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Torts

Michigan Law Review

1957

Liability

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Law

Civil Procedure - Judgments - Effect Of Prior "Compromise" Judgment As Collateral Estoppel, Peter H. Hay S.Ed. Nov 1957

Civil Procedure - Judgments - Effect Of Prior "Compromise" Judgment As Collateral Estoppel, Peter H. Hay S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In a negligence action for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, one of three successful plaintiffs was granted a new trial because damages awarded her were inadequate. In the new trial the issue of negligence was relitigated over plaintiff's objection that the question of liability was res judicata. The jury found for the defendant and plaintiff appealed. Held, affirmed, one justice dissenting. Although the judgment in favor of the other two plaintiffs in the prior action establishing defendant's liability has become final, this prior judgment is not res judicata. Since the judgment was entered pursuant to a verdict which …


Agency - Liability Of Principal For Termination Of Agents Employment, William G. Mateer S.Ed. Jun 1957

Agency - Liability Of Principal For Termination Of Agents Employment, William G. Mateer S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In the summer of 1949, appellant entered into an oral contract for an indefinite time with the appellee whereby the former was granted an exclusive wholesale distributorship of appellee's farm and garden equipment. A four-year period followed in which appellant increased the number of dealers in appellee's product from four or five in 1949 to over one hundred in 1953. In the latter part of 1952 appellant contemplated an enlargement of its facilities which would require it to enter upon a fifteen-year lease. Since the lessor desired some assurances as to the duration of appellant's franchise, appellant wrote to appellee …


Corporations - Officers And Directors - Liability For Inducing A Corporation To Breach Its Contracts, William H. Leighner Jun 1957

Corporations - Officers And Directors - Liability For Inducing A Corporation To Breach Its Contracts, William H. Leighner

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff real estate company brought suit against the directors of a corporation and other third persons for an alleged conspiracy to induce the corporation to breach its contract with plaintiff. The complaint alleged that the corporation had entered into an agreement whereby plaintiff was to procure a purchaser for certain premises owned by the corporation and that plaintiff had found a purchaser; that before a written offer could be obtained, the corporation contracted to sell to another broker who was to be used as a conduit to transfer title to the purchaser found by the plaintiff, and who was to …


Partnership - Partnership By Estoppel -Application To Tort Actions, Thomas Erickson S.Ed. Jun 1957

Partnership - Partnership By Estoppel -Application To Tort Actions, Thomas Erickson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff-motorist brought action against defendant who, it was alleged, owned a truck which was driven into the rear of the plaintiff's automobile. Defendant had arranged to take title to the truck from his son. The transfer was to be effective three days before the accident but was not in fact completed until after the accident. Defendant also had taken out insurance on the truck and had joined with his son in purchasing it and in taking out an ash-hauling license in which business the truck was used. Other trucks previously used in the business by defendant's son had been carried …


Torts - Guest Act - Negligent Conduct Of The Driver, William K. Muir Jr. Jun 1957

Torts - Guest Act - Negligent Conduct Of The Driver, William K. Muir Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was a gratuitous passenger in an automobile driven by defendant. Defendant, intending to coast to his destination, turned off the ignition, removed the key, and placed it in his pocket. The removal of the key caused the steering gear to lock, and defendant was unable to avoid a collision with a tree. Plaintiff suffered injuries and brought suit. Evidence was adduced to show that in defendant's type of automobile the steering wheel was so constructed as to lock upon removal of the key. Testimony revealed that defendant understood the general operation of the lock, but that the particular mechanism …


Aviation Law - Tort Liability For Damage To Persons Or Property On The Ground - Res Ipsa Loquitur, Allan L. Bioff Apr 1957

Aviation Law - Tort Liability For Damage To Persons Or Property On The Ground - Res Ipsa Loquitur, Allan L. Bioff

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's fishing vessel was struck and sunk by a practice bomb released from a Marine Corps aircraft. An action was brought against the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Plaintiff could produce no proof of negligence on the part of the government. Held, recovery allowed. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is applicable. Goodwin v. United States, (E.D. N.C. 1956) 141 F. Supp. 445.


Negligence - Duty Of Care - Liability Of Builder And Architect To Third Party, Raymond J. Dittrich Feb 1957

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Liability Of Builder And Architect To Third Party, Raymond J. Dittrich

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, an infant, fell from the back porch of an apartment leased by his parents from a housing authority. The plaintiff brought actions for negligence against the architect who designed the dwelling, the builder who constructed it, and the housing authority which leased it, alleging that the back porch was so designed and constructed as to create a dangerous condition for the users thereof. The trial court dismissed the complaints against the builder and the architect. On appeal, held, reversed. Despite the lack of privity between the builder and the architect and the plaintiff, a good cause of …