Law Commons^™

Negligence—Macpherson V. Buick Held Inapplicable Where Alleged Defect Is Obvious To User, Sheldon Hurwitz

Buffalo Law Review

Campo v. Scofield, 301 N. Y. 468, 95 N. E. 2d 802 (1950).

Defamation—Written Imputations Of Indebtedness Concerning Non-Trader Held Libelous Per Se, Maynard C. Schaus Jr.

Buffalo Law Review

Cyran v. Finley Straus, Inc., 302 N. Y. 486, 99 N. E. 2d 298 (1951).

Negligence—Recovery Denied Where Plaintiff Was En Ventre Sa Mere, Alfreda Wilczek

Buffalo Law Review

Woods v. Lancet, 278 App. Div. 913, 105 N. Y. S. 2d 417 (1st Dept. 1951).

Torts—Overthrow Of The Charities' Immunity Doctrine—Judicial Cognizance Of Changing Public Policy Considerations, Robert Alan Thompson

Buffalo Law Review

Ray v. Tuscon Medical Center, 72 Ariz. 22, 230 P. 2nd 220 (1951).

Torts—Interference With Contractual Relations—Treble Damages Denied, Robert C. Schaus

Buffalo Law Review

Frishman v. Metropolitan Tobacco Co., Inc., __ Misc. __, 104 N. Y. S. 2nd 446 (Sup. Ct. 1951).

The Federal Tort Claims Act And Its Application To Military Personnel, Harold F. Mcniece, John V. Thornton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The background and history of the Federal Tort Claims Act" are well known. Stemming in part from the medieval political theory that the King could do no wrong, a doctrine evolved in English law that the Crown was, in the absence of its consent, immune to suit. This concept became a part of the American common law, and in the main was enforced as rigorously on this side of the Atlantic as in the mother country.

The oft-times inequitable consequences of sovereign immunity in the United States were at first sought to be ameliorated through the device of private legislative …

Absolute Liability--Blasting--Damages By Concussion And Vibration, W. O. S.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutionality Of Marketable Title Acts, Ralph W. Aigler

Michigan Law Review

In recent years several states in that part of the United States commonly identified as the "Middle West" have enacted comprehensive legislation that is hoped will simplify land title transactions. These statutes, though varying in detail, have a common objective-the extinguishment in favor of certain persons of claims against, and interests in, land, which claims and interests arose out of events and transactions that occurred many years ago, unless such claims or interests have been preserved by the recording of a preserving notice within that period of time. A comparatively short period is prescribed for such recording as to old …

Torts, Charles J. Hilkey

Mercer Law Review

In considering a summary of the tort cases during the year, it is found among the numerous decisions, many merely restate principles which are well established and contain nothing that is novel. Other cases, however, deserve special consideration because they contain graphic statements of old doctrines; apply such doctrines to new factual situations; or announce new legal principles. These decisions only will be included in the following discussion.

Negligence-Duty Of Care-Auctioneer As Owner Or Occupier Of Land, Richard W. Billings S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, while attending an auction conducted by defendant, purchased a large kitchen cabinet. As her sons attempted to remove the cabinet, their negligent handling of the piece caused the top half to become dislodged and to fall on the plaintiff, injuring her seriously. Defendant, a veteran auctioneer, was in full control of the auction and the area in which the injury occurred, and had invited the public to attend by means of advertisements. He had offered the sons no assistance, nor had he given the crowd warning of their dangerous activity. On appeal from a judgment for plaintiff, held, …

Negligence-Violation Of A Dog-Leash Ordinance As A Basis For Negligence, John J. Edman S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, in violation of a city ordinance requiring every owner or custodian of a dog to keep the animal on his own premises unless on a leash and under control of a competent person, allowed his dog to run loose on the street. On collision of the dog with plaintiff's motor scooter, plaintiff brought suit for injuries incurred, claiming negligence per se by defendant through violation of the ordinance. The trial court sustained defendant's demurrer. On appeal, held, reversed. The violation of the ordinance was negligence per se, since the purpose of the ordinance included the protection of people …

Damages, Edgar Hunter Wilson

Mercer Law Review

During the period of this survey the appellate courts of Georgia have reaffirmed the following general principles of the law of damages: Exemplary damages may not be recovered in actions on contracts. A jury finding as to the amount of damages will not be upset unless the amount is so small or so large as to indicate "gross mistake or undue prejudice." "General damages are such that the law presumes to flow from any wrongful act, which the law denominates a tort, and may be recovered without proof of any amount." The amount of general damages or injury to the …

Equity, Henry L. Mcclintock

Mercer Law Review

Insofar as practicable, the arrangement followed by Professors Hilkey and Hall in the review of equity in the survey for 1949-1950, will be followed, but the differences in the subject matter of the equity cases decided during the two periods necessarily requires many changes in that arrangement. During this past year, as during the one preceding it, the Georgia cases dealing with equity have been concerned mainly with the application of established equity principles to various fact situations; there has been substantially no occasion for the consideration of new principles. In this survey only cases which discuss or apply equity …

Selinsky V. Olsen, Jesse W. Carter

Jesse Carter Opinions

The refusal of the trial court to give an instruction on the last clear chance doctrine resulted in the granting of a new trial to plaintiff in a personal injury action resulting from a collision.

Torts-Breach Of Duty-Right To Recover For Prenatal Injuries, Patrick J. Ledwidge S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, as administrator, brought an action to recover for the death and conscious suffering of plaintiff's intestate, allegedly injured, while a viable child within her mother's womb, by the tortious act of the defendant. Defendant's demurrer to the declaration was sustained. On appeal, held, affirmed. Neither the infant nor its personal representative has a cause of action for prenatal personal injuries. Bliss v. Passanesi, (Mass. 1950) 95 N.E. (2d) 206.

Corporations-Liability Of Transfer Agent For Wrongful Refusal To Transfer Shares, Howard Van Antwerp S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, stockholder in a mining company, sued a transfer agent of the company in conversion for its refusal to transfer plaintiff's stock into block shares. The lower court found for plaintiff. On appeal, held, reversed. There is no direct liability of a transfer agent to the stockholder for wrongful nonfeasance in delaying or refusing to transfer stock. Mears v. Crocker First Nat. Bank of San Francisco, (Cal. App. 1950) 218 P. (2d) 91.

Admiralty-Conflict Of Laws-Erie R. R. Co. V. Tompkins Distinguished In Maritime Matters, Thomas Hartwell S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a resident of Massachusetts, brought suit in the law side of the federal district court in Massachusetts for injuries sustained as a passenger aboard defendant's ship while it was docked in Sweden. Defendant, a Swedish corporation, defended on the ground that a contract stipulation as expressed on the back of plaintiff's ticket relieved it of liability. The ticket had been purchased in Sweden. The lower court, citing only American authorities, held that the. effect of the contract provision was to relieve defendant. On appeal, held, remanded. The cause of action asserted is a maritime tort; hence the substantive …

Admiralty-Injury To Longshoreman Working Ashore By Unseaworthiness Of The Vessel, Jean Engstrom S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, employed by an independent contractor to lade defendant's ship, was injured by a "pontoon" hatch cover which fell on his foot while he was working on the dock beside the ship. The court below found that defendant was not negligent, but that the ship was unseaworthy and that its unseaworthiness caused plaintiff's injury. Held, judgment for plaintiff affirmed. Breach of the warranty of seaworthiness is a tort arising out of a maritime status or relation and is therefore cognizable by maritime law whether occurring at sea or on land; a longshoreman employed by an independent contractor to lade a …

Torts-Right Of Unemancipated Minor To Recover Prom Parent For Intentional Tort, William O. Allen S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a child four years of age, was present when her mother was murdered by her father, defendant's intestate. After keeping plaintiff with the corpse for six days, the father drove plaintiff to his home, where he committed suicide in plaintiff's presence. Plaintiff brought an action against the father's estate for shock, mental anguish, and resulting physical injuries, caused by the father's atrocious acts. The trial court sustained defendant's demurrer on the. ground that a minor has no right of action in tort against its parent. On appeal, held, reversed. A minor may maintain an action against its parent …

The Discretionary Function Exemption Of The Federal Tort Claims Act

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Damages-Recovery For Loss Of Use Of Damaged Automobile During Abnormal Period Required For Repair [Parsons V. Lambert, Miss. 1950]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recovery In Wrongful Death Actions In Virginia, Walter E. Hoffman

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sales-Right Of Sub-Vendee To Recover From Manufacturer For Property Damage Caused By Defective Goods [Jordon V. Brouwer, Ohio 1949]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evidence-Admissibility In Negligence Action Of Evidence Of Prior Acts Of Negligence In Similar Situation [Dallas Ry. & Ter. Co. V. Farnsworth, Tex. 1950]

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Claims Against The State In Tennessee -- The Board Of Claims, George H. Cate Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The age-old doctrine of governmental immunity from suit seems gradually to be passing into the discard, first in the realm of contract liability, and of late in the field of torts. Recent years have seen its vitality substantially sapped by judicial decisions, and there is a distinct trend among governmental units to do away with it partially or entirely through legislation. Thus, England in the Crown Proceedings Act of 1947, the United States in the Federal Tort Claims Act, and many of the states by similar legislation have renounced their shield of immunity from suit and, by means more regularized …

Tort Liability In Aircraft Accidents, Henry G. Gatlin Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Over twenty years ago, Justice Cardozo said, "Aviation is today an established method of transportation. The future, even the near future, will make it still more general." Aviation is now a vital part of our daily lives and a familiarity well steeped in American tradition. But even with this apparent adoption of the place of aviation in our economic cycle, it is accompanied by misunderstanding and confusion--witness the placement of serious auto accidents on page six of our newspapers, where headlines scream of aviation's failure if a crash occurs. But as was said in Cohn v. United Air Lines Transport …

Municipal Corporations-Tort Liability-Failure To Replace Damaged Traffic Signal, Wendell B. Will

Michigan Law Review

A city failed to replace a damaged traffic signal. A motorist entered the intersection against the inoperative light and injured a driver who had entered the intersection relying on a functioning green signal. Held, the city was negligent in the exercise of a corporate duty, as distinguished from a governmental function, and, as the negligence was the proximate cause of the injury, was liable. Johnston v. City of East Moline, 405 Ill. 460, 91 N.E. (2d) 401 (1950).

Brokaw V. Black-Foxe Military Institute, Jesse W. Carter

Jesse Carter Opinions

A verdict was proper because evidence was sufficient to infer that a college student was acting as an agent of a military school at the time he took the student, and there was substantial evidence to conclude that he negligently operated the car.

Torts - Covenant Not To Sue As Bar To Action Against Other Joint Tort-Feasors, Raleigh Cooley

William and Mary Review of Virginia Law

No abstract provided.

Landlord And Tenant-Liability Of Landlord To Persons On The Premises-The "Concealed Defects" Exception, Robert S. Griggs

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sought to recover for injuries suffered in consequence of the defective condition of a stairway in the manufacturing plant leased by her employer from defendant. The stairway was in the sole control of the tenant at the time of the injury; the lease stipulated that no warranty was made as to the condition of the premises; and the sole obligation to repair was borne by the tenant. Liability was claimed, however, upon the contention that the stairway had been in dangerous condition at the time of the letting. It was apparently little used, and plaintiff had used it only …