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Nuisance Contributory Negligence As Defense, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought action against the county for injuries sustained when his truck fell into an unlighted and unguarded excavation made by the county in the center of the highway for the purpose of repairing a culvert. Held, that defendant's act, though required by statute, was done in such a manner as to constitute active wrongdoing and a public nuisance, to which a plea of contributory negligence is no defense. Hammond v. Monmouth County, (N. J. S. Ct. 1936) 186 A. 452.

Principal And Agent - Imputing Knowledge Of Agent To His Principal, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Harriman, acting for himself, by fraudulent misrepresentation obtained some collateral from the plaintiff. He pledged these securities through a dummy corporation to the Harriman National Bank & Trust Co., of which he was president at that time, and over which he exercised considerable control. The loan was formally approved by the loan committee of the bank. Held, plaintiff could recover his collateral because the agent's knowledge of the fraud was imputed to the bank. Munroe v. Harriman, (C. C. A. 2d, 1936) 85 F. (2d) 493, affirming (D. C. N. Y. 1935) 16 F. Supp. 341.

Taxation - Income Taxation Of Stock Dividends, Donald H. Larmee

Michigan Law Review

The petitioner purchased cumulative non-voting preferred stock in a corporation. In subsequent years the company elected to pay, and the petitioner received, dividends in common voting stock. Later the company redeemed its preferred stock. In computing the profit made by the petitioner at the time of redemption, the commissioner allocated to the common stock a proportionate share of the original cost of the preferred stock. He thereupon taxed as income the difference between the redemption figure and the allocated portion of the cost. The stockholder protested, claiming that the stock dividends should be treated as income in the years in …

Wills - Charitable Trusts - Doctrine Of Approximation - Accumulation, Malcolm L. Denise

Michigan Law Review

By his will of 1915 the testator, after providing for several legacies, left the residue of his estate to trustees, to expend the income therefrom in establishing and providing a home for the worthy aged poor of Waterbury, in the memory of his deceased wife. The income was not sufficient adequately to carry out this direction, the fund amounting to around $30,000 at the time of testator's death in 1920, and the trustees petitioned the court for instructions. Held, there being a general charitable intent, the fund should be administered cy pres by the court to relieve the aged …

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.

The Proposed United States Administrative Court, Part Ii, Robert M. Cooper

Michigan Law Review

The recent movement for the passage of the Logan bill and the establishment of supervisory tribunals for the control of administrative determinations is the result of several preconceived theories concerning the shortcomings of the present system of administrative justice. These underlying theories, cautiously surrounded by a halo of judicial philosophy, have seldom been analyzed in their relation to the development of a sound policy for the administration of governmental functions. The present installment of this article will be devoted first to an examination of these fundamental theories and a consideration of the question how far the present administrative machinery is …

Stockholders' Suits: A Possible Substitute, Harris Berlack

Michigan Law Review

With the rapid expansion in the use of the corporate form of organization for business enterprise which has taken place during the last few decades, increasing attention has been paid by legal scholars to the question of the respective positions, rights and duties of the various components of the corporate structure. The functions, rights, obligations and liabilities of managers, officers, directors and stockholders, both majority and minority, have been analyzed and defined. Mr. Berle's analysis of corporate authority as power held in trust for the benefit of the stockholders has found wide acceptance as a comprehensive synthesis of the conclusions …

Declaratory Judgments - Justiciable Controversy, Herman J. Bloom

Michigan Law Review

The governor of Wisconsin instituted a declaratory proceeding against the secretary of state. The governor wanted to determine his power to make ad interim appointments to allegedly vacant statutory offices and to positions incumbents were holding over. Prior to this action he had made no appointments to these offices, for the secretary of state had advised him that he would not honor the commissions, or audit and pay the expense account of such appointees. The governor claimed that the alleged conduct of the secretary of state prevented him from securing suitable persons to fill these offices. The court held that …

Charities - Capacity Of An Unincorporated Association To Act As Trustee Of A Charitable Trust, Philip A. Hart

Michigan Law Review

The residuary clause of testatrix's will directed that the remainder of the estate "after the rest and remainder has been converted into money by my executor . . . I give, devise and bequeath to the Old Order Church, . . . to be invested and reinvested among the members of the said church, and the income derived therefrom to be used for the benefit of the said Church." The church named was an unincorporated association and the heirs claimed that as such it had no capacity to take the bequest, either in its own right or as trustee. The …

Constitutional Law -- Interstate Commerce -- Validity Of Federal Statute Prohibiting Interstate Shipment Of Prison-Made Goods, Joseph H. Mueller

Michigan Law Review

The recent decision of the Supreme Court in Kentucky Whip & Collar Co. v. Illinois Central R. R., provides an effective method of circumventing the doctrine of Hammer v. Dagenhart, which held that Congress may not prohibit the interstate transportation of commodities which are harmless except for their economic effect in the state of destination. It is hailed by the advocates of reform as furnishing an avenue of approach to such problems as the regulation of minimum wages and hours and child labor.

Constitutional Law - Zoning Ordinances Prohibiting Repair Of Existing Structures, William F. Fratcher

Michigan Law Review

The rapid development and expansion of the zoning movement during the last ten years has been directed mainly toward guiding new construction in accordance with modern ideals of city planning. There has been, however, a concomitant attempt to restrict the use and repair of existing structures which, if built after its passage, would not conform to the provisions of the zoning ordinance. This at first glance may seem only an insignificant part of the whole zoning problem. But when it is considered, from the point of view of city planners, that it is nearly impossible to make a high grade. …

Front Matter, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Front Matter for Volume 35, Issue 4 of Michigan Law Review

Corporations - Charter Amendments - Delaware Dilemma, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

It may be conceded that a corporate charter is a contract having a threefold aspect as to the combinations of parties thereto, and that this contract, as between the corporation and the state, may be changed by the state without conflict with the Federal Constitution, providing the state has reserved a power to change. It still is an ever present problem, however, as to how far the state may affect the contracts of stockholders, either inter se or with the corporation. This problem is particularly a live one in Delaware, both because of the recent Keller case and the large …

Evidence - Curative Admissibility, Theodore R. Vogt

Michigan Law Review

If one party be permitted, for any reason, to introduce inadmissible evidence, may his opponent counter with like evidence to offset any· advantage the former may have obtained? Or, as Dean Wigmore puts it: "Does one inadmissibility justify or excuse another?"

The problem is again brought to notice by the decision of the Iowa Supreme Court in the recent case of Maasdam v. Jefferson County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Association. In that case the lower court was reversed because it refused to permit the defendant to introduce evidence as to the market value of the insured articles after plaintiff had …

Trusts - When Is The Beneficiary Of A Trust A Necessary Party In A Proceeding Involving The Trust Estate, Charles William Allen

Michigan Law Review

Two recent cases present the problem of the power of the trustee to represent the beneficiary in proceedings involving the trust estate. In Hood v. Cannon, arising in South Carolina, the trustee of an estate, upon merger of A bank into B bank, had applied to the probate court for permission to exchange A bank stock, held by the estate, for B bank stock. The court authorized the exchange in an ex parte proceeding to which the beneficiaries were not parties. B bank later failed, and the commissioner of banks brought suit against the defendant, the successor trustee, to …

Bankruptcy - Corporate Reorganization Plan - Fairness And Feasibility, Erwin S. Simon

Michigan Law Review

The corporation, having assets of $295,000 and liabilities of $1,200,000, petitioned for reorganization under Section 77B of the Bankruptcy Act and presented a plan. The district court's dismissal of the debtor's petition was affirmed in the circuit court of appeals on the grounds that the plan offered was incomprehensible, that the appraisal required by the plan was unjust since the value and validity of the bonds had been found in the equity receivership, and that subsection (b)(5) of 77B was unconstitutional, the attempt to bind non-assenting creditors being a denial of due process. Certiorari was granted by the Supreme Court. …

Constitutional Law-Resale Price Maintenance -Fair Trade Acts, Joseph H. Mueller

Michigan Law Review

Four cases upholding the validity of the California and Illinois Fair Trade Acts were recently sustained by the United States Supreme Court. All four cases involved a similar set of facts. Plaintiffs, the owners or authorized distributors of certain well known trade-marked articles, entered into a series of contracts with wholesalers and retailers fixing the resale prices of their branded products. When defendants, certain retailers who had refused to enter into such agreements, persisted in reselling the articles below the prices stipulated in the contracts with other retailers, plaintiffs sued to enjoin them under the provisions of the state Fair …

Contracts - Fraud - Defrauded Purchaser Of Land On Contract, Jacob L. Keidan

Michigan Law Review

Defendant filed a counterclaim for damages for deceit in an action brought by the vendor in a land contract. The facts showed that substantial payments had been made both before and after defendant's discovery of the fraud. The court held that defendant's performance of the contract subsequent to his discovery of the fraud constituted a "waiver" of the fraud. Monroe v. Hoffman, 276 Mich. 281, 267 N. W. 836 (1936).

Damages - Applicability Of Gold Clause Resolution To Obligation To Deliver Gold Bullion - Proof Of Damages, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant lessors and plaintiff realty company entered into a 99-year lease in 1890. The yearly rental was stipulated to be "grains of pure unalloyed gold," provided however, that in lieu thereof the lessors at their option could require the delivery of its value ($6,000) in such lawful currency as they designated. In 1933, upon the devaluation of the dollar and the regulation of gold by the Federal Government, the lessors gave the right to lessee to pay the amount of dollars the government was paying for newly-mined gold of the stated quantity (10,158.75). Plaintiff paid that amount in excess of …

Insurance - Life Insurance -Waiver Of Premiums During Disability, Charles W. Allen

Michigan Law Review

Action by guardian of the insured, who had become insane, for disability benefits under a life insurance policy and for a decree that the policy had not lapsed. The policy contained a typical provision for waiver of premiums and benefit payments during disability. No proof of disability was made until after default in premium payments. Held, that the insured's insanity did not excuse the failure to make proof before default and the policy had lapsed. Reingold v. New York Life Ins. Co., (C. C. A. 9th, 1936) 85 F. (2d) 776.

Municipal Corporations - Constitutional Limitation On Indebtedness - Delinquent Taxes As Deductible Asset, Emma Rae Mann

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff taxpayer sued to enjoin defendant city from borrowing $500,000 for general public improvements, alleging that if, the city so obligated itself it would be indebted beyond the limit fixed by the constitution at two per cent of the assessed valuation of taxable property. Defendant showed that such limit would not be exceeded if two-thirds of the outstanding delinquent taxes were regarded as deductible. The court denied the injunction and held that since collection of at least two-thirds of such outstanding delinquent taxes was certain this item was properly deductible. Ward v. Pittsburgh, 321 Pa. 414, 184 A. 240 …

Negligence - Guest Statutes - Proximate Cause, Erwin S. Simon

Michigan Law Review

The deceased was fatally injured while riding as a guest in defendant's truck. In the course of the action for damages brought by the administratrix, the court instructed that "if you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the driver of the truck was guilty of willful and wanton misconduct . . . and that as a consequence thereof the accident occurred, and further, that such conduct contributed to the death of plaintiff's intestate," then the jury should find for the plaintiff. Verdict was for the plaintiff and defendant appealed. Held, that the instruction was erroneous because it …

Railroads - Violation Of Ordinance Limiting The Obstruction Of Highways By Trains - Collision At Crossing - Proximate Cause, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was injured, when an automobile in which she was a passenger, was driven into a freight train standing across a highway on a misty night. This train had been obstructing the crossing for more than five minutes, in violation of a state statute. Plaintiff sued the railroad, alleging negligence in violating the statute. On appeal from a judgment for the plaintiff, held that plaintiff had made no case, and that the judgment should be reversed without a new trial, and with costs to the defendant. Simpson v. Pere Marquette Ry., 276 Mich. 653, 268 N. W. 769 (1936).

Monthly Periodical Index, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This department lists the articles and comments which appear in twenty-four leading law reviews.

Section 77b, The Chandler Bill And Other Proposed Revisions, John Gerdes

Michigan Law Review

Section 77B of the Bankruptcy Act has been in effect since June 7, 1934. Its novelty and recognized importance in the field of corporate reorganizations have aroused great interest and wide discussion. The attention which it has received has brought to the fore criticisms of many aspects of the statute.

Attorney And Client - Unlawful Practice Before Industrial Commission In Workmen's Compensation Proceedings, Charles R. Moon Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In forty-four states of the Union and in Alaska, Porto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippine Islands there are workmen's compensation acts. A great majority of these acts provide for a board or commission to settle all disputes as to compensation. Practice before these boards and commissions has become a large share of the business of many lawyers and of many law firms. To them, in particular, and to the legal profession, in general, the question raised in the recent case of Goodman v. Beall is of considerable interest. In this case, suit was brought by a committee of the Ohio …

Constitutional Law - Federal Criminal Procedure - Short Form Indictment, James H. Roberton

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to discuss the validity under the Federal Constitution of an indictment, drawn in accordance with the proposed code, which would merely accuse the defendant of having committed some kind of "offense," and would leave the particulars of the offense to a bill of particulars.

Trusts - Judicial Supervision Of The Administration Of Trusts, Victor P. Kayser

Michigan Law Review

The last few years have witnessed an increasing tendency to use both the testamentary and inter vivos trust as a means for the distribution of estates. Since this results in an avoidance of the normal procedure of probate and administration and of supervision by the probate court, it becomes pertinent to inquire as to the extent to which the administration of trusts is subject to judicial control.

Contempt - Suppression Order - Publication Of Contents Of Suppressed File, Milton M. Howard

Michigan Law Review

On a bill of complaint being filed in chancery court an injunction was issued against the defendant therein, and the papers in the cause were ordered suppressed by the chancellor, and to that end, sealed in an envelope. The bill alleged misrepresentation on the part of a leading banker in getting stockholders to contribute toward making up the defalcations of other officers in the bank and malfeasance of other officers. Defendant newspaper reporter obtained information relative to the allegations in the bill from sources other than the suppressed file and published the same nine months later. Upon citation for contempt, …

Injunctions - Interest Necessary To Enjoin The Practice Of A Profession Without A License, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Three individual plaintiffs, as registered optometrists, and the Michigan Society of Optometrists, on behalf of themselves and duly registered members of their profession, filed a bill to enjoin the defendant corporation from violating a section of the Michigan Optometrical Act, and to specifically enjoin the advertisement of glasses and using in connection with such advertisement the statement, "Scientific eye examination included." Held, suit may be brought by parties engaged in a profession to enjoin unfair trade and practice even though such practices are punishable by criminal penalties. Seifert v. Buhl Optical Co., 276 Mich. 692, 268 N. W. …