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Full-Text Articles in Law

Administrative Officers' Tort Liability, Kenneth Culp Davis Dec 1956

Administrative Officers' Tort Liability, Kenneth Culp Davis

Michigan Law Review

Case law on tort liability of public officers and employees is much more interesting than one might expect on the basis of abstract contemplation. The traditional common-law notion that an employee should, as against the employer, bear the ultimate responsibility for his negligence has been exposed as seriously unrealistic in a holding by a unanimous Supreme Court; the decision concerning the government employee is potentially applicable to corporate employees. The many holdings that officers are not liable for deliberate and malicious torts are based on the intriguing view that justice cannot be done when malice is proved, without opening the …


Negligence - Breach Of Duty - Assured Clear Distance Ahead Doctrine, Herbert A. Bernhard Dec 1956

Negligence - Breach Of Duty - Assured Clear Distance Ahead Doctrine, Herbert A. Bernhard

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, while driving an automobile through a tunnel, collided with defendant's truck, which was stopped without lights. The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code requires an operator to drive at such a speed as will enable him to stop within the "assured clear distance ahead." Plaintiff alleged he was temporarily blinded by the sudden change from bright sunlight to the darkness of the tunnel. The jury found for plaintiff, but defendant's motion for judgment n. o. v. was granted. On appeal, held, affirmed, one justice dissenting. Plaintiff's failure to stop his automobile within the assured clear distance ahead constituted contributory negligence as …


Negligence - Duty Of Care - Duration Of Status Of "Driver" For Puropses Of Guest Statute, George Kircos Nov 1956

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Duration Of Status Of "Driver" For Puropses Of Guest Statute, George Kircos

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs were guests riding in defendant's automobile. Defendant stepped out of the vehicle leaving the motor running, the hand brake unset, and the automatic shift in neutral position. A departing passenger brushed against the gear lever and started the vehicle which struck a wall causing injuries to the plaintiffs. On appeal from judgment adverse to the plaintiffs, held, reversed. Defendant may be held liable for ordinary negligence. California's "guest" statute limiting guests to recovery for injuries sustained by the driver's willful misconduct does not apply in this case, since the defendant ceased to be a driver the moment he …


Corporations - Shareholders - Majority Liability For Improper Stock Redemption By Corporation And For Misrepresentations In Private Stock Purchases From Minority Holders, James M. Tobin May 1956

Corporations - Shareholders - Majority Liability For Improper Stock Redemption By Corporation And For Misrepresentations In Private Stock Purchases From Minority Holders, James M. Tobin

Michigan Law Review

In 1942 a seemingly innocuous suit was brought against the Axton-Fisher Tobacco Corporation to determine the propriety of the alteration of a stock redemption. In 1955 Judge Leahy of the Federal District Court for Delaware handed down an opinion on the damages and relief to be given in the case in what he hopefully termed was the final phase of this famous litigation. It is the purpose of this comment to appraise the basis of the recovery allowed by Judge Leahy. Two readily distinguishable problems will be treated: (1) the nature of relief from a stock redemption called by fiduciaries …


Torts - Liability Of Supplier Of Chattel - Proof Of Manufacturer's Negligence, Whitmore Gray Apr 1956

Torts - Liability Of Supplier Of Chattel - Proof Of Manufacturer's Negligence, Whitmore Gray

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff service station operator brought an action to recover for injuries resulting from the explosion of one of defendant manufacturer's tires. The tire, while admittedly new, had been purchased by a third party some eighteen months before being brought to the plaintiff for mounting. In addition to his own testimony, the only evidence supporting plaintiff's claim of negligence was expert testimony that such an explosion could be caused by defective wire in the bead when a tire was inflated to normal pressure, and also that there was opportunity for negligence in defendant's manufacturing processes. The district court set aside the …


Insurance-Meaning Of 'War" In Insurance Policies, Richard W. Young S.Ed. Apr 1956

Insurance-Meaning Of 'War" In Insurance Policies, Richard W. Young S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In June 1950, United States military forces in Korea embarked upon an engagement that has been variously described as "war," "police action," "hostilities," and "defense against aggression." No declaration of war was made by Congress nor was a state of war proclaimed by the Chief Executive or our Communist adversaries. This unprecedented commitment of military forces in response to the recommendation of an international organization was consummated by unilateral Presidential action, with Congress only impliedly ratifying the step taken by enacting laws appropriating additional funds for the support of the armed forces in Korea. The ill-defined character of the conflict …


Torts - Federal Torts Claims Act- Pertinence Of Governmental Proprietary Distinction, David L. Nelson Apr 1956

Torts - Federal Torts Claims Act- Pertinence Of Governmental Proprietary Distinction, David L. Nelson

Michigan Law Review

The tug Navajo went aground and its cargo was severely damaged by water. The owners and insurers of the tug and its cargo brought an action under the Federal Tort Claims Act alleging that the grounding of the Navajo was caused by the failure of the light in the lighthouse on Chandeleur Island, and that this failure was attributable to negligent acts and omissions on the part of Coast Guard personnel whose duty it was to check the light. The district court dismissed the action on the ground that the United States had not consented to be sued in the …


Family Responsibilty Under The American Poor Laws: Ii, Daniel R. Mandelker Mar 1956

Family Responsibilty Under The American Poor Laws: Ii, Daniel R. Mandelker

Michigan Law Review

No substantive statutory provision fulfills the purpose for which it was enacted unless fair and efficient procedures are provided for its enforcement. Under the Elizabethan family responsibility law, enforcement was confined to the parish justices of the peace, who at that time exercised both administrative and judicial functions. The blending of administrative and judicial functions no longer being the rule in American local government, practically all of the American family responsibility statutes provide for some judicial procedure by which the support duty may be enforced. The basic issue with which the courts have been concerned in applying these statutory remedies …


Insurance - Recovery - Land Contract Purchaser Allowed Recovery On Both Vendee's And Vendor's Policies In Excess Of Loss, Jerome K. Walsh, Jr. Feb 1956

Insurance - Recovery - Land Contract Purchaser Allowed Recovery On Both Vendee's And Vendor's Policies In Excess Of Loss, Jerome K. Walsh, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

An owner of realty entered into a contract to sell the land to the plaintiff. The vendor then took out fire insurance on his interest in the amount of $6,000 and the plaintiff obtained a policy covering his interest in the sum of $12,000, with a "three-fourths value" clause. Before performance of the contract and transfer of title, a fire occurred which caused $12,000 damage to the property. After the plaintiff paid the full contract price and took title to the property, he demanded and received an assignment of the claim under the vendor's policy. Plaintiff then brought suit on …


Securities Legislation - Limitations Upon The Scope Of Rule X-10b-5, Cyril Moscow Jan 1956

Securities Legislation - Limitations Upon The Scope Of Rule X-10b-5, Cyril Moscow

Michigan Law Review

A syndicate attempted to acquire all of the outstanding stock in a bridge corporation pursuant to a plan to transfer the stock to a bridge commission and realize substantial returns. The price offered for the stock was well over the market price but the resale plan was not disclosed. After control of 80 percent of the stock was obtained, the syndicate's purchasing agents were installed as officers and directors. They continued to purchase the stock without revealing the plan and the anticipated profits. Upon the completion of the plan, former stockholders in the corporation brought a class action against the …