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Articles 1 - 30 of 32
Full-Text Articles in Law
Negligence - Liability Of Manufacturers To Third Parties
Negligence - Liability Of Manufacturers To Third Parties
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff was engaged in selling bottled beverages at a roadside stand. While she was attending to her duties, a bottle filled with carbonated soda pop exploded, throwing glass particles into her eye and eventually causing the loss of sight. Plaintiff proved that the bottle was defective, that proper inspection would have revealed the defect, and that neither the bottle manufacturer nor the bottler had made proper inspection. Held, both the manufacturer and the bottler are liable to plaintiff for injuries sustained. Smith v. Peerless Glass Co., 251 N. Y. S. 708 (1931).
Divorce - Domicil - Recognition Of Foreign Decrees, Florence K. Frankel
Divorce - Domicil - Recognition Of Foreign Decrees, Florence K. Frankel
Michigan Law Review
The New York Court of Appeals has re-emphasized some well-established principles of divorce jurisdiction in the recent case of Fischer v. Fischer. In a suit involving the validity of a second marriage, W proved a Nevada divorce from her first husband, a citizen of New York, who had been served in New York but had not appeared to defend the litigation. The court denied recognition to the Nevada decree because W's residence in Nevada, while it conformed with the statutory requirements of that forum, was proved to have been acquired solely for the purpose of securing a divorce. The …
Corporations - Chattel Mortgages - Consent Of Stockholders
Corporations - Chattel Mortgages - Consent Of Stockholders
Michigan Law Review
The claimant held a chattel mortgage on certain fixtures, the property of a corporation in which the bankrupt held a controlling interest. The validity of the mortgage was challenged by the trustee for the reason that it had been executed in disregard of the statutory requirements. It was admitted that the assent of the stockholders was not formally expressed, but it appeared that the requisite number of stockholders had, in fact, assented. Held, that the mortgage is void since it did not have the statutory consent to its execution, the fact of actual consent being immaterial. In re Joseph …
Torts - Negligence - Liability For Injuries Caused By Fright
Torts - Negligence - Liability For Injuries Caused By Fright
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff's testatrix, a passenger in an automobile which collided with a machine negligently operated by defendant, suffered no serious physical injuries from the collision. However, "within a few minutes after the accident, she stepped from the automobile and started to write down the defendant's name and license number," but, due to her fright, she fainted and fell, fractured her skull, and died. Judgment for plaintiff was affirmed in the appellate division. The New York court of appeals held that the judgment should be affirmed, and upheld the trial court in its refusal to instruct the jury that it must find …
Procedure - Service Of Process - Jurisdiction Conferred By Consent
Procedure - Service Of Process - Jurisdiction Conferred By Consent
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff, a resident of England, and defendant, a resident of New York, entered into a contract for the sale and delivery of zinc. By a clause in the contract the parties agreed that all differences arising thereunder should be arbitrated at London pursuant to the arbitration law of Great Britain. Differences arose, and the plaintiff requested the defendant in New York to concur in the selection of an arbitrator, serving notice that, in the event of failure so to do, application would be made for appointment of one as provided by statute. This notice was ignored, and a form of …
Corporations-Duty Of Corporate Trustee To Record Mortgage Securing Bonds
Corporations-Duty Of Corporate Trustee To Record Mortgage Securing Bonds
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff became the holder of bonds issued under and secured by a collateral trust agreement executed in Pennsylvania. The mortgage contained the provision that " * * * the trustee, save for its gross negligence or wilful default, shall not be personally liable for any loss or damage" and further that "It shall be no part of the duty of the trustee to record this instrument as a mortgage." The mortgage was not recorded nor the mortgage debt satisfied. Plaintiff sued the trustee in New York for negligence. Held, the contract limited the obligations and duties of the trustee, …
Equity-Power To Reform-Effect Of Statute Of Frauds
Equity-Power To Reform-Effect Of Statute Of Frauds
Michigan Law Review
The plaintiff made an oral contract to sell certain shares of stock to the defendant at a price of $1,160 a share, as a result of a telephone conversation. On the same day the plaintiff sent the defendant a written confirmation of the sale, in which the price of $1,060 a share was inserted by mistake. The New York Statute of Frauds makes such a contract unenforceable unless a note or memorandum thereof be in writing. Held, that although the parties intended to make a memorandum of the oral contract which they had made, the memorandum was of a …
Conflict Of Laws-Recognition Of Foreign Alimony Decree
Conflict Of Laws-Recognition Of Foreign Alimony Decree
Michigan Law Review
In 1928, a New York court ordered D, who was suing for annulment of his marriage, to pay alimony pendente lite and attorney's fees to W. This judgment had remained unsatisfied. W, in 1931, brought a bill in equity in Massachusetts asking that D, now a resident of Massachusetts, be ordered to pay the amount due on the judgment. Held, although the local statute (Gen. L., c. 209, sec. 6) did not permit suits at law between husband and wife, that mere circumstance was not sufficient grounds for granting equitable relief on the ground of the inadequacy of the …
Conflict Of Laws-Corporations-Effect Of Soviet Dissolution On Status Of Russian Corporations Abroad
Conflict Of Laws-Corporations-Effect Of Soviet Dissolution On Status Of Russian Corporations Abroad
Michigan Law Review
A Russian insurance company, driven from its domicil by the revolution and subsequent nationalization decrees of the Soviet government, was attempting to gather assets located without Russia through the surviving directors, who constituted less than a quorum of the last board. For the purpose of suit in New York the directors authorized an assignment to the plaintiff, an American corporation, of a claim against the defendant, a British corporation, arising out of a contract made in England. In the subsequent suit it was held that the directors' authority was limited to that of conservators, and did not include the power …
Brokers-Liability In Conversion For Sale Of Stolen Bonds
Brokers-Liability In Conversion For Sale Of Stolen Bonds
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiffs, brokers, sold on the Exchange as agents for a supposedly reputable customer, certain negotiable bonds. Purchasers, upon learning that the bonds had been stolen, returned them to the plaintiffs who, pursuant to a rule of the Exchange, substituted other bonds of unquestioned title. In an action by the plaintiffs against an insurance company, subrogated to the rights of the original owners, for a declaration of ownership, held, for the plaintiffs. Gruntal v. National Security Co. (N. Y., Nov., 1930) 173 N.E. 682.
Conflict Of Laws-Bills And Notes-Law Governing Vailidity Of Transfer Of Check By Indorsement
Conflict Of Laws-Bills And Notes-Law Governing Vailidity Of Transfer Of Check By Indorsement
Michigan Law Review
The president of a New York corporation indorsed in blank in the corporate name a check payable to the corporation. He then indorsed the check personally and mailed it to the Banque De Bruxelles, a foreign corporation located in Belgium. The bank in Belgium received it for collection and forwarded it for collection to its correspondent in Washington, D. C. The proceeds were received by the bank in Belgium and credited to the personal account of the president of the New York corporation as directed by him. Later, he withdrew the amount from the bank for his own use. Assignees …
Process-Service By Publication In Creditors' Suits
Process-Service By Publication In Creditors' Suits
Michigan Law Review
The plaintiff, a citizen of Missouri, recovered a judgment against the defendant, a citizen of New York, in the federal district court, S. D., New York. Execution was issued and returned unsatisfied, and a creditors' bill was brought to subject the surplus of a trust fund in New York, of which the defendant was the cestui, to the satisfaction of the judgment. In the meantime the defendant bad moved to New Jersey, and service of process was had upon her by publication. On a motion to vacate the order allowing service by publication, the court held that the order allowing …
Treaties-Effect Of War On Commercial Treaties
Treaties-Effect Of War On Commercial Treaties
Michigan Law Review
The Sophie Rickmers, a German merchant vessel registered at Hamburg and owned by a German corporation with principal place of business there, entered New York Sept. 27, 1921. Upon its entry a tonnage duty of fifty cents per ton was collected under U. S. Rev. Stat. sec. 4219 as amended by 19 Stat. 250 (46 U. S. C. A. 121), and sec. ,4225 (46 U. S. C. A. 128), in addition to the six-cent tonnage duty under 36 Stat. 111 (46 U. S. C. A. 121). The treaty of the United States made in 1827 with the Hanseatic Republics, 1 …
Taxation-Excise Measured By Income From Copyrights
Taxation-Excise Measured By Income From Copyrights
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff, a New York corporation, brought a bill to enjoin the Attorney-General of New York and others from collecting under a New York statute a tax levied "for the privilege of exercising its franchise in this state in a corporate or organized capacity," and measured by "income from any source," which had been interpreted to include income derived from copyrights, on the ground that the statute, as applied, infringed the federal Constitution. Held, three judges dissenting, that the tax was an excise tax levied for the privilege of doing business in a corporate capacity and that a constitutionally permissible …
Arbitration And Award-Effectof Foreign Arbitration Statute
Arbitration And Award-Effectof Foreign Arbitration Statute
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff contracted to furnish and defendant to exhibit a number of motion pictures. The contract included an arbitration agreement in which the parties agreed to submit all disputes arising under the contract to a specified board of arbitration and to abide by its award. The arbitration agreement was to be governed by the laws of New York, by which it would have been valid, irrevocable and specifically enforceable. Defendant breached the contract, refused to submit the dispute to arbitration, and failed to comply with the award when plaintiff did so. Plaintiff then brought suit in Ohio to enforce the award. …
Negligence-Spread Of Fire-"New York Rule."
Negligence-Spread Of Fire-"New York Rule."
Michigan Law Review
The properties of plaintiff and defendant were separated by a city street. While filling a gasoline tank on his premises defendant allowed the tank to overflow, the escaping gasoline ignited, the fire spread to a warehouse on defendant's property and thence, across the street, to plaintiff's buildings. Held, that the negligence of the defendant was the proximate cause of the injury to the plaintiff, within the so-called "New York Rule" of limited liability in such cases, inasmuch as the titles of the two parties ran to the center of the street. Homac Corporation v. Sun Oil Co., 244 …
Torts-Negligent Misrepresentation-Duty Arising From Contract To Persons Not Parties
Torts-Negligent Misrepresentation-Duty Arising From Contract To Persons Not Parties
Michigan Law Review
The defendants, accountants, examined the books of the Stern Co., knowing that their balance sheet and 32 certified copies would be exhibited as a basis for future credit, but not knowing of the plaintiff particularly. Through negligence they failed to discover and report insolvency. Relying upon the report showing a solvent concern plaintiff extended credit to the Stem Co. He sued for his loss in two counts, negligence and fraud. Held, defendants had no duty to plaintiff to exercise due care, so he can not recover for negligence in the examination. But defendants might be liable for fraud as …
Admiralty-Jurisdiction-Workmen's Compensation
Admiralty-Jurisdiction-Workmen's Compensation
Michigan Law Review
The question of what remedies should be available to maritime workers for injuries in the course of their employment has received much attention from the courts during the last fifteen years. This has resulted in some conflicts of the federal maritime jurisdiction with the jurisdiction of the states, and particularly' with the workmen's compensation acts enacted by them. The history of this situation was reviewed in 27 MICH. L. Rev. 191, December, 1928, in a note by G [errit] D [emmink]. In view of three decisions rendered last spring by the United States Supreme Court, it has seemed well to …
Trusts - Cancellation - Beneficiaries As Necessary Parties
Trusts - Cancellation - Beneficiaries As Necessary Parties
Michigan Law Review
The plaintiff deeded property to the defendants in trust, for herself for life and on her death to certain named persons. Plaintiff sued the defendants alone for revocation on the ground of fraud and duress. Held, the issue of fraud could not be tried in the absence of the living cestuis. McKnight v. Bank of N. Y. & Trust Co., 254 N. Y. 417, 173 N.E. 568.
Libel And Slander-Words Actionable Per Se
Libel And Slander-Words Actionable Per Se
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff brought a slander action, alleging that the defendant had said "You dirty crook, you are the biggest crook in Bedford Avenue." Apparently the declaration alleged no special damages, and contained no innuendo setting forth circumstances which would enlarge the meaning of the statement complained of. On defendant's motion for a dismissal, on the ground that the complaint did not state a cause of action, held, that the words were actionable per se. Weiner v. Leviton (N. Y. App. Div. 1930) 244 N. Y. S. 176.
Deeds-Side Of Lake As Boundary-Presumption That Grantee Takes To Center
Deeds-Side Of Lake As Boundary-Presumption That Grantee Takes To Center
Michigan Law Review
ln a conveyance of land adjoining a lake, the description read in part, "thence running northerly * * * to the Rockland Lake thence westwardly along the south side of the Rockland Lake." Held, that the grantee took to the center of the lake. White v. Knickerbocker Ice Co. et al. (N. Y. 1930) 172 N.E. 452.
Public Utilities-Power Of Commissoin To Change Rates Set In Franchise Granted By Legislature
Public Utilities-Power Of Commissoin To Change Rates Set In Franchise Granted By Legislature
Michigan Law Review
The Dry Dock Company was given franchises by the legislature to operate street railways in New York City, by Laws 1860, c. 512, and Laws 1866, cc. 866, 868, 883. These special laws fixed a five-cent maximum fare. Much later, the Public Service Commission Law (Cons. laws, c. 48) was enacted. Sec. 29 of this provided that, "unless the commission otherwise orders, no change shall be made in any rate * * * which shall have been filed and published by a common carrier * * * except after 30 days' notice to the commission * * * and all …
Marriage--Common-Law Marriage After The Removal Of Impediments Existing At The Time Of The Ceremonial Marriage
Michigan Law Review
An action was instituted for the removal of respondent as administrator of the estate of X, on the ground that the respondent was not the legal husband of the intestate. Both respondent and deceased had living spouses at the time they entered into a ceremonial marriage in 1898, but whether or not they knew of the impediments to the validity of their marriage did not appear on the record. In 1924, the last obstacle to their marriage was removed by the death of respondent's first wife. The parties cohabited for thirty years and continued so to do subsequent to. the …
Trusts-Right Of Trustee To Reimbursement For Tort Liability
Trusts-Right Of Trustee To Reimbursement For Tort Liability
Michigan Law Review
The recent New York case, In re Lathers presents the question seldom before raised whether a trustee may be reimbursed from the trust estate for tort liability to a third person through his negligence in management of the estate. In that case, as a result of fire in an apartment building of the trust property, the trustee suffered judgments for $62,000 plus costs. The rooms of one apartment, rented by the trustee's agent, had been closed off by the lessee to form several small apartments. For the one subleased to the tort creditor, access to fire escapes, adequate normally, was …
Master And Servant-Tests Of Independent Contract
Master And Servant-Tests Of Independent Contract
Michigan Law Review
The claimant was employed by a dairy company to sell and deliver milk along a defined route, his "payment being in the form of a commission on each bottle sold. He was required to make daily payments in cash for milk and cream sold, but had the privilege of returning unsold milk or cream at the end of each day. Horses and vehicles were hired from the company at a stated price per day. Claimant was injured by a fall from his wagon while making deliveries. The State Industrial Board held him to be a servant and awarded him workmen's …
Jurisdiction For The Purpose Of Imposing Inheritance Taxes, David R. Mason
Jurisdiction For The Purpose Of Imposing Inheritance Taxes, David R. Mason
Michigan Law Review
For nearly half a century so-called inheritance tax laws of the states of the United States have been predicated upon two distinct theories of jurisdiction, many states embodying both theories into their statutes. Recent decisions rendered by the Supreme Court of the United States, however, challenge the constitutionality of such a scheme and indicate the expediency of a review of the extent of state jurisdiction for the purpose of imposing such taxes.
Insurance-Misrepresentations-Insertion Of False Answers By Medical Examiner
Insurance-Misrepresentations-Insertion Of False Answers By Medical Examiner
Michigan Law Review
If an applicant for life insurance, in answering the many questions put to him by the company's medical representative, tells the truth, but the examiner, in recording the answers, distorts them without the knowledge of the insured, may the beneficiary or the personal representative of the insured show this distortion by parol, and collect on the policy in spite of the presence of false written answers in the application? The New York court of appeals, in the very recent case, Minsker v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., 254 N. Y. 333, 173 N.E. 4, answers this question in …
Crimes--Acts Done In Commision Of Felony-Common Design
Crimes--Acts Done In Commision Of Felony-Common Design
Michigan Law Review
A group of rioting convicts freed the defendants from their cells in Auburn Prison. The defendants joined in a demand on the prison authorities for liberty to leave the prison safely, and in a threat, in case of resistance to their efforts and demands, to kill the warden and seven guards, who had been captured and disarmed and were held as hostages. The prison authorities adopted a ruse. They permitted the convicts to go into the guard room with the captured personnel, where gas bombs were then discharged. Six to a score of shots were fired, all coming, according to …
Libel And Slander-Fair Comment
Libel And Slander-Fair Comment
Michigan Law Review
The plaintiff sued the defendant publisher for an alleged malicious attack on him as the coach of the local high school football team. The newspaper article in question, after reciting several defeats suffered by the local aggregation, declared that the players were not well versed in the fundamentals of the game, that the system of plays furnished them was exceedingly antiquated, and that their latent ability had not been brought out by proper coaching. Held, judgment of non-suit reversed, as the plaintiff can recover on proof of express malice. Hoeppner v. Dunkirk Printing Co. (N. Y. 1930) 172 N.E. …
Mortgages-Foreclosure-Default In Interest
Mortgages-Foreclosure-Default In Interest
Michigan Law Review
Plaintiff was a mortgagee of certain real property. A clause in the mortgage provided that the whole amount should become due after default for twenty days in the payment of any installment of interest. Through an arithmetical error of its clerk, the defendant corporation, owner of the equity of redemption, paid $401.87 less than the amount of interest due on one installment. The total interest due was $4621.56. The clerk discovered the error and notified the mortgagee that it would be corrected as soon as the president of the corporation, who alone was authorized to sign checks, returned from Europe. …