Law Commons^™

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Antitrust--Robinson-Patman-Adoption of Physical Comparison Test To Determine "Like Grade or Quality"

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Antitrust--Tying Arrangement Held Unfair Method of Competition Under Section 5 of Federal Trade Commission Act Atlantic Refining Company agreed to promote

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Bankruptcy--Tax-Rights of a Trustee in Bankruptcy Against an Unrecorded Tax Lien

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Constitutional Law--Applicability of the Fourteenth Amendment to a Charitable Trust in Which a State Agency Was the Original Trustee

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Constitutional Law--Clandestine Surveillance of Public Toilet--Not an Unreasonable Search

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Criminal Law--Joint Trials--Admission of Confession Implicating Both Defendants Held Erroneous

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Evidence--No Cross-Examination of Defendant's Character Witnesses as to His Prior Arrests and Conviction …

Creditor's Rights And Security Transactions -- 1964 Tennessee Survey, Forrest W. Lacey

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Bankruptcy Act gives the trustee, as of the date of bankruptcy,the rights of a lien creditor whether or not such creditors actually exist." Yet, the rights of such a lien creditor and his status relative to other conflicting interests are determined by state law. Under Tennessee law encumbrances on automobiles, other than liens dependent on possession, must be noted on the certificate of title to be valid against creditors, purchasers or encumbrancers in the absence of actual knowledge.' In the instant case, although the encumbrance was noted on the bill of sale, it was not noted on the title …

William 0. Douglas -- His Work In Policing Bankruptcy Proceedings, John W. Hopkirk

Vanderbilt Law Review

William 0. Douglas, while associated with the Securities and Exchange Commission during the mid-nineteen thirties, was responsible for a study of methods and procedures of corporate reorganization. By examining this area of Douglas' work, we can compare the position on corporate reorganization which the Justice developed as an administrative official for the New Deal with his later consideration of the same problems as a member of the Supreme Court of the United States. Through this comparison we can observe a number of basic attitudes which were manifested by Douglas both before and since he has joined the Court. Important among …

A Survey Of The Fraudulent Conveyance In Bankruptcy, Paul J. Hartman

Vanderbilt Law Review

No debtor should be permitted to conceal or dispose of his property for the purpose of preventing his creditors from satisfying their legal claims. In ethical terms which have become classic, a debtor should be just to his creditors before he can rightfully be generous with his property for the benefit of others. The original and primary purpose of bankruptcy legislation has been, and continues to be, a just distribution of the bankrupt's property among his creditors.

To help effectuate the purpose of bankruptcy legislation, the fraudulent conveyance is of major importance in three distinct respects. In the first place, …

Determination Of The Effect Of A Discharge In Bankruptcy, T. A. Smedley

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article examines the operation of the system under which the granting of the discharge is the function of the bankruptcy court but the construction of the effect of the discharge falls within the power of any court in which a creditor happens to bring suit to enforce an obligation of the bankrupt. The customary practice of leaving to the lower state courts the task of determining the dischargeability of specific debts is evaluated, and the bases for having this determination made in the bankruptcy court instead are explored.

Preferences Under The Bankruptcy Act, Charles Seligson

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Bankruptcy Act allows the trustee in bankruptcy to avoid the effect of certain transactions entered into by the debtor on the ground that these transactions give some creditors a preference. In this article, Mr. Seligson examines section 60 of the Bankruptcy Act to determine when this can be done. He discusses the elements of preferential transfers, the problems of proof, the relationship between state and federal law, and the manner in which the statutory provisions have been applied by the courts.

Federal Tax Liens In Bankruptcy, Pierre R. Loiseaux

Vanderbilt Law Review

In this article, the author considers the peculiarly preferred position of the tax lien under section 67 of the Bankruptcy Act. From his consideration of the position of the trustee and the claim of the government he concludes that the law as presently applied is inequitable. He advocates that the government's secret lien be held invalid against the trustee, that the inchoate lien doctrine should not be applied in bankruptcy, and that the doctrine of Moore v. Bay be modified.

Arrangements And Wage Earner Plans: Proceedings Under Chapters Xi And Xiii, Sydney Krause

Vanderbilt Law Review

In this article, Mr. Krause considers the practical problems confronting the attorney who conducts proceedings under chapters 11 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Act. The article is a revision of remarks made by Mr. Krause at the Institute on Debtor-Creditor Relations held at the Vanderbilt University School of Law on November 11, 1961. While a number of changes have been made in the remarks, the author has retained, insofar as possible, the original flavor of the address.

Selected Materials On The Literature Of Bankruptcy, Roy Mersky

Vanderbilt Law Review

Charles Warren, in his book Bankruptcy in United States History, opens the first chapter with a statement that would discourage most lawyers interested in developing a practice in bankruptcy: "The subject of bankruptcy is gloomy and depressing in that the law of bankruptcy is dry and discouraging." However, a federal bankruptcy law has been on the statute books continuously since 1898, and it is safe to assume that barring a nuclear war, legal problems dealing with bankruptcy will continue for along time in the future.

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Bankruptcy--Assets--Trustee's Rights Under 70(c) Ascertained at Date of Bankruptcy Rather than Anterior Point of Time

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Contempt--Publisher Not in Contempt for Newspaper Articles Which He reasonably did not believe would interfere with Trial

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Federal Procedure--Erie Doctrine--Impeachment Evidence not Outcome--Determinative

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Jurisdiction--Federal Death on High Seas Act Grants Exclusive Jurisdiction to Federal Courts

Creditors' Rights And Security Transactions -- 1960 Tennessee Survey, Forrest W. Lacey

Vanderbilt Law Review

Two cases involving mechanic's liens were decided during the period under survey. Rowland v. Lowe' presented the question of the validity of a material men's lien against the owner of land subject to a contract of sale which required the purchaser to erect improvements on the land. In order to protect the vendor's lien, which was to be retained in the deed, the contract provided:

"The purchaser obligates himself to pay all sums for labor and materials in the construction of the improvements on said lot, and in no event shall there be any lien on the lot of ground …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Antitrust Act--Discriminatory Practices--Defenses Available to Charge of Discrimination in Furnishing Services and Facilities

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Bankruptcy--Priority of Wages--Employer's Contributions to Welfare Funds Are Not Entitled to Priority as Wages Due to Work

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Constitutional Law--Social Security Benefits--Automatic Suspension of Deported Person's Social Security Benefits a Denial of Due Process

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Constitutional Law--Union Shop Agreement Under Railway Labor Act Violates Constitutional Rights of Employees

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Corporations--Securities and Exchange Act of 1934--Liability of Director for Profits on Stock Acquired Prior to Election as Corporate Official

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Damages--Quasi Contract--Exemplary Damages in Quasi Contract When Defendant is Guilty of Fraud

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Evidence--Other Crimes--Admissibility of Evidence …

Creditors' Rights And Security Transactions--1959 Tennessee Survey, Forrest W. Lacey

Vanderbilt Law Review

There were few cases of interest in the period under survey. Rone Jewelry Company v. Conley' presented the question of what constitutes "willful and malicious injuries to the property of another" within the meaning of section 17 of the Bankruptcy Act. A debt of this character is not released by a discharge in bankruptcy.

In the instant case the defendant had purchased silverware and a ring from plaintiff under a title retention contract. Defendant then sent the property to his mother in New Jersey. Following a discharge in bankruptcy granted to the purchaser, the seller brought action against the purchaser.

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Automobiles--Owner's Liability Statutes--Application to the Master-Servant Relationship

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Bankruptcy--Discharge--Failure of Creditor to Inform Bankruptcy Court of Bankrupt's Fraud in Procuring Loan

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Bills and Notes--Demand Instruments--Time When Statute of Limitations Begins to Run

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Bills and Notes--Holder in Due Course--Giving a Check in Exchange for Another Negotiable Instrument is not the Giving of Value When the Check Turns Out to be Worthless

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Constitutional Law--Due Process of Law--Use of Perjured Testimony and Suppression of Material Evidence Favorable to Accused in State Criminal Proceedings

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Constitutional Law--Equal Protection of the Laws--Executory Interest Conditioned upon Racial Restriction on Use of Land

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Bankruptcy From A Family Law Perspective, G. Stanley Joslin

Vanderbilt Law Review

The points at which family interests are involved in the usual bankruptcy proceeding are many. Some are quite obvious, as dower rights of the wife, alimony claims, or intra-family concealments. Others are less conspicuous but no less potent, as exclusion of relatives and spouses from certain rights, post-bankruptcy inheritances, cryptic exemption rights or evidentiary obligations. The scope here will not be limited to the traditional academic "Family Law" concept but will include that wider sphere where husbands, wives, and children are actually and vitally concerned in a bankruptcy involving one of them. Not only are the advantageous rights to be …

Creditors' Rights And Security Transactions -- 1955 Tennessee Survey, Paul J. Hartman

Vanderbilt Law Review

Application to Bankruptcy Proceedings of Federal Rules Concerning Compulsory Counter Claims: In Meacham v. Haley' the Tennessee Court of Appeals was faced with the problem of to what extent Rule 13 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure concerning compulsory counter claims applies to a bankruptcy proceeding. In the instant case a trustee in bankruptcy of the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company sued the defendants, Haley and Johnston, for alleged fraud practiced on the bankrupt debtor prior to the bankruptcy. However, some time before the present case, Haley and Johnston had filed claims in the bankruptcy matter of Dr. Pepper Bottling …

Business Associations -- 1955 Tennessee Survey, Paul J. Hartman

Vanderbilt Law Review

Nature and Formation of Partnerships: The question whether a contract sued on was a partnership arrangement so as to be cognizable only in equity was considered by the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Powel v. Bundy.' There Bundy, a real estate broker, sued Powell on the lawside to recover $500, alleged to be plaintiff's one-half share of a commission earned by their joint efforts in selling a tract of real estate, but which commission had been collected and wrongfully retained by defendant. Among other defenses interposed was defendant's contention that the contract sued on was that of a partnership arrangement …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases

Bankruptcy--Acts of Bankruptcy--Petition for Dissolution under State Statute

Corporations--Stockholders' Derivative Suits--Equitable Stockholder's Rights under Security Statute

Criminal Law--Evidence--Immunity Statutes

Criminal Procedure--Grand Jury Indictments--Failure of Jurors to Hear All the Evidence as Grounds for Setting Aside Indictment

Domestic Relations--Torts--Action by Wife against Husband for Personal Injuries

Federal Jurisdiction--Scope of Federal Common Law--Characterization of Foreign Statute for Purpose of Applying Federal Constitution

Labor Law--Unfair Labor Practice--Intent to Encourage or Discourage Union Membership by Discrimination

Rights Of Creditors In Insurance -- The Tennessee Exemption Statutes, Paul J. Hartman

Vanderbilt Law Review

The subject of the availability of assets to creditors is important when a trustee in bankruptcy as a representative of creditors is seeking to gather assets to pay off creditors; and the subject is of equal importance where a single creditor, not in a bankruptcy proceeding, is seeking to satisfy his claim out of the assets of his debtor. Whatever is property in the hands of the debtor is available to his creditors, unless it is exempt by law. This property is his estate, considered indifferently from the standpoint of the single creditor who seeks to realize for himself alone, …

Assignments Of Accounts Receivable And The Conflict Of Laws Under The Bankruptcy Act, Eugene J.T. Flanagan

Vanderbilt Law Review

Under our system of government there is no constitutional requirement that the laws of the various states be uniform. On some points there are considerable differences between the laws of sister states. Such is the case with respect to the test for priority of right among successive assignees of an account receivable. This difference becomes of great importance when a multi-state transaction raises the question of the choice of the applicable law.

Fundamentally the problem is whether the jurisdiction in question follows the rule of Dearle v. Hall,' or the so-called American rule. The former establishes the order of precedence …

Cases Noted, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

bankruptcy--unclaimed dividends--distribution to creditors who have not been paid in full

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constitutional law--prohibition of practice of naturopathy as a separate branch of the healing arts

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constitutional law--unAmerican activities committee held valid exercise of congressional power

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criminal law--evidence--admission of confession