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Full-Text Articles in Law

Air Law - Imputed Negligence - Liability Of Airplane Owner For Negligence Of Pilot, George E. Lohr S.Ed. Nov 1958

Air Law - Imputed Negligence - Liability Of Airplane Owner For Negligence Of Pilot, George E. Lohr S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, passenger in an airplane owned by defendant as proprietor of the flight school and piloted by a flight trainee with defendant's permission, suffered injuries in a crash allegedly caused by the negligence of the pilot and brought this action against defendant owner to recover damages. The trial court sustained defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint. On appeal, held, reversed and remanded for new trial. If the allegations of negligence of the pilot are found to be true, defendant would be liable for plaintiff's injuries even though he was not in actual control of the airplane. The governing statutory …


Negligence - Last Clear Chance - Evidence Insufficient As A Matter Of Law, Theodore G. Koerner Jun 1958

Negligence - Last Clear Chance - Evidence Insufficient As A Matter Of Law, Theodore G. Koerner

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, having fallen asleep at night at the side of a narrow dirt road, was run over by defendant's automobile. He alleged that defendant was negligent in operating a vehicle at an excessive speed without proper lights. Defendant pleaded that plaintiff was contributorily negligent by being asleep in the road, and plaintiff then replied that defendant had the last clear chance to avoid the injury. On appeal from a judgment of involuntary nonsuit, held, affirmed, three justices dissenting. The plaintiff, by falling asleep at the side or in the middle of the road, was contributorily negligent as a matter …


A Comment On The Law Of Torts, Luke K. Cooperrider Jun 1958

A Comment On The Law Of Torts, Luke K. Cooperrider

Michigan Law Review

The recently-published treatise by Professors Harper and James, The Law of Torts, which is the subject of this article is no routine publication. It is not a mere recasting in different language of an already familiar synthesis; nor is it the kind of book one keeps around for casual reference. It is, rather, a statement of a philosophy of tort liability which, by reason of its consonance with much of the currently vocal thought in the field, and by reason of the powers of analysis and expression that the authors have brought to bear, is almost certainly destined to …


Liability Insurance - Cooperation Clause - Failure Of Cooperation Absent A Finding Of Prejudice, Edward B. Stulberg S.Ed. May 1958

Liability Insurance - Cooperation Clause - Failure Of Cooperation Absent A Finding Of Prejudice, Edward B. Stulberg S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff insurance company sought a declaratory judgment absolving it from obligation on an automobile liability insurance policy on the ground that there had been a breach of the cooperation clause. Johnston, the insured, was the driver of a car involved in an accident in Crawford County, Kansas, giving rise to substantial claims by defendant Elliott. At the request of Elliott's attorney, Johnston traveled from his home in Kansas to submit to service of process in Missouri. When plaintiff questioned this behavior, Johnston lied, denying that collusion had prompted his appearance in Missouri. On appeal from summary judgment for plaintiff company, …


Torts In English And American Conflict Of Laws: The Role Of The Forum, S. I. Shuman, S. Prevezer May 1958

Torts In English And American Conflict Of Laws: The Role Of The Forum, S. I. Shuman, S. Prevezer

Michigan Law Review

''Private international law owes its existence to the fact that there are in the world a number of separate territorial systems of law that differ greatly from each other in the rules by which they regulate the various legal relations arising in daily life." Where the systems are those of member states of a federal union, there should be less difference in their laws than where they are those of sovereign nations divided by strong cultural, social and political barriers. Interstate conflicts and international conflicts are likely to give rise to somewhat different considerations and rules, and it is surely …


Torts - Prima Facie Tort - Liability For Instigation Of Police Investigation Or Prosecution, John H. Jackson May 1958

Torts - Prima Facie Tort - Liability For Instigation Of Police Investigation Or Prosecution, John H. Jackson

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff organized a corporation for the purpose of collecting funds from the public to aid cancer victims. Defendant, well-known columnist engaged in soliciting money for a rival cancer fund, was alleged, inter alia, to have instigated state and federal government investigations and prosecutions that resulted in plaintiff being criminally convicted and subsequently acquitted on a new trial after appeal. As a consequence of these actions, public confidence had been destroyed in plaintiff's cancer fund corporation and it had ceased to function. Plaintiff complained that defendant's actions were done with the intention of harming plaintiff and had resulted in plaintiff's loss …


Gair & Cutler: Negligence Cases: Winning Strategy, Marcus L. Plant Apr 1958

Gair & Cutler: Negligence Cases: Winning Strategy, Marcus L. Plant

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Negligence Cases: Winning Strategy. By Harry A. Gair and A. S. Cutler.


Corporations - Clayton Act - Service Of Process On Alien Corporations Through Their Local Subsidiaries, George R. Haydon Jr. Mar 1958

Corporations - Clayton Act - Service Of Process On Alien Corporations Through Their Local Subsidiaries, George R. Haydon Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Two affiliated German corporations, one of which is the defendant, established a jointly owned subsidiary in New York. Three members of the subsidiary's five-man board of directors are officers or directors of the German parents, while a fourth is a former employee sent to this country to manage the subsidiary. The American company is devoted exclusively to the business of the German parents. It assists in the negotiation of contracts, although it has no power to bind the parents, advises with respect to patents, and makes infrequent sales and purchases. For these services, it receives a flat fee plus a …


Atomic Energy - Indemnity Legislation - Anderson Amendments To The Atomic Energy Act Of 1954, Dudley H. Chapman S.Ed. Mar 1958

Atomic Energy - Indemnity Legislation - Anderson Amendments To The Atomic Energy Act Of 1954, Dudley H. Chapman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Anderson Amendments were enacted to encourage private industry to enter the atomic energy field by removing the risk of excessive liability for a major nuclear reactor disaster. Such a disaster could result in liability far in excess of available insurance coverage. The solution provided by the new legislation has three aspects: (1) After private financial protection, geared to the amount of available insurance, is obtained by a person licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission, (2) the Commission will execute an agreement to indemnify (not insure) the licensee and "any other person who may be liable for public liability" to …


Contribution - Joint Liability - Claimant Not A Volunteer But Not Subject To A Common Liability, Melvyn I. Mozinski Mar 1958

Contribution - Joint Liability - Claimant Not A Volunteer But Not Subject To A Common Liability, Melvyn I. Mozinski

Michigan Law Review

A passenger was injured while riding in an automobile driven by D when it collided with a car driven by C. In the passenger's action for damages against C, C cross-complained against D. On the day of trial C settled with the passenger with the knowledge and approval of D. In the ensuing suit for contribution both C and D denied negligence; the jury found that D was negligent and that C was in no way at fault. Since there was no common liability shown, C's claim for contribution was dismissed. C moved to have …


Limitation Of Actions- Substantive And Remedial Statutes - Extension Of Statutory Period For Fraud, Max H. Bergman S.Ed. Mar 1958

Limitation Of Actions- Substantive And Remedial Statutes - Extension Of Statutory Period For Fraud, Max H. Bergman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought an action under the Federal Employers' Liability Act to recover damages from the defendant employer for an industrial disease allegedly contracted more than three years prior to bringing suit. Plaintiff alleged that defendant misrepresented the time within which this action could be brought and thereby tolled the three-year statute of limitations in the FELA. Held, defendant's motion to dismiss granted. The time limitation is an integral part of the statute creating a substantive right and is not extended by fraud or misrepresentation. Glus v. Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal, (S.D. N.Y. 1957) 154 F. Supp. 863.


Damages - Automobile Collisions - Penalties For Failure To Settle Small Claims Promptly, Ralph E. Boches Mar 1958

Damages - Automobile Collisions - Penalties For Failure To Settle Small Claims Promptly, Ralph E. Boches

Michigan Law Review

Recent Arkansas legislation provides for double damages, reasonable attorney's fees of not less than fifty dollars, and court costs for failure to pay property damage claims arising from automobile collisions within sixty days after the submission of estimates of damage. Application of the statute is limited to claims under two hundred dollars. Furthermore, if the defendant presents a "meritorious defense," liability under the statute does not attach. Acts of Arkansas (1957), Act 283, Senate Bill 166.


Insurance - Recovery - Delay Of Insurance Company In Rejecting Application For Insurance, Harry D. Krause S.Ed. Feb 1958

Insurance - Recovery - Delay Of Insurance Company In Rejecting Application For Insurance, Harry D. Krause S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, designated as beneficiary by deceased life insurance applicant, sued defendant life insurance company in assumpsit. Deceased, a combat pilot in the Korean War, had applied for one of defendant's policies, passed the medical examination, and made several premium payments on the policy. After the applicant was killed in combat defendant refused payment, contending that it had never accepted the risk but that it had responded to the application with a counter offer containing an aviation waiver. Because of ·the applicant's frequent change of address and his early death this proposal had never been communicated to him. On appeal from …


Negligence - Duty Of Care - Effect Of Time Lapse On Manufacturer's Duty, John Paul Williams Feb 1958

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Effect Of Time Lapse On Manufacturer's Duty, John Paul Williams

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff suffered injuries when the fly wheel on a truck he was driving gave way, causing the truck to crash. He brought an action in damages against defendant, manufacturer of the truck, alleging defective design and manufacture of the fly wheel. The truck had been safely used for at least five years prior to the accident and had been driven 200,000 to 400,000 miles during that period. On defendant's motion for directed verdict, held, granted. There is no evidence whatever that the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care. Also, use of the truck for five years results in a …


Torts - Libel And Slander - Effect Of An Unsustained Plea Of Truth, Frank D. Jacobs Feb 1958

Torts - Libel And Slander - Effect Of An Unsustained Plea Of Truth, Frank D. Jacobs

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, superintendent of a state training school for boys, was removed from that office by his superior in the state department of social welfare. The defendant corporation, publisher and owner of two newspapers in the state, published certain articles in its newspapers relating to plaintiff's conduct in office, his management of the school, and his removal from office. Plaintiff brought action of libel. Defendant, in addition to a plea of general issue, filed a plea of truth. The trial court instructed the jury that where truth is pleaded as a defense, but is not successful, such plea will sustain an …


Torts - Privacy - Collection Method, Frederic Brace S.Ed. Feb 1958

Torts - Privacy - Collection Method, Frederic Brace S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff disputed the debt which the defendant corporation asserted against her. Defendant made no attempt to recover this asserted debt by legal action but instead sent a letter to the personnel director of plaintiff's employer. This letter stated that plaintiff had refused to cooperate in reaching an amicable settlement and requested the assistance of the personnel director in collecting this "honest debt." Plaintiff was then summoned to the office of her superior and informed that the letter would be placed in her file and remain there until the asserted indebtedness had been settled. Plaintiff sought damages for an invasion of …


Negligence - Duty Of Care - Manufacturer's Duty To Warn Of Obvious Dangers, George R. Haydon Jr. Jan 1958

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Manufacturer's Duty To Warn Of Obvious Dangers, George R. Haydon Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff purchased a "Lithe-Line" exerciser, a rubber rope forty inches long with a loop on each end, manufactured by defendant Helena Rubenstein, Inc. With the exerciser plaintiff received a leaflet of instructions stating that "anybody" could reduce with it, and containing sketches and descriptions of eight exercises. While plaintiff was lying on the floor with the rope under her feet doing one of the exercises, the rope slipped off her feet and snapped back, hitting her in the eye and causing partial loss of vision. She sued the manufacturer for negligence, alleging that the exerciser was inherently dangerous when used …


Contracts - Damages - Punitive Damages Awarded For Breach Accompanied By Fraudulent Act, Theodore G. Koerner Jan 1958

Contracts - Damages - Punitive Damages Awarded For Breach Accompanied By Fraudulent Act, Theodore G. Koerner

Michigan Law Review

Defendants contracted to purchase a crop of alfalfa from plaintiff, harvesting and processing to be done by defendants and payment to be ascertained according to the processed weight of the alfalfa. When defendants harvested the entire crop but failed to pay for the major part of it, plaintiff brought action for breach of contract. In addition to the non-payment, plaintiff alleged fraud on defendants' part in falsifying weight records and in otherwise scheming to cheat and defraud him. On defendants' appeal from a judgment including both compensatory and punitive damages, held, affirmed. Although punitive damages are not ordinarily recoverable …


Municipal Corporations - Tort Liability - Liability For Torts Committed By Municipal Employees In Exercise Of Governmental Functions, Ralph E. Boches Jan 1958

Municipal Corporations - Tort Liability - Liability For Torts Committed By Municipal Employees In Exercise Of Governmental Functions, Ralph E. Boches

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued the Town of Cocoa Beach for damages for the alleged wrongful death of her husband. Plaintiff's husband had died of smoke suffocation after being locked in a jail which was left unattended by the city jailor. The lower court dismissed plaintiff's complaint. On appeal, held, reversed. A person injured by the negligence of a municipal employee acting within the scope of his employment may recover against the municipal corporation. Hargrove v. Town of Cocoa Beach, (Fla. 1957) 96 S. (2d) 130.


Constitutional Law - Due Process - Jurisdiction Of State Court Over Nonresident Tortfeasor, J. Martin Cornell Jan 1958

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Jurisdiction Of State Court Over Nonresident Tortfeasor, J. Martin Cornell

Michigan Law Review

The defendant, a resident of Wisconsin, was engaged in the business of selling appliances and sent one of his employees to deliver a gas cooking stove to the plaintiff in Illinois. Claiming that the employee had negligently injured him in unloading the stove, the plaintiff brought action in Illinois, seeking damages of $7,500. A summons was personally served on the defendant in Wisconsin, and the defendant appeared specially, moving to quash the summons on the ground that the Illinois statute, providing for extraterritorial service on any person who commits a tortious act within the state, contravened the constitutions of the …