory. Trying to cherry-pick anything from branches that stem off from before the change of a directory to a file fails like this.

Known? Is replacing directories with files maybe a taboo?