Law Commons^™

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--ALIENS--CONSTITUTIONALITY OF McCARRAN ACT

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--DUE PROCESS--DUTY OF NON-RESIDENT VENDOR TO COLLECT USE TAX

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--DUE PROCESS--TAXABLE SITUS OF PROPERTY OF INTERSTATE AIR CARRIER

DOMESTIC RELATIONS--INFANTS--RIGHT TO DISAFFIRM SEPARATION AGREEMENT

DOMESTIC RELATIONS--RES ADJUDICATA--FAILURE TO CROSS CLAIM IN SEPARATE MAINTENANCE SUIT AS BAR TO SUBSEQUENT DIVORCE

FEDERAL JURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE--FEDERAL STATUTORY RIGHT--CHARACTERIZATION OF RIGHT FOR PURPOSE OF APPLYING STATE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

INCOME TAXATION--TAXABLE INCOME--INCLUSION OF PROCEEDS OF PUNITIVE DAMAGES

NATURAL GAS ACT--STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION--SCOPE OF STATUTE AS AFFECTED BY SUBSEQUENT DECISIONS

NEGLIGENCE--USED-CAR DEALER--DUTY TO INSPECT

SALES--IMPLIED WARRANTY--REQUIREMENT OF PRIVITY BETWEEN PROCESSOR AND ULTIMATE CONSUMER

TORTS--UNATTENDED AUTOMOBILE STATUTE--LIABILITY OF OWNER FOR …

Workmen's Compensation - Injuries Arising Out Of And In The Course Of Employment - Employer Furnishing Transportation And Employee Carrying Work To Do At Home As Exceptions To Coming And Going Rule, James W. Beatty S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, a member of the Public Service Commission, was fatally injured in an accident while traveling between his place of employment and his home. He was driving an automobile furnished by the state, which bore the expenses of maintenance and operation. Decedent had with him certain files to work on at his home, his custom being to devote a part of each weekend to matters connected with his employment. Plaintiff as widow brought an action for death benefits under the Workmen's Compensation Act. The Workmen's Compensation Commission entered an award for the plaintiff. On appeal by the state, held, …

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Effect Of Public Carrier's Financial Capacity On Liability, John E. Riecker S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sustained injuries when she fell between defendant's subway car and a platform directly opposite the car door. The cause assigned was the pressure from the closely packed crowd of subway passengers during a rush hour which resulted in plaintiff's being "carried by the crowd" into a position of danger. Defendant had shifted extra guards to the overcrowded area. No evidence of disorderliness or gang action appeared. In an action for damages due to defendant's negligence in failing to control the crowd, held, for defendant. Callaghan v. New York City Transit System, 204 Misc. 236, 125 N.Y.S. (2d) …

Negligence - Causation - Liability Under Statute For Injury Resulting From Fire Started By Railroad Locomotive, Howard. N. Thiele, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Sparks from defendant's train started a fire on defendant's right of way which spread toward plaintiff's farm. Plaintiff, in an attempt to contain the fire, plowed a fire guard along the edge of his property. While driving his tractor to a safe place after completing the last furrow, he ran over a root or limb which flew up and struck him in the eye, causing blindness. In the trial court plaintiff recovered from the railroad under an Oklahoma statute which specified that "Any railroad company operating any line in this state shall be liable for all damages sustained by fire …

Admiralty - Warranty Of Seaworthiness - Extension To Injury Caused By Appliance Not In Control Of Shipowner, George S. Flint S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Libellant, a longshore foreman for a stevedoring company loading petitioner's ship, was injured when a snatch block broke, causing some loading gear to fall upon his leg. Conflicting evidence in the lower court was resolved by the trial judge, who found that the snatch block was supplied by the stevedoring company. On the basis of this finding, the trial court held that neither the ship nor its appliances were unseaworthy, and that libellant could not recover against the shipowner. The court of appeals reversed and remanded the cause for determination of damages. On certiorari to the Supreme Court, held, …

Negligence - Duties Of Railroad - Landowner Toward Frequent Trespasser - Limitations On Rights Of Trespasser, William D. Keeler S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The duties of a landowner toward one who enters the land without consent may no longer be determined, in many cases, by merely stating the fact that the intruder is a trespasser whose presence is unknown to the landowner. This comment will discuss an area in which the relationship of landowner and trespasser inter se has been greatly altered, and will deal in particular with a class of cases which serve to limit the expanded rights of the trespasser.

Torts—Subterranean Trespass, Vincent A. Delorio

Buffalo Law Review

Phillips v. Sun Oil Co., 307 N. Y. 328, 121 N. E. 2d 249 (1954).

Torts—Liability Of State To Users Of Land It Possesses, Vincent A. Delorio

Buffalo Law Review

Le Roux v. State, 307 N.Y. 397,. 121 N.E. 2d 386 (1954).

Torts—Wrongful Death, Vincent A. Delorio

Buffalo Law Review

Wank v. Ambrosino, 307 N. Y. 321, 121 N. E. 2d 246 (1954).

Torts—Emergency Doctrine, Vincent A. Delorio

Buffalo Law Review

Meyer v. Whisnant, 307 N. Y. 369, 121 N.E. 2d 372 (1934).

Torts—Liability Of State To Users Of Highways, Vincent A. Delorio

Buffalo Law Review

Canepa v. State, 306 N.Y. 212, 117 N. E. 2d 550 (1954).

Restitution -- 1954 Tennessee Survey, John W. Wade

Vanderbilt Law Review

The title, Restitution, is a comparatively new one. Over a period of many years there grew up separately a number of distinct legal and equitable remedies--quasi-contract, constructive trust, equitable lien, reformation, rescission and others. Only recently has it been perceived that a pervading general principle underlies all of these remedies--the principle that "a person who has been unjustly enriched at the expense of another is required to make restitution to the other." Now that these several types of relief are being classed together it is more generally realized that their composite whole involves a very broad field of the law. …

Local Government Law -- 1954 Tennessee Survey, Clyde L. Ball

Vanderbilt Law Review

Tort Liability: The case of Bricker v. Sims' was one of four cases tried together involving the tort liability of a city and its officers. The Board of Aldermen of the City of Martin adopted a curfew ordinance prohibiting any person from being on a public street or other public place after 11:00 o'clock at night. Plaintiff, while conducting himself in an otherwise lawful manner, was arrested on the public streets of Martin after the curfew hour; he was jailed and the next day was convicted and fined in the city court. Upon appeal to the circuit court the case …

Torts -- 1954 Tennessee Survey, John W. Wade

Vanderbilt Law Review

There were over forty appellate decisions during the past year in the field of Torts. All but about half a dozen of these involved Negligence, and half of the Negligence cases involved traffic accidents. A reading of this latter group is well calculated to induce an automobile driver to use more care in the future.

In the great majority of Negligence cases the defendant owes the plaintiff a duty to use care. As Judge Howard expressed it in Monday v. Millsaps: "Whenever one person is by circumstances placed in such a position with regard to another that it is obvious …

The Effect Of The Palsgraf Doctrine In Indiana

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Torts - Classes Of Beneficiaries In Death By Wrongful Act Statute, Nancy Coleman Messick

William and Mary Review of Virginia Law

No abstract provided.

Municipal Corporations, Ray Browder

Washington Law Review

Covers cases on tort liability.

Torts, John Piper, Eugene H. Sage

Washington Law Review

Covers cases on contributory negligence as not a defense to wanton misconduct, on res ipsa loquitur in malpractice suits, on the standard of care having retroactive effects on building codes (Piper), on the standard of care required of persons repairing a disabled car on a highway, on conditional privilege in a libel action, and on tort actions for loss of consortium caused by the negligence of a spouse's employer (Sage).

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

A Commentary on Recent Case Law --By Subject:

Constitutional Law--Due Process--Use in State Prosecution of Evidence obtained by Illegal Invasion of Privacy

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Constitutional Law--Unlawful Search and Seizure--Admissibility of Evidence for Impeachment Purposes

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Evidence--Radar Evidence of Speed--Coincidence of Radar and Speedometer Readings as Hearsay

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Federal Courts--State NonResident Motorist Statute--Waiver of Federal Venue Privilege

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Federal Jurisdiction--Diversity of Citizenship--Retroactive Effect of Amendments to Perfect Jurisdiction

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Income Taxation--Deductions--Periodic Alimony Payments

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Labor Law--Preemptive Effect of Taft-Hartley--Scope of State Jurisdiction

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Torts--Dog Bite--Owner's Scienter

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Workmen's Compensation--Accident Arising out of Employment--Pre-Existing Heart Disease

Taft-Hartley Sections 301 And 303 Procedural Aspects, Joseph F. Dirisio, Joseph Martin Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The motives and purposes behind the binate Sections 301 and 303, no less than other sections of the Taft-Hartley Act,' are mixed and ambiguous. Foremost, however, seems the notion that Congress intended to create new federal rights, contract and tort, enforceable nationally in a federal forum. In broad terms, where the required relationship to interstate commerce exists, Section 301 permits suits by either employers or unions for violation of collective bargaining agreements; Section 303 permits those injured by certain boycotts and unlawful combinations to bring suit-- in both cases, the forum provided is the district court of the United States. …

Torts-The Discretionary Function Exception In The Federal Tort Claims Act, Howard A. Cole S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The doctrine of the immunity of the sovereign in tort has long been the subject of attack by statesmen and legal writers. In response to these attacks and with a view to eliminating the unjust, expensive, and time-consuming method of settling tort claims against the federal government by the private bill method, Congress passed the Federal Tort Claims Act in 1946. The act contained a number of exceptions, the most important of which preserved the immunity doctrine as to any claim arising out of a "discretionary function" of government. A recent decision of the United States Supreme Court illustrates the …

State Law Versus A Federal Common Law Of Torts, Irvin M. Gottlieb

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Statute, Its Scope and Basic Standard Section 421(k) of the Federal Tort Claims Act excludes from its coverage "any claim arising in a foreign country."' The Foreign Claims Act which was passed by the 77th Congress and amended by the 78th Congress has specific application to foreign countries, including places located therein which are under the temporary or permanent jurisdiction of the United States.

Court test of the territorial scope of the Federal Tort Claims Act arose in a series of cases decided in 1948, culminating in United States v. Spelar, where the issue of possible foreign coverage was …

Federal Tort Claims Act And French Law Of Governmental Liability: A Comparative Study, Sidney B. Jacoby

Vanderbilt Law Review

Governmental liability for tort seems to be a field in which a comparative study is particularly appropriate. The subject is a segment of legislative reforms in which the influence of foreign systems has been marked. Highly developed foreign systems, especially the French, played their role in the demands among scholars for legislative reforms. The late Professor Edwin Borchard of Yale Law School, for many years one of the chief sponsors of federal legislation, made detailed studies of the foreign laws of governmental responsibility for tort.'

Dalehite V. United States: A New Approach To The Federal Tort Claims Act?, Massillon M. Heuser

Vanderbilt Law Review

The decision for the United States in "Dalehite v. United States,"'though by a closely divided Supreme Court, possibly indicates a turning point in litigation involving the construction of the Federal Tort Claims Act. The trend theretofore had been to expand the concept of suability and liability expressed in the Act. In "United States v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co." the Court had established the right of an insurer-subrogee to sue in its own name on a portion of a claim arising in favor of the insured-subrogor, despite the Anti-Assignment Statute and the obvious procedural and administrative difficulties not dealt with …

Some Possible New Fields In A Narrowing Act, Ross O'Donoghue

Vanderbilt Law Review

Both Congress and the courts, particularly the Supreme Court, have increasingly tended to narrow the scope of the Tort Claims Act, but within these confines there are certain classes of torts, well-recognized in the common law, which have been little used or totally neglected as the basis for suits. It is the purpose of this paper to suggest some of these and to consider their availability. Of course, such speculation may prove faulty in some cases and overlook others actually available. Prediction in law is a very risky business, so that some of these suggestions will very likely not stand. …

Book Reviews, Ferdinand F. Stone (Reviewer), Reginald Parker (Reviewer)

Vanderbilt Law Review

Governmental Liability By H. Street New York: Cambridge University Press, 1953. Pp. 221. $5.00.

reviewer: Ferdinand F. Stone

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Roman Law and Common Law: A Comparison in Outline, Second Ed. By W. W. Buckland and Arnold D. McNair. Revised by F. H. Lawson New York: Cambridge University Press, 1952.Pp. xii, 439. $7.00.

reviewer: Reginald Parker

Claims Against States, Leslie L. Anderson

Vanderbilt Law Review

In 1924, commencing a leading series of articles on "Government Liability in Tort," Professor Edward M. Borchard referred to what he called the "unexampled expansion of the police power in the United States." He wrote of the increasing risks which individuals in this country are left to bear from "defective, negligent, perverse or erroneous administration" of the functions of government. If those functions had increased at a considerable rate at the time of his article, what would one say of their extent today? Even the leaders of the New Deal discerned the risks to which increased governmental activity subjected people, …

Presumption Of Due Care By Decedent: An Anomaly Destroyed, George K. Faler

Washington Law Review

In the recent case of Hutton v. Martin, the plaintiff sued the defendant for wrongful death arising from an automobile collision. The factual issue was whether plaintiff's decedent was contributorily negligent by driving on the wrong side of the road at the time of the accident. There were no eye-witnesses to the accident except the defendant Martin. The trial judge gave the jury the following instruction: "You are instructed that when a person is injured and dies as a result of a collision, a presumption arises that the person killed was at the time exercising due care and that he …

Subrogation, Indemnity, Contribution And Election Of Remedies Aspects Of The Tort Claims Act, Fred Blanton

Vanderbilt Law Review

Dramatically altering the concept of sovereign responsibility in the field of injuries to person and property, the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946 in action has progressed steadily by application and interpretation to emerge as one of the most, if not the most, important pieces of domestic legislation enacted during the past decade. This ascendency has transpired primarily because the overwhelming majority of courts have boldly taken a dynamic approach to the inevitable problems occurring and recurring in a day-to-day consideration of the multitude of factual permutations and combinations presented to them for analysis and decision under the Act. Generally …

Torts--Intervening Negligent And Intentional Acts As Relieving A Negligent Actor From Liability, Thomas A. Mitchell

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.