Law Commons^™

Future Interests - Effect Of Change Of Conditions On Rights Of Entry And Possibilities Of Reverter Created To Control The Use Of Land, Rinaldo L. Bianchi

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to examine the skills which courts have developed to avoid inequitable results which might arise from forfeiture of estates, and, further, to attempt to demonstrate that judicial opinion may be in a transitional stage, tending to incorporate into law the equitable doctrine of change of conditions in disposing of cases involving rights of entry and possibilities of reverter.

Legal Effect Of Contracts To Devise Or Bequeath Prior To The Death Of The Promisor: Ii, Bertel M. Sparks

Michigan Law Review

After there has been a contract to make a will it is often said that the promisor is a trustee of the property for the use of the promisee. This statement is usually offered as a reason for or an explanation of the relief granted in a particular case, without any indication as to how such a premise was arrived at and without any consideration of other possible results that might How from the designation of the relationship as a trust.

Legal Effect Of Contracts To Devise Or Bequeath Prior To The Death Of The Promisor: I, Bertel M. Sparks

Michigan Law Review

Questions involving the rights, duties, powers, privileges, and immunities of parties to contracts to devise or bequeath are frequently raised prior to the death of the party promising to make the devise or bequest. In essence the problem is one of analyzing the legal relationships existing prior to the date set for performance. An analysis of these relationships is undertaken in this article. Vital questions concerning the formation of such contracts and their enforcement after the promisor's death are considered only when they appear essential to the development of the main theme which concerns the contract's effect prior to the …

Banks And Banking - Validity Of Exculpatory Clauses In Stop-Payment Orders, Lawrence N. Ravick S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a depositor in defendant commercial bank, in seeking to stop payment of his check, executed and left with the bank a printed form supplied by the bank, entitled ''Request to Stop Payment of Check." Among the terms of the paper was a provision which constituted a release of the bank from all liability should it pay the check through "inadvertence, accident or oversight." The bank subsequently honored the check and charged its amount against the plaintiff's account. Plaintiff demanded that the defendant refund this amount, but the defendant refused to do so. Plaintiff thereupon brought an action against the …

Future Interests - Rule Against Perpetuities - Applicability Of The Rule To An Option To Purchase Incident To A Lease, Donald M. Wilkinson, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs' testator ''leased" certain land to the defendants' assignor for a period of twenty-eight years, the latter contracting to pay $1,200 annually and to pay all taxes and assessments against the land during that period. The instrument also contained a clause whereby plaintiffs' testator contracted to convey in fee to defendants' assignor at the expiration of the twenty-eight year period, upon the latter's making a payment of one dollar. During the twenty-eight year period considerable improvements were made on the land. At the expiration of the period plaintiffs sought a declaration of rights and obligations of the parties under the …

Insurance - Recovery - Rights Of Mortgagee Under Mortgagor's Insurance, Robert B. Fiske, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant issued a policy of fire insurance on an automobile plaintiff had purchased with money borrowed from one Hansen, to whom a note and a chattel mortgage were given as security for the debt. A week after the policy was issued naming plaintiff as the insured, defendant executed an amendment to the policy in the form of an endorsement reading, "Less if any ... shall be paid to the insured and Charles H. Hansen as their interests may appear." The policy provided that it should not apply while the car was subject to any mortgage or other encumbrance not specifically …

Jacobs: Law Writers And The Courts, Richard. A. Edwards

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Law Writers and the Courts. By Clyde E. Jacobs

Contracts - Usury - Dual Contracts Designed To Evade Usury Prohibitions, Richard W. Young S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff applied to the defendant finance company for a loan of $100. The lender agreed to advance this amount and accordingly required the plaintiff to execute a note in the sum of $114.04 payable in one year and secured by a chattel mortgage on an automobile, but insisted in addition that plaintiff purchase an investment certificate in the amount of the note, issued by the defendant company and bearing percent interest, which certificate was to be paid for in twelve monthly instalments. Contending that the interest thus exacted was usurious, the plaintiff brought suit for cancellation of the note and …

Corporations - Securities Regulation - Investment Contracts Under Securities Act Of 1933, James W. Beatty S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs purchased tracts of twenty acres, part of a larger tract owned by the defendant, for the purpose of developing the tracts into small citrus groves. Plaintiffs also executed with defendant a care and management contract, whereby plaintiff was to give directions as to the marketing of the crops on the tract; the defendant management company was to follow these directions but would still supervise harvesting and marketing and would receive its compensation therefor. Plaintiff brought an action under the Securities Act of 1933 to impose civil liability for fraudulent misrepresentations and material omissions concerning the value of the land. …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Deferred Compensation As Affected By Constructive Receipt Doctrine, David D. Dowd, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Prior to his retirement as a general agent of a life insurance company, the petitioner entered into a new contract with the company by which he was to receive upon retirement fixed monthly instalments for fifteen years in lieu of his original contract rights to receive renewal premium commissions as they were paid into the company. Petitioner, as a cash basis taxpayer, reported as income only the instalments received. The Commissioner assessed deficiencies in the reports, contending that petitioner's taxable income consisted of all renewal commissions received by the company during the taxable year, rather than the instalment payments. Rejecting …

Labor Law--Labor-Management Relations Act--Disparagement Of Employer's Product As Protected Concerted Activity, George B. Berridge S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

When contract negotiations between an employer, a Charlotte, North Carolina TV station, and a local union representing the station's technicians reached an impasse, the technicians remained on the job but circulated handbills attacking the inferior quality of the employer's programs. These handbills, which were distributed throughout Charlotte as well as on a picket line which the technicians maintained during their off-duty hours, were signed simply "WBT Technicians" and made no reference to the labor dispute. The company discharged the technicians, whereupon the union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board charging a violation of sections 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(3) …

Restitution - Reliance Losses In Contract Within Statute Of Frauds, John E. Riecker S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, the owner of a seasonal night club, orally agreed to lease the premises for three years to the defendant. The plaintiff had a written lease prepared but it was not executed. Negotiations by letters and telegrams between the parties proved that the document was not a definite integration of their agreement sufficient to satisfy the statute of frauds governing leases of land for periods longer than one year. During this interval of negotiation, plaintiff at defendant's express request had procured a liquor license for the following year at the night club, hired a watchman, retained counsel to draw the …

Contracts - Consideration - Effect Of Option To Withdraw Government Surplus Property From Sale, Arthur M. Wisehart S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Office of Surplus Property accepted defendant's bid for a quantity of sodium carbonate. Submitted on the appropriate government form, the bid was subject to a condition which gave the government " . . . the right to withdraw from sale any property prior to the removal thereof without incurring any liability except to refund to the purchaser any amount paid with respect to the said property." Although the sodium carbonate had not been withdrawn from sale, the defendant refused to perform his promise to buy it. The government brought an action for damages, and the defense was that no …

The Seaman As Ward Of The Admiralty, Martin J. Norris

Michigan Law Review

The seaman has a peculiar status in American law. He is in most instances a mature individual, sui juris, and therefore capable of entering into his own contracts but nonetheless his contractual dealings with shipmasters and owners are as carefully watched by our admiralty courts as though he were a minor or a young heir. He is in contemplation of the maritime law a ward of the admiralty courts.

The seaman's position in a legal and economic sense is unique. Singled out by the Congress of the United States as one of a class of workers requiring special consideration …

Agency - Apparent Authority Of Sales Agent, William D. Keeler

Michigan Law Review

Defendant's agent, a consignee of automobiles for sale, received from plaintiff a used truck, and agreed to apply the proceeds from the sale of the truck to the purchase price of a new automobile, to be sold and delivered to plaintiff when available. Defendant's agent sold the truck and absconded with the proceeds from such sale. Plaintiff sued for the value of the truck, and the lower court rendered judgment in his favor. On appeal, held, affirmed. The acts of the agent bound the defendant, although the agency contract gave only express authority to sell new automobiles. Correa v. …