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Full-Text Articles in Law
Administrative Officers' Tort Liability, Kenneth Culp Davis
Administrative Officers' Tort Liability, Kenneth Culp Davis
Michigan Law Review
Case law on tort liability of public officers and employees is much more interesting than one might expect on the basis of abstract contemplation. The traditional common-law notion that an employee should, as against the employer, bear the ultimate responsibility for his negligence has been exposed as seriously unrealistic in a holding by a unanimous Supreme Court; the decision concerning the government employee is potentially applicable to corporate employees. The many holdings that officers are not liable for deliberate and malicious torts are based on the intriguing view that justice cannot be done when malice is proved, without opening the …
Negligence - Breach Of Duty - Assured Clear Distance Ahead Doctrine, Herbert A. Bernhard
Negligence - Breach Of Duty - Assured Clear Distance Ahead Doctrine, Herbert A. Bernhard
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff, while driving an automobile through a tunnel, collided with defendant's truck, which was stopped without lights. The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code requires an operator to drive at such a speed as will enable him to stop within the "assured clear distance ahead." Plaintiff alleged he was temporarily blinded by the sudden change from bright sunlight to the darkness of the tunnel. The jury found for plaintiff, but defendant's motion for judgment n. o. v. was granted. On appeal, held, affirmed, one justice dissenting. Plaintiff's failure to stop his automobile within the assured clear distance ahead constituted contributory negligence as …
Negligence - Duty Of Care - Duration Of Status Of "Driver" For Puropses Of Guest Statute, George Kircos
Negligence - Duty Of Care - Duration Of Status Of "Driver" For Puropses Of Guest Statute, George Kircos
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiffs were guests riding in defendant's automobile. Defendant stepped out of the vehicle leaving the motor running, the hand brake unset, and the automatic shift in neutral position. A departing passenger brushed against the gear lever and started the vehicle which struck a wall causing injuries to the plaintiffs. On appeal from judgment adverse to the plaintiffs, held, reversed. Defendant may be held liable for ordinary negligence. California's "guest" statute limiting guests to recovery for injuries sustained by the driver's willful misconduct does not apply in this case, since the defendant ceased to be a driver the moment he …
Personal Torts Within The Family, Val Sanford
Personal Torts Within The Family, Val Sanford
Vanderbilt Law Review
If a person, while under the influence of intoxicants, drives his automobile at excessive speed, loses control of it, jumps the curb and strikes a pedestrian, injuring him severely, there would be little question, nothing else appearing, that he would be liable to the injured pedestrian in an action for damages. The premises underlying a conclusion of liability in such cases are obvious. It is in the interest of society that injured persons be compensated and rehabilitated; and our conceptions of justice are such that ordinarily it seems fair that the party who was at fault, whose action caused the …
Torts - Liability Of Supplier Of Chattel - Proof Of Manufacturer's Negligence, Whitmore Gray
Torts - Liability Of Supplier Of Chattel - Proof Of Manufacturer's Negligence, Whitmore Gray
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff service station operator brought an action to recover for injuries resulting from the explosion of one of defendant manufacturer's tires. The tire, while admittedly new, had been purchased by a third party some eighteen months before being brought to the plaintiff for mounting. In addition to his own testimony, the only evidence supporting plaintiff's claim of negligence was expert testimony that such an explosion could be caused by defective wire in the bead when a tire was inflated to normal pressure, and also that there was opportunity for negligence in defendant's manufacturing processes. The district court set aside the …
Torts - Federal Torts Claims Act- Pertinence Of Governmental Proprietary Distinction, David L. Nelson
Torts - Federal Torts Claims Act- Pertinence Of Governmental Proprietary Distinction, David L. Nelson
Michigan Law Review
The tug Navajo went aground and its cargo was severely damaged by water. The owners and insurers of the tug and its cargo brought an action under the Federal Tort Claims Act alleging that the grounding of the Navajo was caused by the failure of the light in the lighthouse on Chandeleur Island, and that this failure was attributable to negligent acts and omissions on the part of Coast Guard personnel whose duty it was to check the light. The district court dismissed the action on the ground that the United States had not consented to be sued in the …