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Optional Terms (Jus Dispositivum) And Required Terms (Jus Cogens) In The Law Of Contracts, Arthur Lenhoff

Michigan Law Review

In speaking of statutory law in the common law courts, lawyers have ascribed to it a limiting office, namely, that of interference with the parties' freedom to act and transact at their pleasure. A closer consideration shows them that the function of statutory law varies not only with the legal system to which it belongs, but also with the structural changes within a single legal system.

Banks-Fiduciary Duty-Guilty Participation In A Breach Of Trust, Robert O. Hancox

Michigan Law Review

The fiduciary relation which "involves a duty on the part of the fiduciary to act for the benefit of the other party to the relation as to matters within the scope of the relation" is of broad scope, including not only the more strictly defined relations such as those involving trustees, guardians, and executors, but also the more loosely knit relations such as found in the corporate field; i.e., directors and stockholders, promoters and subscribers to stock and the like. In contrast to the confidential relation, where to set aside a transaction between the parties there must be shown fraud, …

Renegotiation Of War Contracts-Exhaustion Of Administrative Remedies, Rosemary Scott S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sought to enjoin the Chairman of the United States Maritime Commission from enforcing the War Contracts Renegotiation Act against its contracts with the British Ministry of War on the ground that they were outside the scope of the act, and attempted to obtain a declaratory judgment to this effect. Prior to this proceeding the plaintiff had been given notice and had been requested to attend a conference. He filed an objection to the authority of the Maritime Commission which, in turn, contended that the United States was responsible for payment under the contract and that the administrative remedies had …

Constitutional Law-Removal Of Executive Employees By Act Of Congress-Bill Of Attainder, John A. Huston S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Respondents, three employees of the federal government, were, among other federal officeholders, accused by Congressman Martin Dies of having engaged in subversive activities and were investigated by a special subcommittee of the House of Representatives on that charge. Upon a report of this committee that the respondents were guilty of such activities, the House attached a rider, in section 304, to the Urgent Deficiencies Appropriation Act, 1943, which prohibited, after November 15, 1943, the application of any appropriation to the payment of respondents' compensation, except as jurors or members of the armed forces, unless prior to November 15 they should …

Constitutional Law-Martial Law-Trial Of Civilians By Military Tribunals In Hawaii, Robert Cardon

Michigan Law Review

On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Governor of Hawaii suspended the writ of habeas corpus and declared martial law in that territory, acting under authority of the Organic Act of Hawaii. At the Governor's request, the Commanding General of the Hawaiian Department of the Army proclaimed himself Military Governor of the Islands, and established military tribunals to try all violations ,of existing federal laws and military regulations thereafter to be promulgated. The following day all civil courts were closed, and the next day the President approved the Governor's action. One week later, the law courts were …

Constitutional Law - Intergovernmental Immunities - Statutory Construction-Applicability Of Price Control Legislation To Sales By States, John F. O'Connor

Michigan Law Review

The Administrator, Office of Price Administration, brought action against the Commissioner of Public Lands of the State of Washington to enjoin the sale of timber on state school lands at a price in excess of that fixed by Price Regulation No. 460, implementing the Emergency Price Control Act. The lands were granted to the state for the support of common schools by the Congressional Enabling Act which admitted Washington to the Union. The state law required the sale of such timber to the highest bidder. On certiorari from the circuit court of appeals which reversed a judgment of the district …

Corporations--Foreign Corporations--Doing Business By Agents--Comity, E. M. Deal

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, an Illinois corporation, offered correspondence courses in refrigeration and air conditioning. One of its agents solicited the defendant in Lincoln, Nebraska. The defendant signed a contract and promissory note for the tuition and made an advance payment, whereupon the agent forwarded the contract, note, payment and other papers to the home office of the plaintiff corporation in Chicago, Illinois. The plaintiff accepted the contract in Illinois. After six months, the defendant refused to proceed with the lessons or make further payments in accordance with the contract. The plaintiff sued for the balance due on the note. The Nebraska …

Current Periodical Index, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This department lists the articles and comments which appear in twenty-four leading law reviews. The index embraces material published since the last issue of this REVIEW.

Labor Law-Some Developments During The Past Five Years-(A Service For Returning Veterans), Russell A. Smith

Michigan Law Review

It will be helpful in appraising labor relations problems of today to recall that unionism in this country has trodden a rough and thorny path over the past century. Unions were not welcomed by employers, worker inertia itself was a considerable obstacle, and by and large the general public was dubious as to the value of unionism. Facing these difficulties unions from the- beginning felt compelled to resort to self-help--the strike, the picket line, the boycott, etc.--to achieve their aims. In so doing they encountered vigorous and successful opposition in the courts, as injured economic interests, and even the government, …

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.

Recent Developments In Patent Law, Arthur M. Smith

Michigan Law Review

The framers of the Federal Constitution shared with Thomas Jefferson his "wish to see new inventions encouraged, and old ones brought again info useful notice." Their concern for the public welfare caused many, including Jefferson, to question the wisdom of using a limited monopoly to encourage such inventions.

Implied Warranties Of Non-Infringement, Louis Robertson

Michigan Law Review

When a manufacturer or dealer sells a product, is there an implied warranty that the product does not infringe adversely-owned patents? In other words, does the purchaser who is successfully sued for infringement have the right, without an indemnity clause, to be indemnified by the seller?

Many lawyers, especially patent lawyers, who are accustomed to advising the insertion of express patent warranties in sales contracts to take care of the matter, have answered this question instantly and positively in the negative, and it is quite possible that according to fundamental principles of implied warranties they are right, and yet all …

Precedent In Past And Present Legal Systems, C. Sumner Lobingier

Michigan Law Review

The prevailing notion that stare decisis is peculiar to the Anglican Legal System is quite provincial and far from correct. On the contrary, the principle is inherent in every legal system, at least in its primitive stage; for the earliest form of law is custom, and the "core of custom" is precedent, not necessarily judicial, but something quite as authoritative.

The Effect Of Regulation T On Cash Transactions In Securities, Franklyn S. Judson, Frank D. Emerson

Michigan Law Review

Even a casual glance at the financial page of almost any daily newspaper will at once bring forcefully to the attention of the reader the fact that the inflationary trend now being experienced by the commodity, real estate, and labor markets is likewise a factor in the securities market. A tremendous increase in the market prices of many securities has recently been experienced. A large number are at or near all-time highs. Likewise, the volume of trading is almost without precedent in the annals of the securities business.

Aeronautic Servitudes: A Comparative Study, José Ignacio Perdomo-Escobar

Michigan Law Review

Air servitudes may be of two types: international servitudes, regulated by the law of nations, or servitudes of domestic public law, regulated by administrative law.

Administrative Law-Exhaustion Of Administrative Remedies As A Prerequisite To Judicial Review-Discretionary Treatment By Federal Courts, James E. Dunlap S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The recent Supreme Court decision in Levers v. Anderson held that the rule that one must exhaust his administrative remedies before he is entitled to judicial review does not operate automatically so as to preclude judicial relief when such relief has been expressly permitted by statute. Stated in this way, it is difficult to see how one could reach a different conclusion. Nevertheless, it is believed that this decision, which resulted in a reversal of a circuit court's judgment, did much to remove certain confusion in this field.

Domestic Relations-Recent Developments (A Service For Returning Veterans), John S. Bradway

Michigan Law Review

During the past five years family life in America has been subjected to unusual strains. The repercussions of the war, as well as the usual peacetime factors, affecting the domestic circle have received attention of sociologists and lay writers. The legal implications have not made such prompt appearance in published form.

Information as to that part of the impact of family dislocation caused by war is available in many places, none the least important being the records in the offices of legal assistance officers in the armed forces, of the Committees on War Work set up by the American and …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Retroactive Application Of Statute Of Limitation To Previously Barred Claim, James R. Bliss

Michigan Law Review

In 1943 appellee Rowley, filed claim with the Department of Labor and Industry, under the Washington Industrial Insurance Act, for compensation for aggravation of an injury suffered, while employed by appellant in 1937, in the course of his employment. The claim was barred by a provision of the then existing statute which placed a three year limit on the filing of such claims; but by amendment in 1941 the time limit was extended to five years, with a proviso, under which appellee claimed, that "any such applicant whose compensation has heretofore been established or terminated shall have five years from …

Constitutional Law-Public Utility Holding Company Act--Validity Of Holding Company "Death Sentence" Clause, John A. Huston

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was the topmost holding company in a public utility holding company system which included eighty subsidiaries and served three million customers in seventeen states. By provision of section 11 (b) (1) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, the Securities and Exchange Commission was empowered to limit the operations of a holding company registered with it under the act to "a single integrated public utility system." Acting under this authority, the commission ordered petitioner, a registered company, to divest itself of all its subsidiary holdings excepting certain interests regarded by the commission as a single integrated system …

Constitutional Law--State Taxation Of Interstate Commerce, George Brody S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The city of Richmond by ordinance required all solicitors to pay an annual tax before being permitted to solicit business within the city. Appellant, a representative of a Washington, D.C. firm, was arrested for soliciting without having previously procured the required license. Appellant was convicted and her conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court she contended that the statute upon which her conviction was based was unconstitutional, inasmuch as it was repugnant to the Commerce Clause of the Federal Constitution. Held, reversed. Taxes that discriminate against interstate …

Principal And Agent-Right Of Agent To Waive Statute Of Limitations-Estoppel, Howard A. Jacobs

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident. Defendant's insurance adjuster informed the father of the plaintiff that no settlement could be made of her claim for personal injuries until she had fully recovered, and represented to him that defendant company would pay all her damages if the plaintiff did not consult an attorney. Held, where adjuster, having apparent authority to promise a settlement, lulled plaintiff into a false sense of security and caused her to permit Massachusetts one year statute of limitations to run, defendant was estopped by the conduct of the adjuster from pleading the statute as a …

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 …

Current Periodical Index, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This department lists the articles and comments which appear in twenty-five leading law reviews. The index embraces material published since the last issue of this REVIEW.

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 …

Current Periodical Index, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This department lists the articles and comments which appear in twenty-five leading law reviews. The index embraces material published since the last issue of this REVIEW.

Taxation-Income Tax-Deductions-Dividends Or Interest, Milton D. Solomon S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The difficulty of determining whether payments made by a corporation on its securities are dividends or interest has been highlighted by two recent cases, involving substantially similar facts, which came before the Supreme Court on review.

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 …

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 …

Constitutional Law-Protection Of Civil Liberties-Federal Criminal Prosecution Of State Police Officers-Constitutionality And Construction Of Section 20 Of Criminal Code, George Brody

Michigan Law Review

In United States v. Classic the Civil Liberties Unit of the Department of Justice resurrected the long dormant section 20 of the United States criminal code to prosecute successfully election officials in Louisiana for altering and falsely counting ballots cast in a Louisiana primary for representatives to Congress. Although the acts of the defendants were also in violation of state law the court asserted that "misuse of power possessed by virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with authority of state law, is action taken under color of state law" and therefore within the …