Digital Commons Network^™

Constitutional Law-Interstate Commerce--Validity Of Statute Requiring Collection Of Use Tax By Out-Of-State Vendor Engaged Solely In Interstate Commerce, J. C. Mordy

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a Tennessee corporation, sued to recover taxes paid under protest pursuant to the Mississippi Use Tax Act. The act required collection by retailers "maintaining a place of business" in the state, which phrase was defined as including any retailer having any agent operating within the state. Plaintiff's salesmen, nonresidents of Mississippi, solicited orders for goods within that state. Acceptance of the orders and delivery to an interstate carrier were at plaintiff's home office in Tennessee. Held, insofar as the act requires a nonresident vendor to collect the tax, it violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. …

Contracts-Impossibility-Effect Of Crop Failure On Middleman's Contract, John C. Walker

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a produce dealer, offered to sell to plaintiff a specified quantity of Texas "New Crop U.S. 1 blackeye peas." When the original offer was made on June 13, 1947, plaintiff asked how defendant could be sure the peas would be ''No. 1.'' Defendant replied that because the locality of Dilley, Texas, had been unusually dry, the pea crop would be sold as dry ''blackeyes;" defendant also stated that he had already made a contract to purchase 7,000 bags of these "blackeyes" from a certain canning company. On June 16 the contract for 800 bags of peas was consummated, delivery …

Corporations-Forfeiture Of Charter-Criminal Act As A Ground Therefor, James A. Sprunk S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a private citizen, brought a civil action for forfeiture of defendant's corporate franchise, alleging a violation of the Minnesota anti-trust statute. In addition to penal sanctions, the statute provided that any corporation violating its provisions "shall forfeit all of its corporate franchises," and, further, that any citizen may enforce the statute. Defendant contended that proceedings under this statute, a part of the criminal code, were criminal, and that a private citizen could not conduct a criminal prosecution. Held, forfeiture of a corporate charter is a civil consequence of violating the criminal statute; thus, a criminal conviction is not …

Criminal Law-Evidence-Silence To Accusation While Under Arrest As Admission Of Guilt, Colvin A. Peterson, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was convicted of murder. Before the victim died, defendant, handcuffed and in custody of police, had been taken to the hospital room where the victim lay. Eight witnesses were present at the time, and each testified that the victim pointed out the defendant as her assailant. At the trial the witnesses were permitted to testify that when accused of the crime, defendant stood by silently, saying and doing nothing, although it also appeared that he had been told by the police chief to ''keep your mouth shut." The prosecution capitalized upon defendant's silence as an admission of guilt. On …

Finders--Application Of Statute To Finder Of Stolen Non-Negotiable Bonds, William C. Gordon

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff found a box containing twenty registered $1000 United States bonds and other non-negotiable securities, which had been stolen from defendants. Plaintiff turned them over to the sheriff who returned them to defendants. The bonds were endorsed "Not Transferable" and were payable only to the owner named thereon. Defendants had promptly notified the United States Treasury of the theft, and by fulfilling certain requirements, could have obtained duplicate certificates and bonds. Plaintiff sued for a reward of ten per cent of the face value of the securities under an Iowa statute which provided for a reward of ten per cent …

Finders-Application Of Statute To Finder Of Treasure Trove, Zolman Cavitch

Michigan Law Review

Defendants, a church committee, procured bundles of rags which were distributed to women who wove the rags into rugs. One such bundle was delivered to plaintiff who found $2100 in bills concealed therein. Plaintiff took the money to defendants, but no claimant appeared. A statute provided that a finder of lost money or goods having a value of $3.00 or more must give notice in a prescribed manner, or, failing to do so, be liable to the town in which found for one-half the value of the goods and for the other half to the person who should sue for …

Libel And Slander-Radio Defamation-Liability Of Broadcasting Company For Defamatory Statements Made Over Its Facilities, Albert B. Perlin, Jr. S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

During a radio program, a lessee of broadcasting facilities read previously prepared statements regarding a public official which were defamatory per se. In an action for defamation against the broadcasting company, defendant attacked the complaint as insufficient in failing to allege negligence. Held, the allegation of negligence is essential, but the complaint was sufficient. Kelly v. Hoffman, (N.J. 1948) 61 A. (2d) 143.

Right Of Privacy-Status Of The Law In Michigan-Liability For Commercial Use Of Photograph, Thomas L. Waterbury

Michigan Law Review

Defendant published plaintiff's photograph in connection with a cosmetics advertisement in a Detroit newspaper. Plaintiff sought damages, alleging that she neither knew of nor assented to the publication of the photograph, that the publication constituted an invasion of her right to be free from offensive publicity, and that she had suffered consequential damages. The trial court sustained defendant's motion to dismiss on the ground that the complaint stated no cause of action. On appeal, held, reversed and remanded. Plaintiff stated a cause of action for invasion of her right of privacy. Pallas v. Crowley, Milner & Co., 322 …

Taxation-Income Tax-Deductions For Alimony Payments Made Under Voluntary Agreement Of Separation, William R. Hewitt S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Taxpayer and his wife voluntarily entered into a written agreement of separation. Pursuant to the agreement, taxpayer made periodic payments to his wife in discharge of his legal obligation of support. In his income tax return for 1943, taxpayer took the amount of tlie payments made for that year as a deduction from gross income under the authority of section 23(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The commissioner disallowed the deduction and determined a tax deficiency. Upon petition to the Tax Court for a redetermination of the deficiency, the commissioner was upheld. On appeal, held, affirmed. Only alimony payments …

Trusts-Tentative Trusts-Effect Of Delivery Of Passbook, Alan P. Goldstein

Michigan Law Review

Anna Farrell, a confined incompetent at the time of this suit, had a savings bank deposit in her own name, "in trust for my daughter Lucy Farrell." Just prior to Anna's admission to the hospital, while still of sound mind, she handed a sealed envelope to Lucy and told Lucy to hold it for her. The envelope contained, among other papers, the pass book to the bank deposit. Thereafter, Lucy claimed the money in the account on the ground that she had, over the years, delivered the money in the account to her mother for safekeeping. Anna's guardian petitioned for …

Wills-Validity Of Condition Against Contest-Contest By Minor, Roland E. Ginsberg

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a minor, contested his mother's will which provided that if a beneficiary should make any effort to invalidate or alter the will, the provisions made for such person should be void. Defendant's father, who had been appointed guardian ad litem, filed notice of contest and petitioned the probate court that the general guardian be compelled to contest the will. After hearing, it was so ordered, and a will contest was held in the circuit court, in which mental incompetency and undue influence were alleged. The contest being unsuccessful, the will was admitted to probate. Plaintiff, as executrix and …

Wills-Validity Of Devise To United States Government, Richard J. Brake

Michigan Law Review

A California testator bequeathed "all I own and possess to the United States Government." His heirs sought to have the disposition set aside, claiming the federal government could not be a beneficiary under the California probate statute which permitted testamentary dispositions to be made to the state, counties, municipal corporations and certain others. From the order denying their petition for distribution, the heirs appealed. Held, reversed. The word "state" as used in the probate statute does not include the United States. In re Burnison's Estate, (Cal. App. 1948) 196 P. (2d) 822.

Workmen's Compensation Acts-Denial Of Common Law Remedy For Associated Injuries Not Covered By Act, Colvin A. Peterson, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

While employed by defendant, plaintiff suffered severe bums and received compensation for a permanent partial disability under the applicable workmen's compensation act. He then brought an action for damages for disfigurement, not compensable under the act, on the theory that acceptance of statutory compensation did not deprive him of his common law remedy for injuries not within the scope of the act. Held, the statutory remedy is exclusive; plaintiff cannot recover for associated injuries outside the act. Morgan v. Ray L. Smith & Son, Inc., (D.C. Kan. 1948) 79 F. Supp. 971.

Meiklejohn: Free Speech And Its Relation To Self-Government, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of FREE SPEECH AND ITS RELATION TO SELF-GOVERNMENTBy Alexander Meiklejohn.

Frank: Mr. Justice Black: The Man And His Opinions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of MR. JUSTICE BLACK: THE MAN AND HIS OPINIONS By John P. Frank.

Stanley And Kilcullen: The Federal Income Tax: A Guide To The Law., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX: A GUIDE TO THE LAW. By Joyce Stanley and Richard Kilcullen.

Thompson: Magna Carta, Its Role In The Making Of The English Constitution, 1300-1629., Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of MAGNA CARTA, Its Role in the Making of the English Constitution, 1300-1629. By Faith Thompson.

Tax Practitioners Forum, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of TAX PRACTITIONERS FORUM

Notes, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The information given in the notes is derived from inspection of the books, publisher's literature, and the ordinary library sources.

International Law-Seizure Of Foreign Vessels On The High Seas, David D. Ring S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

After World War I, the Allied Powers under Article XXII of the Covenant of the League of Nations designated Great Britain mandatary of Palestine, providing inter alia that, as far as possible without prejudice to the rights of the then residents of Palestine, steps were to be taken to facilitate Jewish immigration. A High Commissioner for Palestine was appointed, who, by the authority vested in him under the mandate, promulgated a general ordinance regulating immigration. It was provided therein that any British government ship might board any vessel to detain and examine persons reasonably believed to be seeking to enter …

The Presidential Succession Act Of I947, Ruth C. Silva

Michigan Law Review

The Constitution of the United States empowers the Congress to designate what officer shall act as President in case of the death, resignation, removal, or inability of both the President and Vice President. Recently the Eightieth Congress passed a statute under this grant of power. Although the new succession act is frequently alleged to be unconstitutional, it is similar to the first succession law enacted by the Second Congress, which contained many of the men who framed the Constitution and voted for its ratification. The law of 1792 provided that the President pro tempore of the Senate or, if the …

Front Matter, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Front Matter for Volume 47, Issue 4 of Michigan Law Review

Contracts-Duty To Mitigate Damages Upon Anticipatory Breach Of Forward Contract Of Sale, William F. Snyder

Michigan Law Review

The theory of our law in regard to damages for breach of contract has been to give the innocent party as nearly as possible what he would have received had the contract been performed. To this end, our courts have worked out a rough formula which has been described by Professor Grismore as follows:

" ... The promisee is, in general, entitled to recover the economic equivalent of the performance promised, at the time and place fixed in the contract, plus any losses incurred or gains prevented through not receiving it, less any savings that have resulted to the promisee …

Mr. Justice William Johnson, Jurist In Limine: Dissent And The Judging Faculty, A. J. Levin

Michigan Law Review

There is little more in the legal literature on the subject of dissent than, on the one hand, the feeling that somehow it helps to present more than one side of a question and, on the other, that dissent is confusing and unsettling, and, therefore to be avoided. The part that dissent has played in preventing "history" from becoming the routine repetition of events, the function it fulfills in saving mankind from a mechanical adherence to an authoritarian concept of society, the psychodynamic need of the individual for self-expression-particularly evident in democratic societies-these and other related approaches have had not …

Corporations-Separation Of The Voting Power From Legal And Beneficial Ownership Of Corporate Stock, Richard V. Ehrick S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Supreme Court of Michigan recently decided the case of Ecclestone v. Indialantic, Inc., the important facts being as follows: in June, 1942, defendant Emmons, owner of 451 shares of the common stock of Indialantic, Inc., a Florida corporation, transferred his entire holding to the Detroit Orthopedic Clinic in payment of an antecedent debt, reserving to himself, however, the sole right to vote the stock until the assets of the corporation were substantially liquidated. In March, 1946, with notice of this reservation of the right to vote, the plaintiff purchased all of these shares from the Clinic and thereby …

Physicians And Surgeons-Status Of Osteopaths-Limitations On Practice, Daniel W. Reddin, Iii S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Until recently, the osteopath has generally been given a limited license. The present status of the osteopath is best understood by a comparison with that of the unlimited practitioner. Though most of the statutes have been examined, this comment is based primarily upon those of Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, California, Massachusetts and Indiana, which are fairly typical of the rest. These statutes vary widely in their provisions, but for the purposes of discussion, they have been treated in three arbitrary categories: (1) statutes in which the scope of the osteopath's license is considerably narrower than that of the …

Bailment-Liability Of Parking Lot Owner For Theft Of Automobile, Myron J. Nadler

Michigan Law Review

Defendant mill maintained a free parking lot for its employees. The lot was enclosed, having one gate which was under constant surveillance by defendant's private policeman and kept closed except for short periods during shift changes. During a shift change, plaintiff, an employee of defendant, parked his automobile in the lot, removing and retaining the keys. While plaintiff was working in the mill, the watchman on duty at the gate admitted certain persons to the lot and allowed them to remove plaintiff's car. Held, two judges dissenting, this was a bailment for mutual benefit. Goodyear Clearwarter Mills v. Wheeler …

Conflict Of Laws-Application Of Estoppel To Invalid Divorces-Mexican "Mail Order" Divorce, Charles E. Becraft S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff and defendant, who wished to marry, persuaded defendant's wife to agree to a Mexican "mail order" divorce. The spouses executed and delivered powers of attorney to counsel residing in Mexico, where a divorce was granted and the decree mailed back to New York. Neither of the parties went to Mexico, nor did the decree of the Mexican court recite presence or domicile of either spouse. Upon learning that the decree had been granted, plaintiff and defendant were married in Virginia and then returned to New York, their state of domicile. In 1946, the plaintiff commenced this action, asking for …

Constitutional Law-State Taxation Of Gross Receipts From Interstate Commerce, John C. Walker

Michigan Law Review

A New York statute imposed a tax of two per cent on the gross receipts of all utilities doing business within the state. The State Tax Commission construed this statute as applicable to the total receipts of petitioner derived from transporting passengers for hire from a point within New York to another point within the same state over a route which passed through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The state courts affirmed the determination of the commission, and the petitioner appealed. Held, reversed and remanded. The transportation was interstate, and an unapportioned tax on the gross receipts derived therefrom was …

Corporations-Election Of Directors-Power To Enjoin Shareholders' Meeting Until Shareholders Are Furnished Information Concerning Condition Of Corporation, Robert W. Shadd

Michigan Law Review

Defendant company was operating at a loss of approximately $50,000 per month; the directors delayed three months in reporting the financial affairs of the company; and the shareholders' meeting was delayed six months in violation of the by-laws. On January 24, 1948, the directors called an election meeting for February 16, 1948. On receipt of this notice, plaintiff and others formed an independent shareholders' committee to effect a change in management. The directors refused to allow the plaintiff to make a photostatic copy of the list of 3,080 shareholders, but did permit him to inspect the list five days before …