Digital Commons Network^™

Wills-Validity Of Attestation On Separate Sheet Of Paper Not Physically Attached To Will, Myron J. Nadler

Michigan Law Review

Testatrix drew an instrument consisting of a single sheet of paper, intending it as her will. In the presence of a notary public, three witnesses observed the instrument with testatrix' signature thereon and her acknowledgment of it as her will, but did not sign it. The document was then placed in an envelope. A separate instrument of attestation which referred to the will was prepared by the notary and signed by the testatrix and the attesting witnesses. This instrument and the envelope containing the will were both placed in another folder which was then deposited with the proper officials. Probate …

Labor Law-Compulsory Arbitration Of Labor Disputes, James A. Sprunk S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1947, seven states adopted legislation for compulsory arbitration of labor disputes in public utilities. Four more provide for seizure of such industries in cases of strikes or lockouts, and one prohibits picketing or interference with the service of a public utility. In addition, procedures for conciliation, mediation, or voluntary arbitration with suspension of the right to strike or lockout during such procedures, are provided by still others. Such legislative activity reflects the growing public concern regarding labor disputes and indicates that many state legislators are convinced that to secure industrial peace more is required than the mere imposition of …

Federal Courts-Appeals-Federal Rule 54(B) And The Final Judgment Rule, W. Stirling Maxwell S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Judicial Code provides that "the circuit courts of appeal shall have appellate jurisdiction to review by appeal final decisions . . . in the district courts, in all cases save where a direct review may be had to the Supreme Court . . . . " But what is a final ( that is, appealable) decision? The final judgment rule, originated by the English common law courts and embodied in the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789, was stated by Justice Brandeis in Collins v. Miller to require "that the judgment to be appealable should be final not only as …

Freedom Of Silence: Constitutional Protection Against Governmental Intrusions In Political Affairs, Charles B. Nutting

Michigan Law Review

Paradoxically enough, the "right" to be silent has been vociferously asserted by some of our most loquacious citizens. The current activities of Congressional investigating committees and the possible enactment of laws regulating participation in certain political affairs make timely a consideration of the basis for the assertion of the "right" and an attempt to determine the extent to which it may be said truly to be protected against intrusions by the state or national governments. It is proposed first to consider the question of secrecy in connection with the elective process itself and later to extend the inquiry into problems …

Corporations-Appraisal Statutes-Time Within Which Demand For Appraisal Must Be Made, Myron J. Nadler S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A resolution to merge the corporation in which plaintiff held shares with defendant corporation was adopted by the shareholders over plaintiff's objection. Eight days later, plaintiff made written demand on defendant corporation for payment of the fair value of his shares. The statute required that such demand be made upon the surviving corporation "within twenty days after the merger . . . was effected," and provided that a merger became effective upon issuance of a certificate of merger by the Department of State. The articles of merger were not promptly filed and the certificate of merger did not issue until …

New Trial - Use Of Testimony Of Jurors To Set Aside Verdict, R. J. Nordstrom S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Whether or not testimony of a juror is admissible for the purpose of setting aside a verdict is a question upon which the cases are in conflict. Much of the contrariety of opinion is due to a failure of courts to distinguish between the two basic factual situations which present the problem. The juror's testimony may be sought to be introduced to show either: (1) that, due to some misunderstanding, his own thought processes were misdirected in arriving at his final vote; or, (2) that he observed the open misconduct of a fellow juror. At the outset it should be …

The Legal Status Of Occupied Germany, Max Rheinstein

Michigan Law Review

The unprecedented situation presently existing in Germany has, of necessity, given rise to new and intricate questions of international law. Of these, one set of problems appears to me to deserve special attention because of both their theoretical and practical significance, namely, the problems concerning the legal relations between Germany and .her occupiers.

Specific Performance-Marketable Title To Realty-Perfecting Title By Litigation As An Incident To Specific Performance, J. R. Mackenzie S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The normal action on land contracts is two-sided, vendor against purchaser or purchaser against vendor, to settle the rights of the parties on the basis of the condition of V's title at the time of the decree. This action is quite satisfactory where V and P agree as to the condition of the title, whether free and clear or not, but must we adhere to this pattern when there is a controversy between them concerning the title? To make the question concrete, suppose that V claims he has an unencumbered fee simple while P asserts there is a paramount …

Corporations-Application Of Statutes Requiring That Corporate Business Be Managed By Board Of Directors, Bernard L. Trott

Michigan Law Review

In 1942, X corporation and its stockholders entered into an agreement whereby it was stipulated that the management of all theatres leased or operated by the X corporation, or any subsidiary thereof, would be placed in the hands of Y corporation, a large stockholder. This power of management was to include supervising and directing the buying and booking of all attractions, designating and changing the entertainment policy, hiring and discharging employees, and carrying out "such policies or projects as the Board of Directors of the Tenant or its subsidiaries may approve." This agreement was to be effective for a period …

Constitutional Law-Procedural Due Process In Criminal Cases-Adequacy Of Remedies In State Courts To Raise The Questions, David H. Armstrong S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

This comment will not attempt to consider the guarantees of a fair trial, but will deal with the remedies available to a person confined in a state prison in his attempt to secure relief on the ground of an asserted violation of such guarantees in the conduct of his trial.

Powers-General Testamentary Power:-Ineffective Appointment- Devolution Of Appointive Property, Richard L. Eckhart S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In the usual case, the question of the devolution of property subject to a general testamentary power where the appointment is ineffective arises in a contest between those representing the estate of the donee on the one hand and those representing the estate of the donor, including the takers in default, on the other. The historical concept that the devolution of appointive property is from the donor to the appointee competes with the modern concept that the donee's interest in the property is, for many purposes, close to absolute ownership.

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Freedom Of Speech-Limitations On The Used Of Sound Amplification Devices, Bernard Goldstone

Michigan Law Review

Appellant, a minister of Jehovah's Witnesses, used, without a permit, sound equipment mounted on his truck to amplify lectures on religious subjects. He was convicted in a police court for violating a municipal ordinance of Lockport, New York. which prohibited the use of sound amplification devices without the permission of the chief of police. The ordinance provided no standards for the guidance of the local officer in the issuance of the permit. The conviction was affirmed by the county court and by the appellate court. On appeal, held, reversed, four justices dissenting. The ordinance violated the due process clause …

New Foreign Literature Of International Interest, Ernst Rabel

Michigan Law Review

A Review of New Foreign Literature of International Interest

Labor Law--Constitutionality Of Affidavit And Filing Provisions Of Taft-Hartley Act, Jerry S. Mccroskey S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff union, its president, and two union members sought to enjoin the National Labor Relations Board and its members individually from disqualifying plaintiff union from participation in union representation elections held by the board among the employees of two Great Lakes shipping companies. The exclusion of the plaintiff union was based on its failure to file affidavits and reports under sections 9 (f), 9 (g), and 9 (h) of the Taft-Hartley Act, which failure by the terms of the act served to disqualify the non-complying union from participation in board procedures. The plaintiff union attacked the requirements as unconstitutional. Held …

Recent Developments In Restitution: Rescission And Reformation For Mistake, Including Misrepresentation, Edward S. Thurston

Michigan Law Review

In accordance with underlying equitable principles, restitution is granted where a mistake has been made by one or both parties to a transaction or series of transactions because of which one of them has obtained an advantage which it would be unjust for him to retain.

There are two forms of relief, one based upon rescission, the other upon reformation. The first seeks the undoing of a transaction and the replacing of the parties into the positions, as nearly as may be, originally occupied. On the other hand, reformation seeks the performance of an agreement as the parties to it …

Quasi-Contracts-Taxation-Rescission Of Gifts Where Gift Fails To Achieve Donor's Purpose Of Minimizing Federal Income Taxes, Charles M. Soller S.Ed., Edwin F. Uhl S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A recent Michigan case, Stone v. Stone, presents problems of complexity and far-reaching importance. The plaintiffs, husband and wife, each owned a one-half interest in a family business partnership, and each apparently reported a proportionate share of the partnership earnings for federal income tax purposes. For the purpose of further reducing taxes on the income of the family unit, each parent transferred a one-quarter interest in the partnership to one of their two minor children, and thereafter each parent and child filed separate income tax returns reporting one-fourth of the partnership earnings as individual income. Each parent, under a …

Appeal And Error-Right Of Defendant To New Trial Where Plaintiff Is Entitled To All Or None And Verdict Is Intermediate, Bruce L. Moore S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In an action on an express contrast, plaintiff sued for $1750, representing the agreed 5 per cent commission on the sale of real estate. Defendant denied the validity of the contract, and there was no issue as to the amount of liability if liability existed. The instruction to the jury was that plaintiff was entitled to 5 per cent commission if entitled to recover. The jury returned a verdict for $875, half the amount claimed. Defendant's motion for a new trial was denied. Held, although the verdict was unauthorized as to plaintiff, there was no error as to defendant …

Some Problems In Special Assessment District Obligations, Irvin Long

Michigan Law Review

The question of the jurisdiction of a board or officer authorized to construct a local improvement and levy special assessments therefor has always been troublesome, and is particularly so when bonds or other obligations are issued in anticipation of the collection of such assessments. A vast amount of litigation has occurred in Michigan in recent years over drain district assessments, and bonds which such districts have issued. While this is of primary interest to Michigan lawyers and investors in public securities, many of the questions involved seem to be of such a general nature, so far as special assessment procedure …

Bankruptcy-Contempt--Presumptions-Finality Of Turnover Orders In Contempt Actions And The Presumption Of Continued Possession, T. L. Tolan, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Problems of jurisprudence and bankruptcy are raised by Maggio v. Zeitz, a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court. The facts were these: In April, I942, the Luma Camera Service was adjudged a bankrupt. Defendant was its principal officer. The bankrupt's books showed a large and unusual merchandise shortage for November and December, 1941. Despite defendant's denial, the referee and district judge were satisfied that defendant had extracted the property from the estate before bankruptcy. But there was no evidence that defendant retained the goods or their proceeds. Relying on a presumption of continued possession, the referee ordered …

Contracts--Specific Performance-Defense Of Hardship Caused By Defendant's Improvements After Giving Option To Purchase, Robert E. Anstaett

Michigan Law Review

In a lease of plaintiff's corner lot to defendant corporation in 1941, the latter granted plaintiff a five-year option to purchase adjacent lots owned by defendant for $35,000, which was then a fair price. In 1945 defendant's officers, overlooking the option agreement, authorized construction of a warehouse on the adjacent property. After defendant had expended about $20,000 in the construction, plaintiff exercised her option by giving notice to defendant. Upon defendant's refusal to convey, plaintiff sued for specific performance. The trial court dismissed the complaint. Held, reversed and remanded with instruction to decree specific performance upon condition that plaintiff …

Discovery-Procurement Of An Order Requiring A Nonresident Plaintiff To Submit To An Oral Examination Within The State Before Trial, Ralph J. Isackson

Michigan Law Review

Relator, a resident of Massachusetts, brought an action in Illinois against the Railway Express Company to recover damages for the negligent transportation of the relator's cattle. After the cause was at issue the Express Company's attorneys presented a motion to respondent, a superior court judge, requesting a court order directing the nonresident relator to appear before a notary public in Chicago for the purpose of an oral examination. The court granted the order, fixing a time and place for the taking of relator's deposition on oral interrogatories. Upon failure of the relator to appear, the court stayed proceedings for a …

Federal Courts-Motion For Judgment Under Rule 50(B)Power Of Circuit Court Of Appeals To Direct Entry Of Judgment Contrary To Verdict Directed By The Trial Court, F. L. Adamson

Michigan Law Review

In an action for breach of warranty, defendants' motion for a directed verdict was denied and verdict was directed for plaintiff. Defendants' motion for a new trial was denied, and no motion was made for judgment in accordance with their previous motion for directed verdict. The circuit court of appeals reversed and remanded, with directions to enter judgment for defendants. On certiorari, held, reversed. Since defendants had not made timely motion for judgment under Rule 50 (b), the circuit court had no power to direct entry of judgment in their favor. Globe Liquor Co. v. San Roman, (U.S. …

Definiteness And Particularity In Patent Claims, William Redin Woodward

Michigan Law Review

To the uninitiated the professional jargon of patents, and particularly of patent claims, is somewhat mystifying even in the most ordinary cases. The profession likes to define the elements of apparatus as "means" for this, "means" for that and "means" for the other. Words like "plurality," "predetermined" and "comminuted" find remarkably frequent use by patent attorneys. And the habit of using out-of-the-way verbiage may lead the practitioner by force of habit to pass over a simple term like "sleeping car" in favor of a more elaborate phrase like "a communal vehicle for the dormitory accommodation of nocturnal viators." But it …

Vested Rights And The Portal-To-Portal Act, Ray A. Brown

Michigan Law Review

The Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 attempts, by new and retroactive definitions of what constitutes working time of an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, to deprive employees of claims under that earlier act, to which the Supreme Court of the United States has held they were entitled. This article will discuss whether this can be done under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.

The Taft-Hartley Act And State Jurisdiction Over Labor Relations, Russell A. Smith

Michigan Law Review

Of the many problems arising out of the Taft-Hartley Act, not the least perplexing is the determination of its impact upon state jurisdiction over labor relations. The importance of the question is obvious, and is illustrated by Judge Shepard's reaction. Administrators of state labor relations acts and state courts, like the California court, must determine what position to take with respect to their jurisdiction. Employers and unions must make a like determination, and must also come to some conclusion as to the applicability of state law as reflected in other statutes and in judicial decisions. Those charged with the administration …

Executors And Administrators-Personal Tort Liability-Effect Of Statutes Authorizing Continuance Of Decedent's Business, Leroy H. Redfern S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose here to consider the effect of statutes which provide authority for personal representatives to operate a business on the representatives' tort liability. An important factor in deciding whether the statutes change the common law rules relating to tort liability of executors and administrators is the manner in which the courts regard those rules-are they fair and do they make for good law, or are they harsh and arbitrary? For this reason attention is first directed to the practical operation of and reasons behind the common law doctrine.

An Interim Account On Comparative Conflicts Law, Ernst Rabel

Michigan Law Review

Under the sponsorship of the American "Law Institute and subsequently of the University of Michigan, with the efficient assistance of the Faculty, notably of Hessel E. Yntema as editor, I published the first volume of a work on conflicts law in 1945. A second volume has just followed, after a long delay caused by the vicissitudes of postwar printing. The greater part of a third volume has been readied in the meantime, but its date of publication is not yet fixed.

The task consists in surveying the existing and proposed conflicts rules of the world and in ascertaining their background, …

Witnesses-Dead Man Statutes-Competence Of Spouse Of Party Or Interested Person-Effect Of Divorce, James E. Tobin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The "Dead Man" statutes, enacted in various forms in almost every state, generally forbid a party or person interested to testify in an action involving a decedent's estate. As is well known, these statutes are the lone survival of the common law rule disqualifying parties and persons interested as witnesses in all actions, a rule which has otherwise been universally repudiated because of the realization that pecuniary interest does not necessarily raise any large probability of falsehood and that, even if it did, the risks of admitting such testimony can easily be minimized and are far outweighed by the advantages …

Trusts-Rule Against Perpetuities-Tetamentary Trust For Maintenance Of Testatrix' Home As Depository For Ashes Of Testatrix And Daughter, Richard L. Eckhart S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Testatrix provided that her body should be cremated, the ashes mixed with the ashes of her deceased daughter, and both placed in a designated room on the second floor of testatrix' home. The executors were directed not to sell the home but to use rentals from the first floor to maintain it, such rentals to be obtained from any member of the Socialist Party whom the executors should find proper and able to pay the rental. Held, the attempted disposition was invalid as a violation of the rule against restraints on alienation. Alexander v. House, (Conn. 1947) 54 …

Mr. Justice William Johnson, Jurist In Limine: Views On Judicial Precedent, A. J. Levin

Michigan Law Review

We have already become familiar with Johnson's awareness of the unconsciousness of mankind "of the shackles which superstition and tyranny had thrown around" it. He was also sensitive to the part which the law had played in preserving such a state of affairs. His keen and analytic mind was unwilling to accept as final what he knew was the illusive mirage of reality. The situation was a frustrating one-so much so that few minds today are prepared to accept the challenge which such a dynamic attitude entailed for him. He began anticipating beyond the capacities of the minds of those …