Digital Commons Network^™

Restitution-Recovery Of Insurance Payments Made Under A Mistake Of Fact As To The Death Of The Insured, Edwin F. Uhl

Michigan Law Review

Respondent insurance company, upon receipt of claims filed by the appellant beneficiary and a copy of the original Certificate of Presumptive Death issued by the Maritime War Emergency Board, certifying that the insured was presumed to have died on or about November 28, 1942, paid to the beneficiary the face amount of a life insurance policy plus a refund of a premium payment received after the date of presumptive death. Subsequently it was discovered that the insured was a prisoner of war in Japan and, having received from the Maritime War Emergency Board a correction of the original certificate, the …

Simulation Of Nervous And Mental Disease, Moses Keschner

Michigan Law Review

Simulation may be defined as a wilful, deliberate and fraudulent imitation or exaggeration of illness intended to deceive the observer for the purpose of gaining a consciously desired end. Simulation of a physical or mental illness is usually resorted to: (1) by persons who have sustained an injury, the disability resulting therefrom being compensable by benefits payable under the workmen's compensation law or by damages in personal injury actions based on alleged negligence; (2) by persons who wish to obtain insurance benefits for disability in accordance with the provisions of health, accident and life insurance policies, and included in this …

X-Ray Pictures As Evidence, Charles C. Scott

Michigan Law Review

The courts often are accused of being too slow in accepting the benefits of new inventions, but certainly they are not subject to this criticism in regard to the use of X-ray photographs as evidence. Within a year of Roentgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895, radiographs were admitted in evidence in the case of Smith v. Grant tried in the First District Court of Colorado. Ever since then courts have shown little hesitation in permitting the introduction of X-ray photographs in evidence. Today the rule is now firmly settled that with certain definite restrictions X-ray pictures are competent evidence of …

Constitutional Law-Intergovernmental Immunities-Federal Tax On State Function, Joseph N. Morency, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In 1911 the State of New York began to acquire title to all of the lands in the Saratoga Springs area with a view to halting excessive pumping of the mineral waters for which the springs are famous. As a result of state ownership the area became a state reservation which, in 1930, was placed under control of, the Saratoga Springs Commission. A hotel-sanitarium, recreational facilities, bath houses, drink halls, a research laboratory as well as state operation of the springs were part of a state program under legislative authority. During the period from 1932 to 1934, sales of the …

Constitutional Law-Trial By Military Commission Of Enemy Combatant After Cessation Of Hostilities-Scope Of Inquiry In Habeas Corpus Proceedings, L. B. Brody S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, the Commanding General of the Fourteenth Army Group of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippine Islands, surrendered to and became a prisoner of war of the United States Army Forces in Baguio, Philippine Islands on September 3, 1945. By order of respondent, petitioner was served, on September 25, with a charge setting forth a violation of the law of war. On October 8 petitioner, after pleading not guilty to the charge, was held for trial before a military commission of five Army officers appointed by General Styer, and a bill of particulars was filed by the prosecution specifying …

Constitutional Law-War Contract Renegotiation Act-Injunction Proceeding-Unauthorized Suit Against The United States, Rosemary Scott

Michigan Law Review

A holder of war contracts with the federal government brought suit in the District Court for the District of Columbia to enjoin the Secretary of the Navy from withholding payments due under one contract to offset alleged excess profits received on others on the ground that the statute was unconstitutional, and to obtain a declaratory judgment with respect to his right to the disputed funds. The district court dismissed the bill. Held, since the essential allegations and the relief sought did not make it a case of threatened trespass against property but in effect constituted a suit designed to …

Labor Unions-Suability Of Unincorporated Labor Union In Its Common Name, Joseph R. Brookshire S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought suit in a district court of the United States against the defendant union in its common name, and officers of the union for an alleged libel. The union was not incorporated, no substantive right protected by federal law was involved, and the state wherein the suit was brought, Illinois, did not have a statute permitting actions at law against an unincorporated association in its own name. The district court dismissed the action against the union on the ground that it was not a legal entity; the plaintiff appealed. Held, under the common law of Illinois, an unincorporated …

Legal Control Of Medical Practice: Validity And Methods, Kenneth C. Sears

Michigan Law Review

Legislators have deemed it necessary, in order to protect the public interest, to exercise some control over the practice of the healing art by physicians, surgeons, chiropractors, osteopaths, dentists, etc., both as to who may practice and in what manner the practice may be carried on. Legislators have also required, in certain situations, that designated persons submit to medical treatment. Both types of regulation give rise to various legal and constitutional problems and it is the purpose of this paper to discuss some of these problems.

Administrative Law-Developments: 1940-1945 (A Service For Returning Veterans), E. Blythe Stason

Michigan Law Review

No period in American history has ushered in more sweeping changes in the legal structure than has the last decade and a half. No area of the law has witnessed more rapid development than has administrative law. A sketch of the progress of administrative law during the five-year period 1940 to 1945 reveals an important refining of the "quasi judicial" procedures--procedures which, because of their swift and topsy-turvy growth, can well use a little refining.

The purpose of the following survey is two-fold; first, to outline the more significant developments of the last half decade, relating the new materials to …

Spotlight On Congress: A Review Of Six Recent Books, John W. Lederle

Michigan Law Review

Many books on Congress have appeared recently. Perhaps no period in our history has seen the printing of as many books bearing on Congress. This review is directed to a consideration of six of these which have come out during the last three years. Some of these volumes are broader in scope and deal with other topics than Congress. It will be appreciated that this review is restricted to the subject matter dealing with the legislative branch of government.

The Function Of Will Contests, Lewis M. Simes

Michigan Law Review

To anyone steeped in the doctrines of the common law there is something anomalous about the will contest. First, the will is duly admitted to probate in a proceeding which is almost universally conceded to be judicial. Then at a subsequent time a so-called contest is brought by the heir, in which the precise proposition determined on the probate is retried. In most jurisdictions the heir is not bound to make any sort of a showing to entitle him to contest. He need not allege newly discovered evidence. He need not submit any evidence of · fraud or mistake. Indeed, …

Criminal Law And Procedure-Recent Developments-(A Service For Returning Veterans), John B. Waite

Michigan Law Review

In discussing developments of the criminal law during the war years it is convenient to group them into the three conventional divisions-substantive, procedural, and penal.

Abstracts, Mary Jane Plumer

Michigan Law Review

The abstracts consist merely of summaries of the facts and holdings of recent cases and are distinguished from the notes by the absence of discussion.

Book Notes, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This department undertakes to list and, when possible, describe briefly current books on law and matters closely related thereto.

Evidence--Recent Developments (A Service For Returning Veterans), John E. Tracy

Michigan Law Review

The developments in the law of evidence in the war years have not been great. They have been mainly along the lines of tests for witnesses, the use of confessions in criminal cases, the interpretation by the courts of the so-called "Business Entries" Act and the adoption by the American Law Institute of a proposed Code of Evidence.

Conflict Of Laws-Statute Of Limitations-State Statute Binding On Federal Court In Equity Case When Sole Ground Of Jurisdiction Is Diversity Of Citizenship, Samuel D. Estep S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant trust company was trustee for enforcing the rights of noteholders of the Van Sweringen Corporation. When it became apparent that the Corporation could not meet its obligations, defendant company gave an option to noteholders to sell the notes for 50 per cent cash plus stock in the Van Sweringen Corporation. The donor from whom the plaintiff had received some of these notes as a gift had not accepted the exchange. Plaintiff brings suit for an alleged breach of trust. The circuit court of appeals held, reversing the summary judgment of the district court, "that in a suit brought on …

Insurance-Misrepresentation-False Answers Inserted In Application By Soliciting Agent, Milton D. Solomon S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant insurance company as beneficiary of a life insurance policy. The insured signed the application in blank and the soliciting agent inserted false answers to questions in the application concerning medical attendance and prior application for insurance. The application was inserted in and became a part of the policy. The policy was mailed by the defendant to the insured with a return post-card wherein it was stated that the statements on the application were correct and that the insured was in good health. The card was signed by the insured, witnessed by the …

The Disputes Article In Government Contracts, Leslie L. Anderson

Michigan Law Review

An approach to the subject of government contracts requires some departure from the lawer's usual concept of a legal right. In this field, departures from generally accepted principles of contract law have developed in no small part from administrative practice, and the concept of a legal right cannot be thought of simply from the angle of enforceability in court. In transactions between private parties, the fact that the United States Supreme Court in Chase Securities Corporation v. Donaldson recently treated a legal right as being in essence merely dormant after the running 6f the statute of limitations against it would …

Federal Procedure-Appeal Under Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act--Scope Of Admiralty Appeal Compared With Appeal Under The New Federal Rules, De Witte Chatterton

Michigan Law Review

Appellee, the United States government, by a proceeding in rem, sought to condemn two shipments of canned oysters packed by appellant, the C. C. Company, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, on the ground that the oysters were wholly or partially decomposed. The district court found for the appellee on conflicting evidence of experts, and appellant appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. On the theory that procedure on appeal should conform to appeals in admiralty, the circuit court of appeals reviewed the whole case de novo, reversed the district court on the ground …

Mr. Justice William Johnson And The Common Incidents Of Life: Ii, A. J. Levin

Michigan Law Review

Here must be the key to Johnson's constitutional jurisprudence, which time, and the effect of the repression of Marshall's domination has obscured. The dynamic pattern of his thought is, however, unmistakable when analyzed without the burden of prepossession. There can be little meaning to what Johnson said in Ogden v. Saunders unless conceived in relation to Johnson's whole approach to man and society and his repeated insistence upon "that communication of thought and experiment without which nothing human can advance in improvement." Otherwise, we are unable to reconcile his repeated dwelling upon the literal meaning of words and their "technical …

Habeas Corpus-Federal Courts-May Application For Habeas Corpus Addressed To One Federal Judge Be Heard By Another Judge Of The Same Court?, G. R. Thornton

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner applied to a specific district court judge for a writ of habeas corpus. Following the practice of the court of which he was a member, this judge filed the petition with the clerk of the court, and it was assigned to a second judge, who denied the petition. From this decision petitioner appealed. Two questions were raised (1) whether a writ of habas corpus should be granted; and (2) whether it is mandatory that a petition of habeas corpus addressed to a specific judge of the district court be heard and determined by that judge to the exclusion of …

Clearance Of Land Titles-A Statutory Step, Ralph W. Aigler

Michigan Law Review

Public Act of Michigan, No. 200, was approved by the governor on May 17, 1945. Its preparation and enactment are the result of a growing urge for the amelioration of certain conditions in land title transactions.

Mr. Justice William Johnson And The Common Incidents Of Life: I, A. J. Levin

Michigan Law Review

When Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes filed his brief dissenting opinion in Lochner v. New York in 1905 he must have noticed something new on the American horizon. In this now famous opinion he initiated the first steps which were to usher in a new era in American jurisprudence. "General propositions do not decide concrete cases," he announced with axiomatic brevity and, thus, gave the first telling blow to what may well be termed "introspective jurisprudence." This generalization on the subject of generality was followed in the opinion by a more concrete application, the implementing assertion that a reasonable man might …

Waiver Of Protest: A Comparative Study, Raúl Olivera Y Borges

Michigan Law Review

Parallel to the study of protest, it is pertinent to consider the nature and legal effects of exempting clauses which, while not essential, may be found in bills of exchange. Waiver of protest appears to have been introduced by the practice in France during the first third of the nineteenth century. It is generally used to moderate the consequences of non-payment, by a drawer who lacks confidence in the solvency of the drawee, or who fears that he may not be able to provide the necessary funds before maturity. The drawer can thus spare the susceptibilities of a drawee who …

Abstracts, Mary Jane Plumer

Michigan Law Review

The abstracts consist merely of summaries of the facts and holdings of recent cases and are distinguished from the notes by the absence of discussion.

Contracts-Anticipatory Breach Of A Unilateral Obligation To Pay Money, George Brody

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a real estate broker, was employed by defendant under a contract to negotiate the purchase of tracts of land. By the terms of the contract, plaintiff's commission was not to be paid until defendant accepted title to the land purchased. A sale of land for defendant was consummated by plaintiff but defendant, before accepting title, denied the existence of any contractual obligation to plaintiff for his services. Plaintiff brought suit for his commission. Held, there can be no recovery on a unilateral obligation to pay money before time for payment has arrived. The anticipatory breach doctrine is applicable …

Aspects Of Wage Stabilization By The National War Labor Board, David Haber

Michigan Law Review

Most economists assume that behind an unrestricted war economy lurk the dangers of inflation. Although national income increases, so much of the country's productive effort is devoted to the manufacture of war goods that the number of articles available for civilian consumption necessarily diminishes. This gap between the available supply and the existing purchasing power has the effect of raising prices. Rising wages aggravate this situation because they increase production costs which are then passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices, and because, by further increasing the purchasing power of the population, they increase the gap …

Administration Of Estates-Requirement Of Notice For Probate Of Will Or Grant Of Letters Of Administsration, Elizabeth Durfee

Michigan Law Review

To lawyers and judges in states which require notice for the initiation of probate or administration, it may come as a shock to discover that there are many jurisdictions in which these proceedings can be had without any notice whatever. It is the purpose of this note to investigate the situation in the various states, in order to show that in nearly half of them notice is not considered essential. The sole question to be considered is notice or no notice; this comment is not concerned with the kind of notice required, nor with the possibility of waiver of notice …

Future Interests-Worthier Title Doctrine Applied To Remainder To Next Of Kin Where The Subject Matter Is Personalty, Margaret Groefsema S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The trustee bank petitioned for instructions as to the proper disposition of the remainder of a trust of personal property, the principal of which amounted to some $29,000 upon the life beneficiary's death in 1942. The donor had provided for a life estate in the income, the principal to go to the settler's statutory next of kin under the laws of intestacy of the state of Massachusetts in default of the exercise by the settler of a reserved power of appointment. The court, having held that a will which Nicolls, the settler, had executed in favor of various friends of …

Clovis Bevilaqua And The Brazilian Civil Code, Anyda Marchant

Michigan Law Review

Clovis Bevilaqua is a monument in the history of Brazilian law. His death on July 26, 1944, closed the door on an epoch. When he began his career in the eighties, Brazilian law, with the exception of the commercial code, was uncoordinated and outmoded. Now. Brazil is in a period of very active work on the recodification of its laws and their adaptation to the needs of modern life. Not all of this change is the work of one man, but Bevilaqua was the principal lingering representative, among the lawyers, of the intellectual movement that accompanied the setting up of …