Law Commons^™

Searches And Seizures - Right Of An Individual To Force The Return Of Goods Seized And Held By Police Officials, David Dow

Michigan Law Review

One of the most vexing problems which confronts a police officer investigating a crime is to determine how far he may go in seizing goods from the possession either of the person accused of the crime or of some other person. To him it is important not only as it may affect law suits against him for invasion of possessory rights, but also to make the goods thus seized admissible in evidence. To the individual this problem is important in securing full protection against unwarranted invasions of his possession. It is elementary in our legal system that the possessory rights …

Attorney And Client - Unauthorized Practice Of Law, Herman J. Bloom

Michigan Law Review

A corporation sold "memberships" to the members of a fraternal order under a contract entitling the members, among other things, to the benefit of the corporation's "legal defense" in any proceeding arising out of the ownership or operation of automobiles--civil or criminal. This legal service was described in a magazine issued by the corporation, which contained a list of recommended attorneys. The members could employ their own attorneys, but were urged to employ those on the list. The corporation took no part in the management of the case and it had no salaried attorney. It had no notice of the …

Evidence - Statutory Presumptions In Criminal Cases - Constitutionality - Due Process, Malcolm L. Denise

Michigan Law Review

Defendant admitted killing deceased with unlicensed pistol. The trial court instructed the jury pursuant to a statute which provided that in the trial of a person charged with committing or attempting to commit a felony against the person of another while armed with any firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, without having a license or permit to carry such firearm, the fact that he was so armed should be prima facie evidence of his intent to commit such felony. Upon objection that the statute was unconstitutional as depriving defendant of due process of law, the court held that …

Torts - Right Of Prospective Legatee Against Person Preventing Execution Of Will, Emma Rae Mann

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff's sister had prepared a will which she desired to have witnessed, by the terms of which will the plaintiff would have received a share of her sister's estate. The defendant, brother-in-law of the plaintiff, by threats prevented his wife from completing the execution of the will, and he acquired all of her property by intestate succession. The plaintiff sued for damages in the amount of the proposed legacy, but the court held that the petition stated no cause of action inasmuch as there was no showing that the defendant had invaded any property right of the plaintiff. Cunningham …

Witnesses - Instruction As To Credibility Of Police Officers And Paid Detectives, Theodore R. Vogt

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was convicted of violating the liquor laws. He complained of the trial court's refusal to instruct the jury that greater care should be used in weighing the evidence of police officers than that of other witnesses. Held, such an instruction was properly refused because the witnesses were regular members of the city police force. McCartney v. State, 129 Neb. 716, 262 N. W. 679 (1935).

Effect Of Pledgee's Breach Of Duty On Existence Of The Debt, William H. Farnham

Michigan Law Review

When A borrows money from B, and transfers to B possession of A's chattel as pawn, it will be observed at once that B, the pledgee, has become the owner of two things: (a) a contract right or debt against A ; (b) a pledgee's interest in or lien upon the pawn. If the pledgee thereafter, but before payment of the debt, is guilty of a breach of duty in his dealing with the pawn, problems present themselves as to the effect of the pledgee's wrongful conduct on the existence and ownership of the debt and of …

The Proposed United States Administrative Court, Robert M. Cooper

Michigan Law Review

The last half century has witnessed a constant, almost relentless, increase of governmental responsibilities and services in both federal and state spheres of control. Due to the changing needs of our economic and social order, the desire for speedy, efficient and inexpensive settlement of controversies and the imperative need of specialized administrators, the task of performing these new functions has not infrequently been delegated to administrative tribunals or commissions. Neither the legislature nor the judiciary was capable of administering the myriad details or countless controversies which inevitably accompanied these new functions of government. As a consequence an administrative branch of …

Administrative Law - Johnson Act - Jurisdiction Of Federal Courts To Grant Injunctions Against Enforcement Of Rate Orders Of State Commissions, Donald L. Quaife

Michigan Law Review

Two years have elapsed since the passage of the Johnson Act restricting the jurisdiction of federal district courts to enjoin rate-making orders of state utility commissions; and the time is now ripe to survey the case law which has grown up under the act and to evaluate its results. It will be recalled that this statute came as the culmination of a long history of agitation to prevent federal court interference with what many believed to be a function which local state courts were better fitted to review. The interference aimed at had resulted from the amendment to the Judiciary …

Corporations - Capital, Capital Stock And Stock, Frederick K. Brown

Michigan Law Review

The recent case of Haggard v. Lexington Utilities Co. is typical of the nominalistic confusion occasioned by the use of the terms "capital" and "capital stock." Whatever progress the courts have made toward making them words of precise signification has not been reflected in the drafting of statutes, where they are employed to represent a bewildering number of connotations. The courts have recognized this and have not sought to make them words of art with a single, definitive meaning but through the mechanics of statutory interpretation have sought to divine the legislative intent.

Corporations - Significance Of Appreciation And Changing Price Levels In Corporate Dividend Policies, Kenneth K. Luce

Michigan Law Review

The appreciation of assets and the legal and accounting problems involved are largely a product of constant fluctuation in the value of money, and to a lesser degree a prodμct of actual rise in the relative value of isolated pieces of property. In the face of political events such as the devaluation of the dollar, and economic phenomena such as the rising price level which the country has experienced since 1933, such problems are of immediate concern to the accountant and lawyer. We must recognize at the outset that appreciation or depreciation in the price level sense are unrelated to …

Joint Adventure-Extent To Which Partnership Law Applies, Merwin K. Grosberg

Michigan Law Review

The recent case of Chisholm v. Gilmer, in holding joint adventurers jointly liable on an obligation incurred by all the members thereof through a trustee who acted as agent for all the members, again opened up the problem of the nature of the joint adventure and the rights and liabilities of its members. When, in joint adventure cases, the relationship of the parties is not clearly determined by their contract, the courts have consistently looked to the law of partnership for aid in reaching a result. It is the purpose of this article to indicate the degree to which …

Contracts - Interpretation - "Permanent Employment'', Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a consulting engineer, had developed a clientele affording him a weekly income of $200, and was considering Purdue University's attractive offer of an associate professorship. Knowing these facts, defendant corporation proposed by telephone that if plaintiff would reject the Purdue offer and agree to purchase the home of defendant's power superintendent, it would give plaintiff permanent employment at a salary of $600 per month. Relying thereon, plaintiff immediately accepted, rejecting the Purdue offer, contracting to purchase the home, and performing his duties under the employment contract for about twenty-two months, after which defendant discharged him without cause. In affirming …

Corporations - Amendment Of Charter - Right To Redemption Of Preferred Stock., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff owned 100 shares of preferred stock of defendant corporation, the certificates for which, and the articles of incorporation, provided for redemption on a· given date. Subsequent to plaintiff's becoming a stockholder but prior to the redemption date of his stock, a statute was passed allowing the majority of voting shareholders of a corporation to amend its articles "without limitation." Pursuant thereto the date for redemption of plaintiff's stock was postponed twenty-five years. Under the amended articles defendant refused plaintiff's tender of the stock and demand of payment on the original redemption date. In an action against the corporation, held …

Damages - Insurance Contract - Recovery Of Present Worth Of Unmatured Installments, Milton Rabinowitz, Jacob I. Veissman

Michigan Law Review

After paying the twenty-three monthly benefits according to the provisions in the plaintiff's policy relating to total and permanent disability, the defendant decided that the plaintiff was no longer totally disabled, and thereupon stopped the monthly payments, demanded payment of premiums, and, when premiums were not paid, declared the policy lapsed on its books. Plaintiff brought suit, alleging continuance of his disability and repudiation of the insurance contract by the defendant, and he claimed as damages installments already due and installments that would mature during the period of his life expectancy. Defendant demurred. Held, there has been no such …

Election Of Remedies - Deficiency Decree As Bar To Subsequent Suit On Debt, Donald H. Larmee

Michigan Law Review

After foreclosure in Florida of a purchase money mortgage on Florida land, the mortgagee filed a claim for the deficiency against the estate of one of the co-mortgagors, who was a permanent resident of Michigan, and who had been served only by publication in the foreclosure suit. In the foreclosure proceedings the mortgagee had prayed for a deficiency decree, and the Florida court had retained jurisdiction for that purpose, after ordering the sale. The mortgagee had taken no further steps in that proceeding. Held, the Florida law was controlling, and that by Florida statutes, as construed by the courts …

Evidence -- Competency Of Wife To Testify Against Husband--Rules Of Evidence In Federal Court, Philip A. Hart

Michigan Law Review

The defendant was convicted of transporting a female in interstate commerce for immoral purposes. Over the defendant's objection the trial court permitted testimony against him to be given by the defendant's wife. This ruling he assigned as error but held a wife is competent as a witness against her husband. Yoder v. United States, (C. C. A. 10th, 1935) 80 F. (2d) 665.

Insurance Beneficiary's Right To Recover When He Has Caused Death Of Insured, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The insured died from bullet wounds inflicted by a revolver in the hand of the beneficiary. After there had been an indictment for murder the beneficiary pleaded guilty to so much of the indictment as charged manslaughter. The beneficiary sued on the insurance policy. The Supreme Court of Massachusetts held that there was error in directing a verdict for the insurer because a beneficiary who is guilty of manslaughter, where there was no intentional injury of a kind likely to cause death, is not barred from recovering on the policy. Minasian v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., (Mass. 1936) 3 …

Jury-Voir Dire-Actions For Negligence-Asking As To Interest In An Insurance Company, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

During the trial for injuries received in an automobile collision the plaintiff's attorney asked each prospective juror as to whether or not he owned stock in a named insurance company, or held a policy with it, or was an agent for it, and other questions as to whether or not the interest of an insurance company in the action would affect his decisions in the case. The company was not in fact a party to the action. The defendant assigned as error that such questions caused the jury to believe that the defendant carried insurance against loss from damages such …

Labor Law - Injunctions - Peaceful Picketing In The Absence Of A Strike, Milton Rabinowitz

Michigan Law Review

Defendant union picketed in an orderly manner to secure the cooperation of plaintiff's employees in the unionization of his open shop establishment. Plaintiff had apparently been unopposed to such unionization but, when his employees failed to respond to defendant's solicitations, had declined to encourage it in any way. Held, defendants, their agents, etc., enjoined from picketing plaintiff's place of business. Safeway Store, Inc. v. Retail Clerks' Union, 184 Wash. 322, 51 P. (2d) 372 (1935).

Libel And Slander - "Of And Concerning Plaintiff'' - Defendant's Intent, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant had a picture of plaintiff actress on display at the entrance to his burlesque theater. Plaintiff was not employed by the defendant and was not performing there. Held, that the publication could be found to have been made of and concerning the plaintiff even if the defendant knew nothing about the plaintiff. Louka v. Park Entertainments, Inc., (Mass. 1936) 1 N. E. (2d) 41.

Principal And Surety - Fidelity Bonds - Effect Of Failure To Make Disclosures Regarding Bonded Employees, Francis T. Goheen

Michigan Law Review

The defense on a fidelity bond given by the cashier was the failure of the officers of the obligee bank to disclose that prior to the execution of the bond the bank examiner had discovered and advised the officers that the cashier had, without the knowledge and consent of the officers and directors, become indebted to the bank in the. sum of $889.60 by paying his own checks drawn on the bank. When the overdraft was called to his attention the cashier immediately repaid the bank. The surety insisted that despite the fact that the officers of the bank may …

Workmen's Compensation-Burden Of Proof Of Cause Of Accident- Presumptions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, who was an employee of respondent, was found dead in respondent's store with a rope around his neck and legs. The doctor found that death was caused by asphyxiation by hanging. The deputy commissioner held that petitioner had not sustained the burden of proving that decedent met with an "accident arising out of and in the course of" employment, and that the mere finding of the body of an employee on the premises of an employer will not alone raise a presumption that there was an "accident arising out of and in the course of" the employment. Dietz v. …

Contracts - Indefiniteness - Effect Of Buyer's Right To Require Alternative Performance

Michigan Law Review

A buyer, who had agreed to take a certain number of gallons of oil within a viscosity range comprising seven weights, each weight being listed at a different price, repudiated his contract without having specified any of the seven types. In a suit by the seller to recover for breach of contract, held, as the indefiniteness of the agreement precluded any damages save those based on speculative, average, or other arbitrary price, it was not enforcible and plaintiff could not recover for defendant's refusal to accept oil. Wilhelm Lubrication Co. v. Brattrud, (Minn. 1936) 268 N. W. 634.1

Taxation - Constitutionality Of Statute Permitting Rebate On Payment Of Delinquent Taxes

Michigan Law Review

Defendant county demurred to plaintiff's claim for taxes paid under protest, arguing that ,the statute upon which plaintiff relied, one giving taxpayers the right to pay off delinquent taxes without interest and with a five per cent reduction in principal, was unconstitutional. The demurrer was overruled and defendant appealed. Held, that while the court feels that the law is entirely valid, the county is not entitled to raise an objection to it. Vance Lumber Co. v. King County, 184 Wash. 402, 51 P. (2d) 623 (1935).

Taxation - Exemptions - Municipally-Owned Property

Michigan Law Review

In settlement for collateral notes given to secure its deposits in a bank which became insolvent, a municipality had conveyed to it an office building, located in a county other than the one in which said municipality was situated. The city thereafter rented the offices to tenants operating private businesses. The county in which the building was located subjected it to an ad valorem tax. Contesting the right to its collection, the city failed to pay the assessed taxes, for a period of four years. Held, the property, although municipally-owned, not being held or used for any governmental or …

Corporations - Statutes Declaring Watered Stock Void - Effect Upon The Stockholder's Liability To Creditors

Michigan Law Review

Prior to the present era of "blue sky" laws providing for the careful scrutiny by the state of the issuance of stock, the evil of watered stock was sought to be curbed by constitutional and statutory provisions of a prohibitory and often penal nature. These statutes and constitutional provisions very generally take one of two forms.

The Colorado and the Arizona provisions are typical. In practical effect the two types of provisions are indistinguishable. The phrase "bona fide subscribers" in the Arizona form is construed to mean one who actually turns something of value over to the corporation in lieu …

Contracts-Agreements For Leasing Departments In Retail Stores

Michigan Law Review

An important merchandising device, largely developed within the last fifteen years, is the "leasing" of certain departments by proprietors of retail stores to outsiders who agree to operate them as integral units of the owner's business. It has been estimated that more than sixty per cent of department stores and more than forty-eight per cent of specialty stores had leased departments in 1930, with the average number of such departments per store in each class at 4.6 and 2.5 respectively.

Attorneys - Disbarment - Statute Of Limitations

Michigan Law Review

An attorney guilty of professional misconduct interposed as a defense the statute of limitations, which required that no proceeding to disbar or suspend an attorney be instituted except within two years after the commission of the offense or within one year after the discovery thereof. The court held the statute unconstitutional as an attempted projection of legislative power into the judicial department; the effect of the statute being to dictate to the court what evidence it might consider. In re Tracy, (Minn. 1936) 266 N. W. 88.

Constitutional Law - Impairment Of Obligation Of Contracts Change In Statutory Regulations For Withdrawal And Payment Of Building And Loan Association Members

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff became a member stockholder of the defendant building and loan association under a general Louisiana statute authorizing such corporations. This law provided for withdrawal of members, setting up a fund for payment to be made in order of notice of intent to withdraw. Plaintiff placed his name on the list, but before payment the statute in question was enacted and payment was refused. This statute abolished the liquidation fund and changed the order of withdrawal to a payment of 25 per cent of the claim at the head of the list, the claimant's name to be then placed at …

Criminal Law And Procedure - Habitual Criminal Act - Prior Convictions - Pleading And Trial

Michigan Law Review

The petitioner was charged with grand larceny and was convicted by a jury. The court thereafter made a finding that the petitioner had previously been convicted of two other felonies, and that he had served a term in the Kansas penitentiary for one felony and a term in the Missouri penitentiary for the other. On that finding and the verdict of the jury, the court sentenced the petitioner to life imprisonment under a Kansas statute which prescribed increased penalties for habitual offenders. Held, that the prior convictions need not be charged in the information and that the petitioner was …