Digital Commons Network^™

Product Competition In The Relevant Market Under The Sherman Act, David Macdonald

Michigan Law Review

The correct delimitation of the relevant market is the problem to be examined here. First the legal development of market concepts will be traced. Then, with the objective of coalescing the legal and economic concepts of .the market, a test will be proposed with which to measure the correct market in any given case.

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. …

Federal Procedure - Availability Of Coram Nobis In Federal Cases Involving Right Of Counsel, John Leddy S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

ln 1939 Robert Morgan pleaded guilty to a charge of mail theft and was sentenced by a federal district court to four years imprisonment. He served the term and was released. In 1950 he was convicted of a crime in New York state and sentenced as a second offender because of his previous federal conviction. In 1952 he made application to the district court of original sentence for a common law writ of coram nobis, seeking an order vacating and setting aside his conviction by that court on the ground that he was not given assistance of counsel and had …

Segregation In Public Education: The Decline Of Plessy V. Ferguson, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

In the landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson decided in 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States gave its sanction to the "separate but equal" doctrine in the interpretation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. More particularly, the Court held that a state statute requiring racial segregation in railway service did not result in a denial of the equal protection of the laws. This decision did not go unchallenged. Kentucky-born Justice John Harlan remonstrated in a dissenting opinion of extraordinary force. Crying out like a lone voice in the wilderness he predicted that the judgment declared …

Regulation Of Business-Discriminatory Practices In The Form Of Advertising Allowances, Services, And Facilities Under The Robinson-Patman Act, Rinaldo L. Bianchi

Michigan Law Review

This comment will deal solely with the last two forms of discrimination prohibited by sections 2(d) and (e) of the Robinson-Patman Act, and will attempt to illustrate the present state of the law and offer a possible alternative construction and method of implementation of these sections. A recent ruling of the FTC in a group of cases appears to be significant with respect to controversial aspects of sections 2(d) and (e), and indicative of the present attitude of the Commission in the search for an adequate standard by which honest businessmen may keep within the confines of the law. These …

Venue-The Need For A Change In The Venue Provisions Of The Federal Employers' Liability Act, S. I. Shuman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In response to the need created by a highly dangerous era of railroad employment, and subsequent to the passage of similar legislation in Europe, there was enacted in 1906 a Federal Employers' Liability Act. The attempted coverage of the first FELA was too broad to withstand the constitutional scrutiny of a five-to-four Supreme Court, and it consequently remained for the Congress of 1908 to enact valid legislation for the protection of the railroad employee. Whether or not: the FELA is the most efficacious solution to the problem of the injured railroad employee continues to be warmly debated, but for the …

Labor Law--Labor-Management Relations Act--Encouragement Of Union Membership And Employer's Intent As Elements Of Unlawful Discrimination, George B. Berridge S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

ln the first of three cases involving employer encouragement of union membership the National Labor Relations Board held that a union had violated section 8(b)(2) of the amended National Labor Relations Act by inducing an employer to refuse to hire a union member who had failed to comply with the union's rules as to job clearances. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the union's contention that the employer's action was not such as to encourage union membership and enforced the Board's order. In the second case a union was found by the board to nave violated section …

Evidence-Privilege-Right Of Third Person To Assert Privilege As To Accident Report Made Confidential By Statute, Richard W. Young S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought a negligence action for injuries sustained when the automobile in which she was a passenger collided with that operated by the defendant. Defendant questioned a police officer, who had filed the accident report, concerning statements made to him by the driver of the vehicle in which the plaintiff was riding. The trial court permitted this testimony over the plaintiff's objection that these statements were privileged under an Iowa statute purporting to make written accident reports confidential and inadmissible in evidence. On appeal after a verdict was returned in favor of the defendant, held, reversed. The statute can …

Federal Taxation: Perspective During The Fifth Decade, J. W. Riehm

Michigan Law Review

Since the enactment of the income tax provisions of the Tariff Act of October 3, 1913 forty years have elapsed within which we have seen a profound change in the revenue system of our federal government, the growth of a great new branch of public law, the development of a highly specialized field of legal practice and the publication in legal periodicals of innumerable articles on the subject of taxation. Tax men can, with great pride, point out that technical proficiency has done an amazing job of keeping pace with the rapid expansion of the system from the utilization of …

Corporations-Indemnification Of Management For Litigation Expenses, Chester F. Relyea S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Two recent decisions concerning the right of a successful director-defendant to seek corporate indemnification for litigation expenses are significant because they interpret not only the relevant statutes of New York and Delaware, but also language which exists in the statutes of several other states and which as yet has not been construed by the courts of those states. These cases indicate the desirability of a general survey of such indemnification practice at common law and under statutes.

Federal Procedure-Mandamus-Review Of Federal District Court Order Of Severance And Transfer Pursuant To 28 U.S.C. §1406 (A), Judson M. Werbelow S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner instituted a treble damage suit alleging violation of the antitrust laws in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, naming the insurance commissioner of Georgia, the insurance commissioner of Florida, and four insurance companies residing and doing business in the Southern District of Florida as defendants. The Georgia insurance commissioner, who was personally served in the Northern District of Florida, entered a special appearance to dismiss the action for improper venue. Petitioner contended that the Georgia commissioner was "found or has an agent" in the Southern District of Florida on the theory that co-conspirators are each …

Taxation-Federal Income Tax-Limited Deductibility Of Entertainment Expenses, David W. Belin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In the sophisticated commercial world of today there are many expenses that might be termed of a "mixed complexion," having elements of both a business and non-business character. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in the area of entertainment expenses. Though one may assume that it should be the policy of the courts to allow full and fair deduction of business expenses in general, many difficulties arise regarding expenditures for entertainment purposes. In virtually all entertainment there is personal enjoyment of a social nature by the taxpayer as well as potential business value. Furthermore, what business value there is will …

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) …

Taxation-Federal Estate Tax-Relevance Of Marital Deduction To Computation Of Widow's Distributive Share Of Husband's Estate Where She Elects To Take Against Will, Alice Austin

Michigan Law Review

A widow electing to take against her husband's will claimed to be entitled to have her one-third share of decedent's net personal estate computed without deduction of federal estate taxes, on the theory that Congress in allowing the marital deduction intended that a widow's share qualifying for such deduction should be free of the impact of the federal estate tax. The state had no statute providing for apportionment of federal estate taxes. Held: Congress did not intend, by allowing the marital deduction, to change the rule that state law is determinative of the impact of the federal estate tax. …

Proposed Legislation Regarding State Supervision Of Charities, George Gleason Bogert

Michigan Law Review

In the case of private trusts the dangers of long continued neglect or other breaches are not great. Definite or ascertainable persons have a financial interest in enforcement and can bring suit against the trustee. The beneficiaries are almost inevitably informed of their status soon after the creation of the trust. It is the duty of the trustee to notify them of the trust creation, and court notices, the receipt of benefits, and other incidents of trust administration bring home to the beneficiaries knowledge of their situations. Court accountings or voluntary reports generally keep the cestuis informed as to the …

Kelsen: Principles Of International Law, S. I. Shuman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. By Hans Kelsen.

Constitutional Law - Judicial Powers - Legality Of The Grand Jury Report, Alan Reeve Hunt S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

On December 2, 1952, a federal grand jury for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in a "presentment" made to that court, took the State Department severely to task for what it considered to be a conspicuous failure in handling the problem of subversive employees, United States citizens, at the United Nations. It further charged the State Department with impeding the grand jury's progress in attempting to fix responsibility for the failure upon certain State Department officials. On October 11, 1951, the Camden County grand jury presented to the Superior Court of New Jersey …

Labor Law - Use Of Federal Removal Jurisdiction To Defeat State Court Injunction Suits, George B. Berridge S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The use of the injunction in labor disputes is by no means a thing of the past. Although equitable relief against union activities is no longer generally available in the federal courts, such relief may often be obtained by application to the courts of the states. In response to state court injunction suits involving parties subject to the National Labor Relations Act, astute union counsel have fairly recently adopted an approach which has thus far achieved some degree of success. This new strategy is simply to remove the case to the appropriate federal district court, where, it is anticipated, the …

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 …

Advancements: Iii, Harold I. Elbert

Michigan Law Review

Many states have statutes which provide that support, maintenance and education of a child will not be considered an advancement unless the parent intended it as such. The Kentucky statute is typical and it reads in part as follows: " . . . the maintaining or educating or the giving of money, to a child or grandchild without any view to a portion or settlement in life, shall not be deemed an advancement." Most states do not have statutes of that type but by judicial decision reach a result that is in accord with the statutory provision just quoted.

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Scope Of Inquiry In Habeas Corpus Petitions From Military Prisoner, Eugene Alkema

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners, military personnel, were convicted by courts martial of rape and murder. After exhausting military appellate remedies, they petitioned federal civil courts for writs of habeas corpus on the ground that they had been convicted in proceedings denying them basic constitutional rights. The petitions were denied. On appeal, held, affirmed, two justices dissenting. When the record shows that military courts have fairly considered all of the allegations of the petitioners and have found no denial of constitutional rights, civil courts in habeas corpus proceedings will not hear evidence on the merits of the allegations. Burns v. Wilson, 346 …

Criminal Procedure - Standing Of The Press To Protest Exclusion Of Public From Criminal Trial By Order Of The Trial Judge, M. Fred Mallender, Ii

Michigan Law Review

Defendant judge, believing that great harm to public morals and decency was to be apprehended from the testimony in the vice trial of Minot F. Jelke, exercised his discretion to exclude the general public including plaintiff newspapers from the court room during the state's case. The family and friends of the accused along with officers of the court, witnesses, and jury were not excluded. The plaintiffs applied for a writ of prohibition to restrain the defendant from enforcing his order. The court denied the application on the grounds that the defendant judge had the power to make the exclusion order …

Evidence - Restrictive Interpretations Of Statute Intended To Liberalize Admission Of Statements By Persons Since Decesed, Richard W. Young

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, while driving an automobile, struck the plaintiff's decedent, a pedestrian, causing injuries which ultimately resulted in her death. An action was brought by the plaintiff as administrator of the estate under a statute giving the right to recover for wrongful death. It was contended that statements made by the deceased to members of her family in the hospital one to two weeks after the injury, such as ''If she had stayed on her own side of the road, she'd never hit me," were admissible under a South Dakota statute purporting to make statements of deceased persons receivable in actions …

Labor Law - Union Shop - Discharge Of Employee For Refusal To Accept Union Membership, Sherman A. Itlaner S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

An employee tendered dues and initiation fee to the union which had a union shop contract with her employer. The union then wrote her a letter welcoming her into membership. She replied that although she had tendered dues and initiation fee she was not joining the union. The union thereupon requested her employer to discharge her pursuant to the provisions of their union shop agreement signed under the 1951 amendment to the Railway Labor Act. After going through the regular grievance procedure the matter came before the arbitrator for .final settlement. Held, the union was entitled to demand the …

Basye: Clearing Land Titles, Allan F. Smith

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Clearing Land Titles. By Paul E. Basye.

The Treble Damage Bonanza: New Doctrines Of Damages In Private Antitrust Suits, Homer Clark

Michigan Law Review

Section 7 of the Sherman Act, as amended by section 4 of the Clayton Act, gives a private right of action for treble damages to persons injured "in . . .business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws. . . ." The lucrative possibilities of this section for plaintiffs and their attorneys have recently received sufficient notoriety to arouse curiosity concerning the legal doctrines involved.

The purposes of the section have been said to include compensation for those affected by violations, prevention of violations, and assistance for the government in discovering and bringing before the courts …

Federal Control Of Health And Safety Standards In Peacetime Private Atomic Energy Activities, Samuel D. Estep

Michigan Law Review

This article is directed to the question of the power of Congress to provide for such regulation of those who handle radioactive materials in private industry and not to the policy question of whether Congress ought to attempt such regulation.

Evidence - Wiretapping And The Congress, Richard W. Pogue S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The familiar cry that "there ought to be a law" is frequently raised concerning the practice which Justice Holmes long ago characterized as "dirty business" - the tapping of telephone wires. Although existing legislation on both federal and state levels deals with interception of telephone messages, the almost universal conclusion of commentators on the subject has been that many of the present day statutes are inadequate. It is particularly apparent that the famous section 605 of the Federal Communications Act of 1934 has long been in need of replacement or thorough revision. The purpose of this comment is to examine …

Federal Procedure - Venue Of Corporations - Inapplicability Of 28 U.S.C. §1391 (C) To Removal Actions, George B. Berridge S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a resident of Florida, brought a libel action in a Florida court against the publisher of Look, an Iowa corporation. Defendant maintained no office in Florida, and sold its magazines to two independent wholesale companies for distribution to . Florida retailers; it was on an agent of one of these wholesalers that process was originally served. However, defendant did employ a "circulation road man," who traveled throughout several states including Florida to check retail outlets for complaints and to see that proper displays were maintained. Defendant removed the action to the Federal District Court for the Southern District …

Labor Law - Labor-Management Relations Act - Availability Of Injunctive Relief Under Section 301, George B. Berridge S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff union brought suit in a federal district court under section 301 of the LMRA to enjoin defendant employer from violating a collective bargaining agreement by refusing to give effect to an arbitration award directing the reinstatement of certain employees. On appeal from an order of the district court dismissing the complaint on the ground that the Norris-LaGuardia Act prevented the court from issuing an injunction, held, reversed. Section 301(a) of the LMRA authorizes federal courts to enjoin violations of collective agreements, and the Norris-LaGuardia Act does not forbid the granting of such relief. Milk and Ice Cream Drivers …