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At The Fontier Of The Younger Doctrine: Reflections On Google V. Hood, Gil Seinfeld

Articles

On December 19, 2014, long-simmering tensions between Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood and the search engine giant Google boiled over into federal court when Google filed suit against the Attorney General to enjoin him from bringing civil or criminal charges against it for alleged violations of the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act. Hood had been investigating and threatening legal action against Google for over a year for its alleged failure to do enough to prevent its search engine, advertisements, and YouTube website from facilitating public access to illegal, dangerous, or copyright protected goods. The case has garnered a great deal of …

Horizontal Erie And The Presumption Of Forum Law, Michael Steven Green

Michigan Law Review

According to Erie Railroad v. Tompkins and its progeny, a federal court interpreting state law must decide as the state's supreme court would. In this Article, I argue that a state court interpreting the law of a sister state is subject to the same obligation. It must decide as the sister state's supreme court would. Horizontal Erie is such a plausible idea that one might think it is already established law. But the Supreme Court has in fact given state courts significant freedom to misinterpret sister-state law. And state courts have taken advantage of this freedom, by routinely presuming that …

Trial Preparation, Barbara Mcquade

Book Chapters

Trial preparation should begin with a careful review of the current law applicable to the case and a consideration of what legal and factual arguments will be presented to the jury. Such a review is often done in connection with the preparation of a court-ordered final pretrial order or the preparation of a trial brief. Even where such documents are not required by the court, an outline of the applicable law and the critical evidence expected to be put forth in the trial is vital to trial preparation.

As soon as possible before the scheduled trial date, you should consider …

Child Protection Law, Suellyn Scarnecchia

Book Chapters

The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution protect a parent's custodial rights. However, such rights are not absolute and may be terminated. There is no substantive due-process right to live together as a family. Doe v Oettle, 97 Mich App 183, 293 NW2d 760 (1980). Parents are not held to ideal standards in the care of their children but to minimum statutory standards. Fritts v Krugh, 354 Mich 97, 92 NW2d 604 (1958).

Integrated Pretrial Attack On A Pleading: A Critical Evaluation Of Michigan's New Summary Judgement Rule, Carl S. Hawkins, Brett R. Dick

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Modern procedural reforms reflect diminished confidence in the demurrer or "no cause" motion as a device to dispose of non-meritorious claims before trial. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, setting the pattern of reform for many states, abolished the demurrer. Although a preliminary attack upon the legal sufficiency of the complaint is still permitted by a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule 12 (b) (6), the challenged pleading may be amended as a matter of course, to minimize the risk that a good claim might be lost because it was poorly pleaded. The risk that sham amendments might then be …

The New Michigan Pre-Trial Procedural Rules-Models For Other States?, Robert Meisenholder

Michigan Law Review

The new Michigan procedural laws are embodied in a revised set of statutes and court rules which became effective January 1, 1963, after a long period of study by a Joint Committee on Michigan Procedural Revision. They abolish an anachronistic distinction between procedures in law and equity, abrogate a scattered, disorganized set of rules and statutes, and create a unified, coherent procedural system.

Congressional Repair Of The Erie Derailment, Leonard V. Quigley

Michigan Law Review

It is the thesis of this article that such legislative review and repair is required today on the part of the federal legislature in regard to the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts. Such reconsideration is particularly appropriate where, as in the analogous commerce clause area, the subject matter has been committed specifically to the Congress by the Constitution.

Eminent Domain - Procedure - Relation Of Judge And Jury In Michigan Condemnation Proceedings, John H. Jackson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The relationship of judge to jury in Michigan condemnation proceedings presents in many ways a merger of some of the problems and questions contained in the relationship of judge to jury in civil trials, and of court to tribunal in administrative law. Theorists as well as the practicing lawyer in Michigan and some other states" may well find in the development of the Michigan condemnation proceeding an interesting example of the growth of a procedure for adjudication, in a context of cross-fire between legislative ideas and judicial interpretation of a constitutional provision.

Edson R. Sunderland's Role In Michigan Procedure, Jason L. Honigman

Michigan Law Review

More than any other individual, Professor Edson R. Sunderland has had a tremendous impact upon the Michigan law of procedure. The procedural reforms which he urged and molded into the Michigan law of procedure have been in use for nearly half a century, and to this day are the framework for our procedural laws.

The Union Of Law And Equity, Charles W. Joiner, Ray A. Geddes

Michigan Law Review

This paper was prepared for the guidance of a Committee on Michigan Procedural Revision jointly created by the Michigan Legislature, the Supreme Court of Michigan, and the Michigan State Bar to recommend revision of Michigan statutes and rules. Toe need for the joinder of law and equity procedure was thought to be so fundamental that this paper was prepared as a basic study for the committee. In it an attempt is made to bring to the attention of the Michigan lawyers, judges, and legislators an analysis of the Michigan Constitution, statutes, and cases and the experience of other states that …

Federal Procedure - Counterclaim To A Counterclaim Under The Federal Rules, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown

Michigan Law Review

With one exception the cases decided in the federal courts under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have held that the plaintiff is free to plead a counterclaim in the reply, although in every instance the counterclaim in the reply under consideration was one related to the subject matter of the counterclaim pleaded in the defendant's answer.

Civil Procedure-Joinder Of Causes Of Action In Michigan, J. David Voss

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs were the owners of several lots, and used their respective properties as residences. Defendants, manufacturers of cement and concrete products, operated several large trucks in their business. Plaintiffs filed a declaration to recover damages for injuries to their properties sustained as a result of the loud noises, vibrations, and cement dust caused by the defendants' trucks when using an alley leading to defendants' place of business. The defendants' motion for dismissal on grounds of misjoinder of parties and causes of action was overruled. On appeal, held, reversed. Owners of property are not entitled to be joined in one …

Civil Procedure-Habeas Corpus-Exhaustion Of State Remedies In Rendition Cases, Alfred W. Blumrosen

Michigan Law Review

Respondent, a convict, was apprehended in Ohio after escaping from an Alabama prison. He attempted to prevent rendition by petitioning the Ohio courts for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that he had suffered cruel and unusual punishment in the Alabama prison contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment and, if forced to return, would be subject to further brutal treatment. His petition was denied at all levels in the Ohio courts and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. A similar petition was then denied by the Federal District Court in Ohio, but the court of appeals reversed without opinion and …

Civil Procedure-Right Of Impleader Under Michigan Contribution Statute, W. J. Roper

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a resident of Michigan, brought a negligence action against defendant, an Illinois corporation, for personal injury in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The defendant moved to implead a citizen of Michigan and a Michigan corporation as third party defendants on the theory that under the Michigan Contribution Statute as concurrent tortfeasors they would be liable to him for part of the judgment in the event that plaintiff recovered in the suit. The court granted the motion and the defendant filed its third party complaint. Plaintiff then moved to dismiss the third party complaint. Held …

Civil Procedure-Parties-Intervention Denied Where Applicant Asserts An Independent Cause Of Action In Damage Suit, Richard P. Matsch S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

ln plaintiff's action for property damages sustained in a collision with defendant's automobile, defendant's wife filed a petition of intervention for her claim against plaintiff for personal injuries received in the accident. Plaintiff's motion to strike the petition of intervention was overruled by the trial court. On appeal, held, reversed. Petitioner's cause of action was independent of the controversy between plaintiff and defendant and did not fall within the provisions of the court rule allowing intervention. Edgington v. Nichols, (Iowa 1951) 49 N.W. (2d) 555.

Constitutional Law-Civil Procedure-Due Process Requirements For State Jurisdiction Over Foreign Corporations, Richard D. Rohr

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, a nonresident of Ohio, brought an action in Ohio against the defendant, a sociedad anonima organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands, on claims which neither arose in Ohio nor were connected with the defendant's activities in Ohio. Defendant's president, who was also its general manager and principal stockholder, had returned to his home in Ohio when the company's mining operations were suspended by the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. During the war years, he conducted such business as was possible in Ohio, holding directors' meetings, carrying on correspondence, maintaining bank accounts, but the defendant did not …

Venue Statutes: Diagnosis And Proposed Cure, George Neff Stevens

Michigan Law Review

Modern procedural reform movements have swept by the problems of venue with but little notice. This is unfortunate, for all too many cases are decided on a venue technicality, with complete disregard for the merits. Present day venue procedures are the result of historical developments and piecemeal legislative tinkering. The time has come for an appraisal and for corrective action.

Part I of this paper contains a comparative and critical study of venue statutes in the United States today. Part II points out how and why certain of these provisions have given rise to serious problems and suggests a few …

Constitutional Law-Search And Seizure -Inspection Of Private Dwelling By Health Officer Without A Warrant, Robert P. Griffin S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A health officer sought to enter and inspect respondent's private home without a search warrant after a neighbor complained that the premises were not "clean and wholesome" as required by a District of Columbia ordinance. Respondent denied the officer permission to enter and refused to unlock the door, maintaining that his entry would violate her constitutional rights. As a result, respondent was convicted in municipal court of violating an ordinance making it a misdemeanor to interfere with or prevent an authorized sanitation inspection. On appeal, reversal of the conviction by the Municipal Court of Appeals was affirmed by the Court …

Federal Courts-Civil Procedure-Availability To Plaintiff Of Change Of Venue Under Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(A), Richard B. Gushée S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiffs filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in order to obtain service on the defendant. The plaintiff then filed a motion for an order to transfer the cause to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania under Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(a) on the grounds that all the plaintiffs and witnesses resided in Pennsylvania, that it would be inconvenient and expensive to transport these witnesses to Ohio, and that the cause of action arose in Pennsylvania. Held, motion denied. Title 28 U.S.C.A. 1404(a) is not available …

Conflict Of Laws-Limitation Of Actions-Statute Of Forum Shorter Than Limitation In Foreign Statute Creating Cause Of Action, John J. Gaskell S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Action was brought in a United States district court of Pennsylvania to recover for a death by wrongful act which occurred in Minnesota. The action was brought within the time limit of two years allowed by the Minnesota statute, but after the period of one year designated by the Pennsylvania statute for commencement of such action. The district court gave judgment for the defendant. On appeal, held, affirmed. Federal courts in diversity cases are bound by state rules of conflict of laws, and consequently the Pennsylvania rule that no action for wrongful death can be brought in Pennsylvania after …

Witnesses-Prior Conviction Of Crime To Impeach-Circumstances Of Sentencing Not Admissible, J. D. Mcleod S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

ln an action to recover for personal injuries sustained in 1945, at which time he was a prisoner of the State of Virginia, plaintiff testified in his own behalf at the jury trial. On cross-examination, he admitted that he had been convicted of assault in 1943, that sentence had been suspended on condition that he enter the service, and that he had been sentenced to jail when he failed to enter the service. In his argument, defendant's attorney declared that the action had its inception in 1943, and emphasized that plaintiff had failed to enter the service when the sentence …

Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure-Statute Of Limitations Not Tolled By Filing Complaint Under Rule 3, Clinton R. Ashford S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's cause of action arose out of a highway accident that occurred on October 1, 1943. Basing jurisdiction on diversity of citizenship, he brought suit in a United States District Court in Kansas. The complaint was filed on September 4, 1945, and defendant was served on December 28, 1945. In Kansas, the two-year statute of limitations applicable to such tort claims is tolled by service on the defendant, not by filing the complaint. Held, plaintiff is barred by the Kansas statute of limitations. Ragan v. Merchants Transfer & Warehouse Co., Inc., (U.S. 1949) 69 S.Ct. 1233.

Constitutional Law-Procedural Due Process Denied By Michigan's "One-Man Grand Jury'', Robert J. Nordstrom

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was summoned to appear as a witness before one of Oakland County's judges who was then acting in the capacity of "one-man grand juror." This proceeding was attended only by petitioner, the judge grand juror, and two other circuit judges acting as advisers to the latter. The purpose was to investigate alleged misconduct on the part of law-enforcing officials through the acceptance of bribes in the form of sales of worthless "bonds" on pin-ball machines. Petitioner admitted purchasing these "bonds" but could. not recall just what he had done with them when they had expired. Concluding that the petitioner's …

Commissioner Benjamin's Report On Administrative Adjudication In New York, Gilbert H. Montague

Michigan Law Review

In his annual message to the New York Legislature in January, 1939, after recalling that at the 1938 election the people had rejected a proposal that would "freeze into the Constitution a rigid procedure" for "the judicial review of the facts as well as of the law of virtually all decisions of administrative officers and agencies," Governor Lehman announced: "Modification of procedure, if needed, should be undertaken only after careful study of each administrative process on an individual basis. As part of my plan always to improve and perfect the administrative branch of government, intend to appoint a commissioner under …

Federal Courts - Substance And Procedure - Effect Of Erie Railroad V. Tompkins And Rule 8 (C) Of The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure Upon Burden Of Proof Of Contributory Negligence, John H. Uhl

Michigan Law Review

The case of Erie Railroad v. Tompkins has wrought a great change in the relationship between the state and federal courts. Prior to its decision, the federal courts under the rule of Swift v. Tyson did not have to apply the state non-statutory law. They could apply their own notions as to what the law was in matters of general law relating to substance. The Conformity Act compelled the federal courts to follow the practice, pleading, and forms and modes of proceeding in like causes in the courts of the state within which the federal district courts were held. In …

Judgments - Default Judgments Rendered Without Jurisdiction - Validating Effect Of A Subsequent General Appearance, Richard B. Maxwell

Michigan Law Review

The effect of a general appearance by the defendant following a default judgment rendered without jurisdiction over the person of the defendant has been again raised by the recent Wisconsin case of Schwantz v. Morris. In this case the original judgment was invalid for lack of jurisdiction over the defendants, but the Supreme Court of Wisconsin held, that by joining non-jurisdictional grounds with jurisdictional grounds in a motion to set the judgment aside, the defendants had waived any defects in or objections to the jurisdiction of the court and that this waiver related back to the time of the …

Practice And Procedure - Direction Of Verdict - Scintilla Rule

Michigan Law Review

In an action to recover from the defendant gas company damage to the plaintiff's building caused by a gas explosion resulting from a defective pipe, the plaintiff's only evidence to prove the defendant's duty to repair it was that the pipe was used exclusively for the conveyance of the defendant's gas, and that the meters to which the pipe was connected were owned and controlled by the defendant. The trial court, by virtue of the scintilla rule, submitted the case to the jury which rendered a verdict for the plaintiff. Held, the scintilla rule no longer prevails in Ohio, …

Process In Actions Against Non-Residents Doing Business Within A State, Maurice S. Culp

Michigan Law Review

Many state legislatures have undertaken to subject non-resident persons or unincorporated groups, or both, to the power of their local courts in relation to business transacted within their limits. No less than forty States have at one time or another enacted statutes providing for substituted service of process in actions arising out of such transactions. Most of these statutes apply to non-residents generally; but in eighteen States statutes, now or formerly in force, have provided in express terms for substituted service on non-resident partnerships or unincorporated associations. Both types alike provide that service may be made upon an actual agent …

Practice And Procedure - Joinder Of Parties And Causes Under The Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff sought, in one suit, to recover the amount of a promissory note from the maker and to attack a transfer of property by the maker to her brother, alleged to be a fraud on the maker's creditors. The maker and transferee were made defendants. The transferee demurred to the complaint on the ground that the two defendants had essentially different liabilities and so could not be joined in one action, under the South Dakota code. Held, that section 9 of the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act permits the plaintiff to proceed in one action for a judgment on …

Equity-Intervention

Michigan Law Review

A Kansas statute forbids the operation of theatres on Sunday. Appellee obtained an interlocutory injunction restraining "the Attorney General of the State of Kansas, and his subordinates . . . and every other person acting or attempting to act for said defendants" from enforcing the statute. Following this temporary injunction the appellee continued to operate his theatres on Sunday, and when the municipal authorities of Winfield and Eldorado threatened to enforce municipal ordinances prohibiting Sunday shows, the appellee served them with copies of the preliminary order against the attorney general, and warned them that contempt proceedings would be instituted if …