Law Commons^™

Defective Products: Abnormal Use, Contributory Negligence, And Assumption Of Risk, Dix W. Noel

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article will attempt to analyze these three general kinds of conduct on the part of the plaintiff, giving attention to basic tort principles and to traditional distinctions. Special emphasis will be placed on the functions of court and jury in resolving questions posed by situations in which injury is caused both by a defective product and by the plaintiff's handling of that product. It will be shown that a court's choice of policy factors as a basis for strict liability may affect considerably its final decision.

Variation On Libel Per Quod, Laurence H. Eldredge

Vanderbilt Law Review

During the nineteenth century it became settled common law in England and in the United States that in any action for libel, as distinct from slander, the plaintiff could recover damages without pleading or proving that he had in fact suffered any damages as a result of the publication. The American Law Institute accepted this as sound law. Volume III of the Restatement of Torts, published in 1938, stated the rule in section 569: "One who falsely, and without a privilege to do so, publishes matter defamatory to another in such a manner as to make the publication a libel …

Omnibus Crime Control And Safe Streets Act Of 1968-Grand Jury Witness Standing To Suppress Illegally Obtained Evidence, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 19681 attempts to regulate the use of electronic surveillance and wiretap within fourth amendment guidelines developed by the judiciary. If evidence has been obtained in violation of the Act, the Act prohibits its introduction into judicial, legislative, and administrative proceedings. As recent courts of appeals cases indicate, however, one primary question has arisen concerning the operation of this exclusionary rule in the specific context of a grand jury proceeding: May a grand jury witness challenge the admissibility of evidence obtained in violation of the Crime Control Act?

Equal Protection--Defacto Racio-Economic Classifications Not Constitutionally Suspect, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

The fourteenth amendment's prohibition that "no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws has long been held to require not only that each person be afforded a "fair" administration of state statutory commands, but also that the laws themselves be "equal."' This requirement of equal laws, however, has not been interpreted to mean that statutes must apply uniformly to all persons; rather the courts have held that legislatures may fashion laws that affect separate classes of persons unequally, as long as the classifi- cations involved are reasonable. While this judicial standard of …

Doctrines Of Sovereign Immunity And Act Of State--Conflicting Consequences Of State Department Intervention, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

The doctrine of sovereign immunity' prohibits the courts from assuming jurisdiction of a foreign sovereign without that sovereign's voluntary acquiescence, and the act of state doctrine prohibits the courts from assuming jurisdiction to judge the acts of a foreign sovereign performed within the geographical borders of its own country. In the United States, a judicial determination of self-restraint under either of these two doctrines effectively operates to bar further litigation on complaints brought against foreign governments or their instrumentalities and on complaints brought against private individuals, but based on the acts of their sovereigns. Despite the common policy foundations of …

Dean John Webster Wade, Robert J. Farley

Vanderbilt Law Review

John Wade began his teaching career at Ole Miss the next year after graduation from Harvard. It was a difficult initiation because many of his students were former contemporaries and all of the faculty were his former instructors. He handled this situation with natural dignity and the assurance of superior capability, yet modestly and conscientiously. Although during the next several years he was offered visiting position elsewhere, both Chancellor Butts and Dean Kimbrough found that they could not spare him. Perhaps they would not recommend him for a leave of absence because they were afraid of losing such a prize. …

John W. Wade: An Appreciation, Reber Boult

Vanderbilt Law Review

Without going back to the year of his advent as Dean when the placement of law graduates was largely a catch-as-catch-can proposition, but starting with the academic year 1965-66, there were approximatly 35 law firms, government agencies, or other entities that sent representatives to the Law School to interview candidates and to make offers for legal opportunities. During the 1971-72 academic year, there were over 100 such interviewers, a number of whom represented some of the most prestigious law firms in the United States. This record of achievement speaks eloquently of the end work product of the Vanderbilt School of …

Espionage In Transnational Law, Leslie S. Edmondson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Traditionally, spies have been defined as "secret agents of a State sent abroad for the purpose of obtaining clandestinely information in regard to military or political secrets." Older authorities have stated emphatically that the gravamen of espionage is the employment of disguise or false pretense. Such deception has been the justification for visiting the severest of penalties upon the captured spy. Curiously, however, the employment of spies has not been considered reprehensible conduct. The refusal to officially acknowledge the commissioning of a spy operated to relieve the government of any responsibility either to the offended state or to the secret …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

1. ADMIRALTY

A FEDERAL COURT Is NOT COMPELLED To ASSERT ITS ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION WHEN THE LITIGANTS HAVE INSUFFICIENT CONTACTS WITH THE UNITED STATES OR WHEN A GOOD FAITH CLAIM FOR EARNED WAGES IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE EVIDENCE

SHIPOWNER GUILTY OF DERELECTION IN ITS NONDELEGABLE DUTY To FURNISH A SEAWORTHY VESSEL HELD NOT ENTITLED TO INDEMNIFICATION

INJUNCTION FOR THE REMOVAL OF A DAMAGED VESSEL CANNOT BE GRANTED IN A DIRECT ADMIRALTY PROCEEDING FOR THAT PURPOSE

SHIPOWNER'S LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE TO GOODS Is NOT LIMITED UNDER EITHER THE CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT OR THE FIRE STATUTE WHEN OWNER FAILED …

Tax Consequences Of Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Sheldon S. Cohen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This article concerns the United States federal income tax treatment of the gains and losses resulting from transactions involving currencies other than the United States dollar. United States income taxes must be computed and paid in United States dollars. Therefore, when persons subject to United States income taxes engage in transactions involving foreign currencies, they must account for their profits in terms of dollars for United States income tax purposes. This result follows even if the taxpayer does not actually convert the results of these transactions into dollars. Whether the failure to convert is voluntary, or results from legal restrictions …

Recent Treaties And Statutes, William H. Schwarzschild, Iii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Admiralty--Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act Amendments of 1972--Congress Abrogates Doctrine of Seaworthiness for Longshoremen

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Space Law--Convention on Liability--Procedure Established to Enforce Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects

The Public And Private International Response To Aircraft Hijacking, Gary N. Horlick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The interests of aircraft hijackers are not easily summarized, if for no other reason than that the motivation of a given incident often cannot be clearly defined. For example, the recent extortion hijackings could have been motivated as easily by a desire for notoriety or other psychological reward as by a desire for cash. Hijackers exhibit, however, several recurring motivations. One fairly consistent element is the desire of the hijacker to escape the country in which he lives. Clearly, this motive was present in the eighteen attempts (eleven successes, seven failures) to flee Eastern European countries since 1960 by hijackers …

The 1971 I.C.J. Advisory Opinion On South West Africa (Nambia), Preston Brown

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

South Africa has administered the adjoining territory of South West Africa (Namibia) for over fifty years. Initially, that administration was granted to South Africa when it was designated a mandatory by the League of Nations. Since the dissolution of the League 25 years ago, South Africa's administration of the territory and, more recently, its right to administer, have been the subject of continued and escalating controversy.

The most recent development in this confused situation is the advisory opinion that was rendered in June, 1971, by the International Court of Justice. That opinion was requested by the Security Council of the …

The "Polaroid Experiment" In South Africa--A Progress Report, Beryl Unterhalter

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The business activities of the Polaroid Company in South Africa came under attack in October of 1970, when a small group of Polaroid workers who called themselves the Polaroid Revolutionary Workers' Movement received wide publicity for their protests concerning an alleged anomaly in the company's annual report. According to the Polaroid Revolutionary Workers' Movement, the report, while alluding to the company's role in combating racism and in providing equal opportunities for all employees, described its expanding field of operations and increased profits in South Africa, a country in which racial discrimination is widespread. The Movement further pointed out that part …

Recent Developments, Stephen W. Ramp, Christopher L. Dutton

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Admiralty--The Broadening Scope of Damages Awardable for Wrongful Death in Admiralty

Stephen W. Ramp

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Aliens--State Restrictions on Alien Lawyers

Christopher L. Dutton

John W. Wade And The Development Of The Vanderbilt Law School, Paul H. Sanders

Vanderbilt Law Review

John W. Wade made a decided imprint upon the Vanderbilt Law School in the years before he became Dean in 1952. His contributions to the development of the institution were impressive, not only as a skillful "case-method" teacher in the classroom, but also as Faculty Editor for volumes two through five of the Vanderbilt Law Review at a time when this position entailed responsibilities for all phases of the publication greatly in excess of those imposed upon the Faculty Adviser in later years. Without question he was the person most responsible for the firm and early establishment of the Vanderbilt …

Products Liability And Choice Of Law: The United States Proposals To The Hague Conference, Willis L.M. Reese

Vanderbilt Law Review

Among Dean Wade's many accomplishments is his recent appointment as a member of the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private International Law. One of the functions of this Committee is to render advice on what position should be taken by the United States on the various matters considered by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The initial topic considered at the first meeting of the Advisory Committee attended by Dean Wade was what should be the choice-of-law rules for products liability. It seems appropriate that in these essays written in his honor there should be mention of the …

Limitations On Liability For Economic Loss Caused By Negligence: A Pragmatic Appraisal, Fleming James, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Even if liability for indirect economic consequences of negligence may in some cases be too broad and open-ended to be endured, care should be taken to see whether that is true in all types of situations; if it is not true, one must examine whether a rule may be fashioned to separate the wheat from the chaff. In this discussion it has been assumed that if the pragmatic consideration has any validity, it is in the field of indirect economic loss rather than that of physical damage. As one commentator put it, "only a limited amount of physical damage can …

Judicial Protection Of The Environment: A New Role For Common-Law Remedies, Frank E. Maloney

Vanderbilt Law Review

There is a tendency today to look to the legislatures to provide the cure for all environmental maladies,' and to overlook or underrate the potential of common-law remedies to assist in the proper solution of these problems. Although it is undoubtedly true that in some jurisdictions the common-law remedies have been interpreted so restrictively as to make them practically useless as tools for environmental protection, a number of forward-looking courts are developing and applying the law in a way much more favorable to the environment. Other courts that have remained uncommitted may be in a position to follow current trends …

Book Review, Neill H. Alford, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

For the decade 1960-1970, any available prize for the most stimulating product of interest to estate planners by an individual writer certainly should go to Dean Thomas L. Shaffer' for "Death, Property, and Lawyers." This is an imaginative and stimulating book. A practicing lawyer who gives close attention to Dean Shaffer's work should be aided in evaluating his relationships with his estate planning clients. Even if this lawyer cannot be brought to a detailed evaluation, he at least will be brought to the threshold of introspection. Dean Shaffer does not attempt to unravel the whole "psychological story" in estate planning; …

Products Liability-Drugs And Cosmetics, Page Keeton

Vanderbilt Law Review

Much has been written by judges and scholars about abrogation of both the requirement of privity for recovery on warranty theories and the prerequisite of a finding of negligence for recovery on a tort theory against manufacturers and other sellers of all kinds of products.' As a consequence of this abrogation, the courts in some states have completed the change-over from a fault to a strict liability theory of recovery for harm resulting from unintended and latent dangerous conditions of products. Moreover, removal of initial restrictions limiting strict liability to users and consumers is proceeding apace, and the logical extension …

Obscenity -- Federal Statutes Prohibiting Importation And Mail Distribution Of Obscene Materials Do Not Violate First Amendment, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Near the end of the 1970-71 term, the Supreme Court considered two cases, United States v. Reidell and United States v. Thirty-Seven (37) Photographs, in which constitutional challenges were raised against federal statutes regulating the distribution and importation of obscene materials. These challenges were engendered by the apparent irreconcilability of the Court's decisions in Roth v. United States and Stanley v. Georgia. In Roth, the Court held that obscenity is not within the scope of first amendment protection for speech and press. In Stanley, however, a first amendment right to possess obscene materials in one's home was recognized, and the …

A New Concept Of Consent And World Public Order, Stuart S. Malawer

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

There have been, however, many instances under traditional international legal theory when a state's consent has not been required. Professor Brierly, in a trenchant critique, has stated that consent as the basic concept of obligation under customary international law has involved no more than the use of a legal fiction. Moreover, the traditional notion of consent in treaty law has stated that any form of coercion on the state does not invalidate a treaty; freely given consent is not required. Furthermore consent by new states to existing rules of customary international law has been implied regardless of any actual consent. …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Black citizens of Tate County, Mississippi, brought suit' seeking rescission of the County Board of Education's sale of a public school to a foundation that used the property to establish a private, segregated academy. Respondent, Tate County Board of Education, had determined that the continued operation of the dilapidated school would be uneconomical and had conveyed the property to a private citizen without knowing the purpose for which the school was to be used. The purchaser later conveyed the property to the Tate County Foundation, which established a private, segregated academy. Petitioners contended that the sale violated the equal protection …

Recent Decisions, Arthur R. Louv, Mark R. Von Sternberg, Jesse W. Hill, Glen T. Oxton

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ADMIRALTY--DAMAGES--AWARD ALLOWED FOR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS OF SURVIVING SPOUSES AND CHILDREN, OR PARENTS, UNDER GENERAL MARITIME LAW

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ANTITRUST--EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION--EFFORTS TO SECURE ACTION BY A FOREIGN STATE CONDUCIVE TO MONOPOLIZATION NOT PRIVILEGED; ACT OF STATE DOCTRINE BARS ANTITRUST CLAIM ARISING FROM ACTS OF A FOREIGN SOVEREIGN ALLEGEDLY INDUCED BY DEFENDANT

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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--CITIZENSHIP--FIVE YEAR STATUTORY RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT AS A CONDITION SUBSEQUENT TO RETENTION OF CITIZENSHIP BY PERSONS BORN ABROAD NOT VIOLATIVE OF FIFTH AMENDMENT DUE PROCESS

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PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW--SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY--EXECUTIVE SUGGESTION BINDING ON COURTS DESPITE CONTRACTUAL WAIVER OF IMMUNITY

Book Reviews, Werner Baer, John B. Marshall, Justin P. Wilson, Emmanuel Bello

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

INDIRECT TAXATION IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES: THE ROLE AND STRUCTURE OF CUSTOMS DUTIES, EXCISES, AND SALES TAXES

By John F. Due

Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. Pp. viii, 201. .$9.00

reviewer: Werner Baer

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THE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF CIVIL WAR

Edited by Richard A. Falk

Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1971. Pp. xix, 452. $15.00

reviewer: John B. Marshall

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NATIONAL INTERESTS AND THE MULTI-NATIONAL ENTERPRISE

By Jack N. Behrman

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1970. Pp. 194. $4.95

reviewer: Justin P. Wilson

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TRANSNATIONAL BUSINESS COLLABORATION AMONG COMMON MARKET COUNTRIES: ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR POLITICAL INTEGRATION

By Werner J. Feld

New …

The Andean Common Market's Common Regime For Foreign Investments, Dale B. Furnish

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The ACM's Common Regime of Treatment of Foreign Capital seems to be a well-balanced set of rules representing an ambitious attempt at reconciling national and regional development interests with the need for foreign capital and technology on terms equitable and remunerative to those who supply them. As in the case of virtually every piece of development legislation based heavily on economic theory and aimed at wholesale change of an existing situation, the Common Regime has plunged into largely uncharted areas in which its ultimate effects are impossible to predict. It is not, however, a "lyrical" piece of drafting. Because it …

The Origins Of Ambivalence In Transnational Norms, Frederick O. Bonkovsky

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Grotius' magnum opus of 1625, "De Jure Belli ac Pacis", represented the culmination and summary of Western international norms through the 17th century. But Grotius' explicit statement of international mores in legalized terms marked a departure from medieval thought. By secularizing natural law and, more importantly, by recognizing the new international system of the sovereign nation-states, Grotius made major alterations in transnational theory, thus earning the sobriquet, "father of international law."

As will be seen, however, a serious ambivalence marked Grotius' views. His modernity was demonstrated most notably in his recognition that international politics was the province of a number …

Recent Treaties And Statutes, Arthur R. Louv, Woodard E. Farmer, Jr., Mark R. Von Sternberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ADMIRALTY--AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL MARITIME LIEN ACT--CHARTERER CONCLUSIVELY PRESUMED TO AUTHORIZE LIENS FOR NECESSARIES AND REPAIRS

Arthur R. Louv

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TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION--MASSACHUSETTS JUDICIAL EXTENSION ACT--STATE LEGISLATURE EXTENDS JURISDICTION OF STATE COURTS TO 200 MILES AT SEA

Woodard E. Farmer, Jr.

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TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION--MINING THE DEEP SEA BED--INTERNATIONAL PROBLEMS AND NATIONAL RESOLUTIONS

Mark R. von Sternberg

The Disc Provisions: Tax Incentive To Increase Exports, William J. Chadwick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The significant tax incentive afforded by the DISC provisions requires all United States companies selling or leasing goods abroad, or rendering services abroad, to reappraise their present corporate and tax structures. Those companies that have not exported in the past or have done so on a limited basis should reconsider their prior positions and calculate the benefits to be derived from export transactions. Notwithstanding inherent complexities and uncertainties in the new law from a tax standpoint, export transactions are now more profitable to a United States company than comparable sales made within the United States. Additionally, the DISC provisions remove …