Digital Commons Network^™

Labor Law - Labor Management Relations Act - Linking "Employer Free Speech" To No-Solicitation Rule, Barbara Burger

Michigan Law Review

During an organizational campaign the employer prohibited any dissemination of literature on company property and soliciting or campaigning on company time by employees while itself distributing within the plant non-threatening, anti-union literature. General Counsel for the NLRB contended that by this conduct the employer "interfered with, restrained or coerced" employees in their exercise of the right to self-organization. This contention was rejected by the NLRB, but on appeal was accepted by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed, two justices dissenting. Even if an employer could commit …

Insurance - Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation Law - Compensation Assured For Innocent Automobile Accident Victims, Bartlett A. Jackson

Michigan Law Review

A 1958 New York statute requires the organization of an Indemnification Corporation by companies selling automobile liability insurance within the state. The corporation will assess members in order to establish a fund which will be used to reimburse persons who are injured in a motor vehicle accident and are unable to collect from the person causing the injury. In order to qualify, the injured party must not be covered by a policy of automobile insurance nor may he own an uninsured motor vehicle. He must secure a judgment against the financially irresponsible driver and petition the court to order the …

Trusts - Resulting And Constructive Trusts - Rights Of Third-Party Donee To Enforce Oral Trust Of Land, Lawrence E. Blades

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff alleged that her husband, having paid the purchase price on land intended as a: gift for her, caused title to be taken in the name of defendant to hold as trustee. There was, however, no written evidence to support these contentions. Plaintiff further alleged that she took possession and made valuable permanent improvements on the land with the approval of both her husband and defendant. One year after the husband's death and three years after plaintiff's entrance, defendant filed suit for possession. In the present action to enjoin that suit and to establish her ownership, the lower court held …

Periodical Index, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This index includes articles, comments and some of the longer notes which have appeared in leading law reviews since the publication of the last issue of this Review.

Friedrich: The Philosophy Of Law In Historical Perspective, Edgar Bodenheimer

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Philosophy of Law in Historical Perspective. By C. J. Friedrich.

Constitutional Law - Criminal Procedure - Successive State Prosecutions For Same Activity, Robert L. Bombaugh

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner suspected of having robbed five persons on a single occasion. was indicted and tried for the robbery of three of them. His sole defense was alibi and he was acquitted when only one of the five victims identified him as the robber. Petitioner was then tried under an indictment for the robbery of a fourth victim. Petitioner interposed the same defense but was convicted at this second trial. The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, affirmed, three justices dissenting. Neither the successive trials nor the failure of the court to …

Corporations - Compensation Of Management - Bonus Plan, Sidney Buchanan

Michigan Law Review

Defendant corporation's board of directors adopted a profit-sharing retirement plan which was never ratified by the shareholders. The plan assigned to key employees "units" having a fixed dollar value equal to the current market value of the corporation's common stock. The company promised to pay each unit holder, upon termination of employment, a sum equal to the number of units held times the increase in market value of the stock from the time the units were issued to the date employment terminated or any date within five years thereafter selected by the employee. The right of each unit-holder to receive …

Constitutional Law - Freedom Of Press - Validity Of Motion Picture Licensing Statute, Dean L. Berry S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The distributor of the motion picture "Lady Chatterley's Lover" applied to the Motion Picture Division of the New York State Education Department for a license, required by New York law, for public presentation of the film. The application was denied on the ground the film was "immoral" within the meaning of the licensing statute. On review, the Board of Regents approved this determination, but on appeal the state supreme court reversed the Board. A divided court of appeals reversed the supreme court, holding that the contents of the film met the statutory definition of "immoral." On appeal to the Supreme …

Schlesinger: Comparative Law: Cases-Text-Materials (Second Edition), Spencer L. Kimball

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Comparative Law: Cases-Text-Materials (Second Edition). By Rudolf B. Schlesinger

Acquisition And Protection Of Water Supplies By Municipalities, Wilbert L. Ziegler

Michigan Law Review

Among the prime functions of a municipal government is the furnishing of a potable supply of water for its inhabitants. In view of the increasing demand for water and the shortage of available supply, a number of problems have been or will be encountered by municipalities in fulfilling that function, apart from the problem of financing.

Conflict Of Laws- Foreign Executors And Administrators - Constitutionality Of Nonresident Motorist Statute Providing For Jurisdiction Over Personal Representatives, Thomas E. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

Decedent was killed when his car collided with another on a Missouri highway. Both the driver of the second car and its owner, residents of Nebraska, were also killed. Decedent's widow brought a wrongful death action. in Missouri against the Nebraska-appointed adminstratrixes of the estates of the driver and the owner of the second car. Summonses were served on the Secretary of State of Missouri in compliance with the Missouri Long Arm Statute which specifically provides for service upon and jurisdiction over the administrators of the estates of nonresident motorists. The trial court overruled defendants' motions to quash: On petition …

The Supreme Court - October 1957 Term, Bernard Schwartz

Michigan Law Review

One of the fascinating new games being played by some law professors and others," declared an American Bar Association Journal editorial almost a decade ago, "is to compute the 'box scores' of the votes of justices of the Supreme Court in various important lines of cases."' The present article is not intended as an addition to the work of those engaged in this sort of "numbers game." However useful the statistical method may be in providing the empirical data upon which legal analysis can be based, it should be almost self-evident that its value as the key to the working …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Dismissal Of State Employees For Refusal To Answer Questions Concerning Membership In Communist Organizations, Roger W. Findley

Michigan Law Review

In companion cases state employees of Pennsylvania and New York were dismissed on grounds of "incompetency" and "doubtful trust and reliability" for refusing to answer questions by superiors concerning membership in communist organizations. Petitioner Beilan also invoked the Fifth Amendment at a hearing by a congressional investigating committee between the time he refused to answer his superior and the time he was dismissed. Appellant Lerner had invoked the Fifth Amendment when he refused to answer the questions asked by city officials. The highest courts of the states upheld the dismissals, making it clear that they were based on refusal to …

Federal Procedure - Jurisdiction - Statutory Change In Jurisdictional Amount And Corporate Citizenship, Philip Belleville

Michigan Law Review

A recent congressional amendment of federal district court jurisdictional requirements for both diversity of citizenship and federal question litigation has raised the required amount in controversy from $3,000 to $10,000. The trial court has also been given discretion either to deny costs or assess them against the plaintiff if he is finally adjudged entitled to recover less than $10,000, determined without regard to any set-off or counterclaim and exclusive of interest and costs. Further, for purposes of diversity jurisdiction and removal, a corporation is now deemed a citizen "of any State by which it has been incorporated and of the …

Municipal Corporations - Zoning - Disqualification Of Councilman For Personal Interest, Joel N. Simon

Michigan Law Review

An amendatory zoning ordinance was enacted by the city council of Miami Beach for the purpose of changing the zoning of an extensive area fronting on the Atlantic Ocean from a private residential to a hotel district. The amendment received the required affirmative votes of five of the seven members of the council, including the vote of one councilman who owned land in the area affected by the amendment which would be increased in value by $500,000 because of the zoning change. Plaintiffs, owners of near-by property, filed suit in the circuit court to have the amendatory ordinance declared invalid …

Trusts - Spendthrift Trusts - Deviation From Trust Terms On The Basis Of Unforeseen Emotional Emergencies, Robert J. Paley

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff and her son were the principal beneficiaries of a testamentary spendthrift trust which had been created by plaintiff's husband. The son, Montgomery Ward Thorne, was found dead under unusual circumstances. His will left a portion of his interest in the trust to his fiancée and her mother. A contest over the son's will developed between plaintiff and the designated beneficiaries in the will which caused intense bitterness between the parties. A compromise agreement was entered into, and plaintiff brought suit to obtain (1) court approval of the will contest settlement and (2) a direction to defendant trustee to invade …

Periodical Index, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This index includes articles, comments and some of the longer notes which have appeared in leading law reviews since the publication of the last issue of this Review.

Recent Books, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A List of Books Received by Michigan Law Review

The Michigan Supreme Court - An Analysis Of Recent Decisions, Frederic F. Brace Jr., James A. Park

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to attempt to determine and evaluate just what the court's role has been. Attention will be directed to selected areas of non-statutory and statutory law, with specific emphasis placed upon the areas of contributory negligence and workmen's compensation.

Criminal Procedure On The American Frontier: A Study Of The Statutes And Court Records Of Michigan Territory 1805-1825, William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

The area north and east of Lake Michigan, organized in 1805 as Michigan Territory, was first organized in 1796 as Wayne County of the Northwest Territory. In 1800 the western half of the county, and in 1803 the eastern half, became parts of Indiana Territory, and so remained until July 1805. In 1818 Michigan Territory was expanded westward so as to include all of the area north of Illinois to the Mississippi River.

Civil Procedure - Jurisdiction - Service Of Process On Foreign Television Corporation, Arnold Henson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a West Virginia corporation, operated a television station in Huntington, West Virginia. Its telecasts regularly reached into Boyd County, Kentucky, where part of its customary viewing audience was located. During a twelve-month period in 1954-1955 the corporation derived $71,310.30 in advertising revenue from Kentucky firms, although the contracts for this advertising were made outside Kentucky. In the course of a newscast defendant published an alleged libel against plaintiff, and suit was brought in Boyd County Court. Substituted service of process was made on the Secretary of State in accordance with the Kentucky "doing business" statute, and defendant then removed …

Constitutional Law - Right To Jury Trial In Indirect Criminal Contempts In Federal Courts, Denis T. Rice S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Should constitutional provisions for jury trial apply to contempts committed outside the physical presence of a federal court? The United States Supreme Court, in the recent case of Green v. United States, reviewed this long disputed question. The case involved two Communist Party leaders who had been convicted of Smith Act violations and then had "jumped bail" when they disappeared in violation of surrender orders requiring their presence in court for sentencing. After four and a half years as fugitives they surrendered in 1956 and were charged with criminal contempt of court. Following a so-called "summary" hearing (without the …

Personal Property - Gifts - Delivery To Third Party, Thomas A. Dieterich S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A husband changed the beneficiary of his life insurance policy from his wife to his mother during a temporary separation and failed to restore his wife as beneficiary after reconciliation. Subsequent to his death the mother, in the presence· of the wife, signed a memorandum "waiving" her policy rights "to" the wife and handed the writing to the insurer's district manager. Before payment of the proceeds the mother discovered that the wife was the beneficiary of another policy and attempted to revoke the memorandum. In insurer's interpleader action, a gift to the wife was recognized. On appeal, held, affirmed. …

"Overruling" Opinions In The Supreme Court, Albert P. Blaustein, Andrew H. Field

Michigan Law Review

Despite its vaunted reputation for rectitude, the United States Supreme Court has been the first to deny its own judicial infallibility. For in at least ninety decisions, dating as far back as 1810 and as recent as its 1956 Term, the Supreme Court has made public confession of error by overruling its previous determinations.

This is a study of those ninety decisions-a statistical accounting of overruling cases and cases overruled, and a listing of the judges who agreed and disagreed with what was said and done. And this is a study of the "right to be wrong" -an inquiry into …

Federal Taxation - Transferee Liability Of Insurance Beneficiary, John Gelder S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Nearly six years after taxpayer died income tax deficiencies were determined against his estate. Since his estate was insolvent the Commissioner sought to impose transferee liability under section 311 of the 1939 code (now I.R.C. section 6901) on plaintiff, taxpayer's widow, as beneficiary of" her husband's life insurance. The Tax Court, applying federal law, held plaintiff liable for the entire deficiency since the proceeds received by her exceeded that amount. The court of appeals, applying state law, reversed and ruled that the beneficiary was not a "transferee" within the meaning of section 311 even to the extent of the cash …

Insurance - Federal Regulation - Authority Of Federal Trade Commission To Regulate False Advertising By Insurance Companies As Affected By The Mccarran-Ferguson Act, Charles C. Moore S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, the FTC, issued cease and desist orders prohibiting respondent health and accident insurance companies, doing business in interstate commerce, from disseminating allegedly false and deceptive advertising through the medium of local agents. These orders, issued pursuant to the FTC act, sought to proscribe such activity both in states that had statutes prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices and in states that did not. The Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits concluded that the FTC had no authority to regulate such advertising in states which had prohibitory legislation. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, …

Clark & Sohn: World Peace Through World Law, Harding Bancroft

Michigan Law Review

A Review of World Peace Through World Law. By Grenville Clark and Louis B. Sohn.

Periodical Index, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This index includes articles, comments and some of the longer notes which have appeared in leading law reviews since the publication of the last issue of this Review.

Restitution - Availabilty As An Alternative Remedy Where Plaintiff Has Fully Performed A Contract To Provide Goods Or Services, Jerome K. Walsh Jr.

Michigan Law Review

It is hornbook law that restitution is sometimes available as an alternative remedy to a party who has suffered a breach of contract after having conferred a benefit on the defaulting party. It is equally clear, however, that in many cases where a benefit has been conferred, the plaintiff may not elect to sue for the value of his performance but is left to his action for damages on the contract. The cases which are concerned with one or the other of the above rules constitute a large portion of the area of the law called Restitution, and no attempt …

Chamberlin, Bradley, Reilly And Pound: Labor Unions And Public Policy & Gregory: Labor And The Law, Paul R. Haerle

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Labor Unions and Public Policy. By Edward H. Chamberlin, Philip D. Bradley, Gerard D. Reilly and Roscoe Pound.