Law Commons^™

Injunction In Labor Disputes--Anti-Trust Laws--"Secondary Boycott".

Michigan Law Review

Since the passing of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890 there has been an enormous increase in litigation concerning the trade union and its activities. When the Supreme Court in the Danbury Hatters' case8 held that labor organizations were included in the provisions of the Sherman Act, and that the so-called "secondary boycott"' was a violation of the terms of this act, labor felt that it had lost a very effective weapon and at once began to fear that the very existence of the labor union was in danger. Not having much hope of relief from the courts, the forces …

A Rational Theory For Joinder Of Causes Of Action And Defences, And For The Use Of Counterclaims, William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

In discussing, first, the joinder of actions it will be convenient to consider three groups or classes of cases:

Class I : Where one plaintiff (or joint plaintiffs) unites in a single proceeding two or more causes of action against one defendant (or joint defendants).

Class 2: "Where two or more plaintiffs, each having a cause of action against the same party (or parties), unite their causes of action in one proceeding.

Class 3: Where one plaintiff (or joint plaintiffs) having several causes of action, each against a different party, unites them in one proceeding.

In considering each group or …

The Trial Brief, Edson R. Sunderland, Clifford W. Crandall

Book Chapters

From the chapter Introduction: "The object of the preceding chapters is to show the brief maker where to find the material for his brief, how to find it, and how to select out of the mass of material found that which will be suitable for his use.... The present purpose is to outline a course of investigation suitable to the preparation of a case for trial and to suggest methods of making the material collected during the search for authorities readily available." [p.417-418]

Declaratory Judgments, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

The Declaratory Judgments Act of Michigan (Act No. 150, P. A. 1919) provided as follows: (Sec. 1) "No action or proceeding in any court of record shall be open to objection on the ground that a merely declaratory judgment, decree or order is sought thereby, and the court may make binding declarations of rights whether any consequential relief is or could be claimed, or not, including the determination, at the instance of anyone claiming to be interested under a deed, will or other written instrument, of any question of construction arising under the instrument and a declaration of the rights …

Bringing Third Parties Into Actions At Law—Set-Off Against The Assignor, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

It frequently happens, in an action by an assignee, that the defendant wishes to use as a cross-action a claim against the assignor. This results in no diffiulty unless the amount of the set-off against the assignor is greater than the claim of the plaintiff, or unless the cross-action calls for a specific remedy against the assigner in addition to its defensive effect upon the plaintiff's demand. In each of these cases we have a three-sided controversy. In the first, the set-off operates against the plaintiff to the extent of his claim and against the assignor for the balance. In …

Boycott - Medical Association, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

The opinion of McCardie, J., (without a jury), in Pratt v. British Medical Association (1919), I K. B. 244, (noted in the MICHIGAN LAW REVIEW, June, 1919, p. 704), brilliantly reviewing the English cases, merits a fuller statement of the facts and principles involved than was possible in a short note. The action was by Doctors Burke, Pratt, and Holmes, against the British Medical Association and four of its officers, for damages for conspiracy, slander and libel.

Liability Of Manufacturer To Remote Vender For Defective Automobile Wheel, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

Plaintiff. in February, 19O9. purchased from the Utica Motor Car Company, a Cadillac six-passenger touring car, manufactured by the Cadillac Motor Car Company, of Michigan. The Utica company was a dealer in motor cars, and purchased to resell; it was the original vendee, and the plaintiff was the sub-vendee. The car was used very little until July 31, 1909, when the plaintiff, an experienced driver, while driving the car on a main public road in good condition, at a speed of 12 to 15 miles per hour, was severely and permanently injured by the right front wheel suddenly breaking down …

Corporations, Shareholders' Right To Have A Dividend Declared And Paid Out Of Surplus, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

In Dodge v. Ford Motor Co. (Mich. 1919), 170, N. W. 668, the questions were not new, and with one exception, the decision was not unusual, but the sums involved were enormos. The Motor Company was incorporated in 1903, under the general manufacturing incorporating act of Michigan (P. A. 232, 1903), for the manufacture and sale of automobiles, motors and devices incident to their construction and operation, with an authorized Capital Stock of $150,000-$100,000 then paid up, $49,000 in cash, $40,000 in letters patent issued and applied for, and $11,000 in machinery and contracts. In 1908 the stock was increased …

The Scintilla Rule Of Evidence, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

In analyzing the reasons why "trial by jury has declined to such an extent that it has come in many cases to be an avowed maxim of professional action,--a good case is for the court; a bad case is for the jury,"-JUDGE DILLON, in his LAWS AND JURISPRUDENCE, pp. 130-2, credits "the false principle known as the scintilla doctrine" with a large degree of responsibility.

Should A Correct Verdict Be Set Aside Because The Jury Failed To Follow Erroneous Instructions?, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

One of the common grounds of a new trial is that the verdict is contrary to law. What law is meant,--the law as it really is, or the law that was given to the jury by the court's instruction? Most cases hold to the latter view. It is the duty of the jury to take the law from the court, whether the court in so giving it is right or wrong. Hence, the jury violate their duty if they fail to follow instructions, even if the instructions are wrong, and a verdict based on a breach of the jury's duty …

Burden Of Proof, Victor H. Lane

Articles

The case of Rowe, Adin.. v. Colorado and Southern R. R. Co. (Tex. Civ. App. 1918), 205 S. W. 731, is typical of the confusion all too common in the use of this term "burden of proof"

Privilege Of Enemy Aliens To Maintain Actions, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

In his History and Practice of Civil Actions, Lord Chief Baron Gilbert (p. 205) states that alienage is a disability which must be pleaded to the action, "because it is forfeited to the King, as a rep-isal for the damages committed by the Dominion in enmity with him. In 1 Hale's Pleas of the Crown, (p. 95) it is said "That by the law of England debts and goods found in this realm belonging to alien enemies belong to the King, and may be seized by him," Y. B. 19 E 4, 6, is cited to that effect. The provisions …

Cost Of Public Justice, John R. Rood

Articles

The common citizen who becomes victim of a wrong and seeks redress in the courts of America soon finds by bitter experience that it is better to bear those ills we have than go to law. The expense is more than the thing is worth. The result depends on who has the longest purse, the most endurance, and the shrewdest lawyer, and little on the merits of the case. When he gets to court he finds his remaining money is being spent, not in the trial of his case, but in deciding whether an absque hoc is a sine que …

Recovery Of Money Paid Under Duress Of Legal Proceedings In Michigan, Edgar N. Durfee

Articles

THE case of Welch v. Beeching, recently decided by the Supreme Court of Michigan, raises puzzling problems conconcerning the recovery of money paid under pressure of legal proceedings. It is the purpose of this paper to give that case a more adequate setting, in relation to the whole field of law to which it pertains, than was provided by the brief opinion of the court. We shall not attempt to exhaust the authorities, nor to present a rounded treatment of the whole subject touched upon.

Recent Important Decisions

Michigan Law Review

A collection of recent important court decisions.

A Modern Action At Law, Horace L. Wilgus

Books

The following is a true "short story" of what occurred in the county a few years ago, taken, for the most part, from the records of the County Clerk, in the Court House, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Inefficiency Of The American Jury, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

What is proposed in the present article is to show that in attempting to preserve the independence of the jury in its exclusive juris- diction over questions of fact, the people and the courts in most American jurisdictions have departed from the common law practice and have introduced a principle calculated to undermine the very institution which they wish to strengthen. That is to say, through the rules prohibiting judges from commenting on the weight of the evidence, juries tend to become irresponsible, verdicts tend to become matters of chance, and the intricacy of procedure, with its cost, delay and …

Recent Important Decisions

Michigan Law Review

A collection of recent important court decisions.

Note And Comment, Clair B. Hughes, Stanley E. Gifford, Stuart S. Wall, Ralph W. Aigler, Gordon Stoner

Michigan Law Review

Adverse Possession in the Case of the Rights of Way of the Pacific Railroad Companies - While the weight of authority is probably to the effect that railroad rights of way may be lost by adverse possession, the authorities are by no means agreed. The rights of way of certain of the Pacific Railroad Companies have been declared not to be subject to the ordinary rules as to adverse possession, on the ground that by the Congressional grants the four-hundred-foot-strips -were conveyed only for railroad purposes with the ultimate possibility of reverter in the United States, which had the effect …

Cases On Procedure, Annotated. Common Law Pleading, Edson R. Sunderland

Books

“No subject is more intimately connected with the history and development of our law than common law pleading. In sharp contrast with the other great system of law, that founded by the Romans, the common law has not been the product of legislation, but of litigation. It has grown up in the atmosphere of courts of justice. Such a genesis would necessarily give it a strong procedural favor, and would tend to emphasize remedies at the expense of rights. Procedure might therefore be expected to play a much larger part in the development of the common law than in the …

The Trial Brief, Edson R. Sunderland

Book Chapters

From the chapter Introduction: "The object of the preceding chapters is to show the brief maker where to find the material for his brief, how to find it, and how to select out of the mass of material found that which will be suitable for his use.... The purpose of this lesson is to outline a course of investigation suitable to the preparation of a case for trial, and to suggest methods of making the material collected during the search for authorities readily available." [p.353]

Can Affidavits Of Jurors To Show Misconduct Be Admitted For The Purpose Of Setting Aside A 'Quotient Verdict'?, Grover C. Grismore

Articles

A recent Oklahoma case raises one phase of a question which has been perplexing the courts ever since jury trials were invented, and in regard to which there is a great contrariety of opinion. After a verdict had been rendered for the plaintiff in a personal injury suit, the defendant made a motion for a new trial on the ground of misconduct of the jury, and in support of his motion offered the affidavits of several of the jurors to the effect that the verdict was determined upon as the result of an agreement whereby each one of the jurors …

Note And Comment, Joseph H. Drake, Frederick R. Shearer, Jack M. Hendrick, Peter Balkema, Wilson W. Mills

Michigan Law Review

Pecote: A Bit of Legal Archaeology - -In the case of Pusey v. Pusey, I Vern. 273 (1684), the "bil was, that a -horn, which time out of mind had gone along with the plaintiff's estate, and was delivered, to his ancestors in ancient times to hold their land by, might be delivered to him; upon which horn was the inscription, viz. pecote this horn to hold huy thy land." The bill was demurred to in that the plaintiff did not by his bill pretend to be entitled to this horn, either as executor or devisee; nor had he in …

Cases On Procedure, Annotated. Code Pleading, Edson R. Sunderland

Books

“In the present volume on Code Pleading, the editor has aimed to present the subject, in all of its more important features, as a complete working system of pleading. The code has frequently been treated as the mere ‘antithesis’ of common law pleading, and this has resulted in throwing the subject completely out of balance by unreasonably extending the discussion of those elements which are ‘characteristic’ of the code, while unduly restricting or entirely ignoring those principles which the code shares with the common law….

“The student should be able to obtain a clear conception of the system as a …

Directing A Verdict For The Party Having The Burden Of Proof, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The practice of moving for a directed verdict is the modern substitute for the old demurrer to the evidence. The reason for its development at the expense of the older procedure is not far to seek. The demurrer to the evidence was in the first place cumbersome and difficult to draw, for it was required to contain a full written recital of all the facts shown in evidence by the opposite party, together with all reasonable inferences favorable to the party who introduced the evidence.1 The preparation of such a demurrer usually required the expenditure of much time and labor.

Note And Comment, Ralph W. Aigler, Wilson W. Mills, Sidney E. Doyle, Joseph J. Kennedy

Michigan Law Review

The Renvoi Theory Repudiated as a Test for Determining the Negotiability of a Note - A recent case decided by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma (Bell v. Riggs, 127 Pac. 427) involving, among others, a question as to what law governs the negotiability of a note made in one State and payable in another, though of little intrinsic value so far as that point is concerned, is of some interest because the attorney for the holder of the note made a curious attempt to adapt the renvoi theory to his case. The term renvoi is used as a convenient descriptive …

Note And Comment, Sigmund W. David, Newton K. Fox, Harold R. Curtis, Aquilla C. Lewis, Albert R. Dilley

Michigan Law Review

Civil Liability for False Testimony; Review by the Courts of the Decisions of the Land Department; Right of One Partner to Sue His Co-Partners in Conversion; Does a Tax Deed, Void on it Face, Give Color of Title; Interference With Employment by Trade Union;

Cases On Procedure, Annotated. Trial Practice, Edson R. Sunderland

Books

“The present volume is intended to develop and disclose the rational basis for the main principles of practice employed in the trial of civil actions at law. Recourse has been had to the whole body of American case law, and the choice of cases has been determined by the clearness with which the court has shown a logical justification for the decision made….

“The cases have been very freely edited, and everything not germane to the subject for which the case was chosen has been omitted….” --Preface

Note And Comment, Gordon W. Stoner, Sigmund W. David, Victor R. Jose Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The Law School; Pleading Estoppel; Libels on Person and on Property; The Conflict Between a Patentee's Right to Monopoly and a State Anti-Monopoly Statute

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Attachment--Power of Notary Public to Take Affidavit Where He is an Attorney for One of the Parties; Bankruptcy--Effect of Discharge--Res Adjudicate; Bills and Notes--Presentment and Demand by Telephone; Constitutional Law--Commerce--State Regulation of Interstate Telegrams; Constitutional Law--community Property--Alienation Without Consent of Wife; Corporations--Criminal Responsibility--Imputation of Intent and Knowledge; Corporations--Dividends--Compulsory Declaration; Corporations--Stockholder's Right to Examine Books--Motive; Easements--Grants for Pipe Lines--Rights Acquired--Telephone Line; Evidence--Character of Disbarment Proceedings--Use of Deposition; Evidence--Uncorroborated Testimony of an Accomplice; Fraudulent Conveyances--Voluntary Conveyances--Solvency and Insolvency of Grantor; Homestead--When Liable for Debts; Husband and Wife--Exception to Presumption of Coercion--House of Ill Fame; Injunction--Action on Note by Attorney Against Client--Remedy at …