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Full-Text Articles in Civil Law

Rewarding Outside Directors, Assaf Hamdani, Reinier Kraakman Jun 2007

Rewarding Outside Directors, Assaf Hamdani, Reinier Kraakman

Michigan Law Review

While they often rely on the threat of penalties to produce deterrence, legal systems rarely use the promise of rewards. In this Article, we consider the use of rewards to motivate director vigilance. Measures to enhance director liability are commonly perceived to be too costly. We, however demonstrate that properly designed reward regimes could match the behavioral incentives offered by negligence-based liability regimes but with significantly lower costs. We further argue that the market itself cannot implement such a regime in the form of equity compensation for directors. We conclude by providing preliminary sketches of two alternative reward regimes. While …


To Err Is Human, Keith A. Rowley May 2006

To Err Is Human, Keith A. Rowley

Michigan Law Review

There are many kinds of mistakes. One kind-a rational, well-intended act or decision resulting in unanticipated, negative consequences-was the focus of Allan Farnsworth's previous foray into the realm of legal angst. Another kind-an act or decision prompted by an inaccurate, incomplete, or uninformed mental state and resulting in unanticipated, negative consequences- is the subject of the present book. Like its predecessor, Alleviating Mistakes does not confine itself to contract law, Farnsworth's home turf; it explores criminal, tort, restitution, and other areas of substantive law as well. As such, it paints on too large a canvas to capture its entirety in …


Apologies And Legal Settlement: An Empirical Examination, Jennifer K. Robbennolt Dec 2003

Apologies And Legal Settlement: An Empirical Examination, Jennifer K. Robbennolt

Michigan Law Review

It is often said that U.S. legal culture discourages apologies. Defendants, defense counsel, and insurers worry that statements of apology will be admissible at trial and will be interpreted by jurors and judges as admissions of responsibility. In recent years, however, several legal commentators have suggested that disputants in civil lawsuits should be encouraged to apologize to opposing parties. They claim that apologies will avert lawsuits and promote settlement. Consistent with this view, legislatures in several states have enacted statutes that are intended to encourage and protect apologies by making them inadmissible. In addition, some commentators argue that defendants might …


Conjunction And Aggregation, Saul Levmore Feb 2001

Conjunction And Aggregation, Saul Levmore

Michigan Law Review

This Article begins with the puzzle of why the law avoids the issue of conjunctive probability. Mathematically inclined observers might, for example, employ the "product rule," multiplying the probabilities associated with several events or requirements in order to assess a combined likelihood, but judges and lawyers seem otherwise inclined. Courts and statutes might be explicit about the manner in which multiple requirements should be combined, but they are not. Thus, it is often unclear whether a factfinder should assess if condition A was more likely than not to be present - and then go on to see whether condition B …


The "Solely Criminal Purpose" Defense To The Enforcement Of Irs Summonses, Darius J. Mehraban Jun 1997

The "Solely Criminal Purpose" Defense To The Enforcement Of Irs Summonses, Darius J. Mehraban

Michigan Law Review

Recent years have witnessed a gradual erosion of the practical distinctions between the civil and criminal investigations performed by federal administrative agencies. This trend arose naturally from a growing number of federal statutes and regulations that carry both civil and criminal penalties for their violation. Administrative agencies today wield investigative summons power almost as expansive as the grand jury subpoena power and can use that power to investigate without first deciding whether criminal or civil liability ultimately will be sought. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has participated to some extent in this intermingling of civil and criminal inquiry - with …


Lawyer's Justice, William A. Edmundson May 1990

Lawyer's Justice, William A. Edmundson

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Lawyers and Justice: An Ethical Study by David Luban, and The Social Responsibilities of Lawyers: Case Studies by Philip B. Heymann and Lance Liebman


History Against Free Speech: The New German Law Against The "Auschwitz" -- And Other -- "Lies", Eric Stein Nov 1986

History Against Free Speech: The New German Law Against The "Auschwitz" -- And Other -- "Lies", Eric Stein

Michigan Law Review

An American observer would expect the central issue in the public debate to be the conflict between the constitutionally protected values of individual freedom of expression on the one hand and public security and personal honor on the other. This, however, has not been the case. To the contrary, the constitutional issue has played a marginal role in the legislative process, and it has been resolved by the courts with obvious ease in favor of the constitutionality of the previous legislation on the same general subject. There is every reason to believe that the new law will also be upheld, …


Contempt-Conduct Tending To Defeat The Effect Of Appeal Pending In Federal Circuit Court Held To Be Civil Contempt Even Though Not A Resistance To A Formal Court Order- Griffin V. County School Board, Michigan Law Review May 1967

Contempt-Conduct Tending To Defeat The Effect Of Appeal Pending In Federal Circuit Court Held To Be Civil Contempt Even Though Not A Resistance To A Formal Court Order- Griffin V. County School Board, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Appellants applied for an injunction in a federal district court in Virginia to prevent the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors from paying out tuition grants to parents whose children attended private segregated schools. The district court refused to issue the injunction, and the appellants appealed. They asked to have their appeal accelerated, but, since the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit was not then in session, the Chief Judge requested the Clerk of Court to ask the Board of Supervisors to stipulate that no tuition grants would be paid pending the appeal. The Board refused to make the …


Sec Enforcement Of The Rule I0b-5 Duty To Disclose Material Information-Remedies And The Texas Gulf Sulphur Case, Edmund B. Frost Mar 1967

Sec Enforcement Of The Rule I0b-5 Duty To Disclose Material Information-Remedies And The Texas Gulf Sulphur Case, Edmund B. Frost

Michigan Law Review

On April 16, 1964, the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company announced one of the most significant mineral discoveries of the twentieth century-a major copper and zinc deposit near Timmins, Ontario, found by means of geophysical exploration and exploratory drilling. Unusual market activity prior to this announcement prompted a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation of insider stock transactions. In April 1965, the SEC brought suit against a group of Texas Gulf insiders, alleging that their purchase of stock on national exchanges before the disclosure of the information concerning the Timmins strike constituted a violation of section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act …


Products Liability Based Upon Violation Of Statutory Standards, Joseph H. Ballway Jr. May 1966

Products Liability Based Upon Violation Of Statutory Standards, Joseph H. Ballway Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Regulatory enactments controlling production and distribution can give rise in several different ways to civil liability on behalf of persons injured by non-conforming merchandise. For instance, if a statute codifies existing common-law rules of negligence, its effect is merely to place the weight of legislative authority behind ordinary negligence principles. Since an injured party's recovery under such a provision still depends largely upon his proving in the traditional manner that a defendant failed to exercise due care, this kind of statute merits no further discussion. On the other hand, if particular legislation expressly states that a violator may be subjected …


Fair Housing Laws And Brokers' Defamation Suits: The New York Experience, Michigan Law Review Mar 1966

Fair Housing Laws And Brokers' Defamation Suits: The New York Experience, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The New York Law Against Discrimination, originally enacted in 1945 to eliminate discrimination in employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin, has been steadily broadened to encompass discrimination in such areas as public accommodations and private housing. The law was amended in 1961 and 1963 to enable the State Commission for Human Rights to prevent. discrimination by either the owner or the real estate broker in the selling, renting, or leasing of any housing accommodation or commercial space. Despite the apparently broad protection established by the sweeping language of the statute, real estate brokers have discovered a novel …


The Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, Michigan Law Review Dec 1965

The Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Many nations do not accord conclusive effect to foreign judgments unless their own judicial decrees are reciprocally enforced by the country rendering the judgment. The law in the United States is unsettled, with some states holding that foreign judgments are reviewable on the merits if the judgment forum similarly reviews the merits of American decrees, while others accord conclusive effect to valid foreign money judgments regardless of the effect accorded American decrees in the judgment forum. Judgments in the latter states would seem entitled to conclusive enforcement in countries requiring reciprocity. However, such conclusive recognition has been hindered because many …


Collateral Estoppel In Civil Tax Fraud Cases Subsequent To Criminal Conviction, Michigan Law Review Dec 1965

Collateral Estoppel In Civil Tax Fraud Cases Subsequent To Criminal Conviction, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

To secure compliance with federal income tax laws, Congress has provided both criminal and civil penalties. Fines and imprisonment are imposed under section 7201 of the Internal Revenue Code if the Government can prove beyond a reasonable doubts a willful attempt to evade or defeat taxation. Section 6653(b) authorizes, as a civil sanction, a fifty per cent addition upon findings by the Commissioner of fraudulent underpayment. These findings, if challenged by the taxpayer, need only be sustained by a preponderance of the evidence. Because of the similarity between the acts condemned by sections 7201 and 6653(b), conviction under section 7201 …


Antitrust Civil Process Act-Requirements For A Civil Investigative Demand, Mary Mandana Long Apr 1964

Antitrust Civil Process Act-Requirements For A Civil Investigative Demand, Mary Mandana Long

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner sought an order from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota modifying or setting aside a Civil Investigative Demand served upon it by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. The demand was issued pursuant to the Antitrust Civil Process Act, which provides a compulsory pre-complaint procedure through which the Department of Justice may obtain documentary information upon which it can make a determination of whether there has occurred a violation of the antitrust laws. Section 1312(b) of the act requires that the demand state the nature of the conduct constituting the alleged violation, recite …


Antitrust-Clayton Act-Admissibilty Of Criminal Conviction Entered On A Plea Of Guilty As Prima Facie Evidence In Civil Suit For Treble Damage, Arthur M. Sherwood Dec 1963

Antitrust-Clayton Act-Admissibilty Of Criminal Conviction Entered On A Plea Of Guilty As Prima Facie Evidence In Civil Suit For Treble Damage, Arthur M. Sherwood

Michigan Law Review

In a civil action for treble damages under section 4 of the Clayton Act, the plaintiff sought to allege as prima facie evidence of a Sherman Act violation a criminal conviction entered on a plea of guilty by the defendant in an earlier prosecution by the government. The trial court sustained a motion by the defendant to strike from plaintiff's complaint any reference to the criminal prosecution. On appeal, held, reversed, one judge dissenting. A judgment entered on a plea of guilty is not a consent judgment within the meaning of the proviso to section 5(a) of the Clayton …


Grzybowski: Soviet Legal Institutions: Doctrines And Social Functions, Isaac Shapiro May 1963

Grzybowski: Soviet Legal Institutions: Doctrines And Social Functions, Isaac Shapiro

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Soviet Legal Institutions: Doctrines and Social Functions. By Kazimierz Grzybowski.


Securities Exchange Act Of 1934--Cml Remedies Based Upon Illegal Extension Of Credit In Violation Of Regulation T, Robert G. Lane Mar 1963

Securities Exchange Act Of 1934--Cml Remedies Based Upon Illegal Extension Of Credit In Violation Of Regulation T, Robert G. Lane

Michigan Law Review

Following the stock market crash of 1929, there was considerable agitation for the regulation, and even the elimination, of the purchasing of securities on credit. Indeed, the extension of credit for the purchasing of securities became an issue in the 1932 presidential campaign and finally, in 1934, came under direct federal control. Although the federal regulations were intended to eliminate the hazards associated with the extension of credit for the purchasing of securities, all the available evidence indicates that the substantial amount of credit in the stock market was a significant factor in pushing up prices during the bull market, …


The Civil Investigative Demand: New Fact-Finding Powers For The Antitrust Division, Richard L. Perry, William Simon Apr 1960

The Civil Investigative Demand: New Fact-Finding Powers For The Antitrust Division, Richard L. Perry, William Simon

Michigan Law Review

The complexity, scope and length of modem antitrust litigation bring to prominence the procedures by which evidence - particularly documentary evidence - is discovered and placed before the courts and administrative agencies. Fact-finding mechanisms now available for ferreting out and prosecuting violations make up an imposing array. These include the grand jury subpoena, the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the subpoena and visitorial powers of certain administrative agencies. The "civil investigative demand," a precomplaint compulsory process, is a new weapon proposed to be added to this arsenal. Few dispute the desirability of new …


Torts - Obstruction Of A Civil Action - Coercion By A Medical Association To Preclude Availability Of Expert Testimony In A Medical Malpractice Action, William Y. Webb Mar 1960

Torts - Obstruction Of A Civil Action - Coercion By A Medical Association To Preclude Availability Of Expert Testimony In A Medical Malpractice Action, William Y. Webb

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff approached nine physicians in an attempt to secure an expert witness for a medical malpractice action. All nine refused, allegedly as a result of threats by the county medical association to expel them and cause a cancellation of their malpractice liability insurance if they testified. The association's actions stemmed from a finding by its "malpractice committee" that the malpractice defendant had not been negligent. Plaintiff then brought this action against the association to recover compensatory and punitive damages for obstruction of a civil action. On appeal from an order granting a motion for nonsuit, held, affirmed. No cause …


Civil Procedure - Interstate Interpleader Compact, Louis Frey Feb 1960

Civil Procedure - Interstate Interpleader Compact, Louis Frey

Michigan Law Review

Five states have passed the Interstate Interpleader Compact, but Senate bills aimed at obtaining the necessary congressional consent have not been reported out of committee. The compact, designed to eliminate the problem of obtaining jurisdiction over an out-of-state claimant in a state interpleader action, would remedy situations in which the stakeholder may be subject to multiple vexation or possible double liability. The most important section of the compact provides: "Service of process sufficient to acquire personal jurisdiction may be made within a state party to this compact, by a person who institutes an interpleader proceeding or interpleader part of a …


Probate And Administration On The American Frontier: A Study Of The Probate Records Of Wayne County- Northwest Territory 1796-1803; Indiana Territory 1803-1805; Michigan Territory 1805-1816, William Wirt Blume Dec 1959

Probate And Administration On The American Frontier: A Study Of The Probate Records Of Wayne County- Northwest Territory 1796-1803; Indiana Territory 1803-1805; Michigan Territory 1805-1816, William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

As late as 1815 there was only one county in Michigan Territory- Wayne County- made up of parts of the territory to which the Indian titles had been extinguished. As other counties were organized beginning in 1817, Wayne County was reduced to its present size. A law adopted July 27, 1818, provided that a probate court should be held in each county. By a proclamation dated October 2, 1818, Acting Governor Woodbridge declared it was "no longer expedient to continue the present subdivisions of this territory into districts" for probate purposes; instead, each county should be "a separate District and …


Eminent Domain - Procedure - Relation Of Judge And Jury In Michigan Condemnation Proceedings, John H. Jackson S.Ed. Dec 1959

Eminent Domain - Procedure - Relation Of Judge And Jury In Michigan Condemnation Proceedings, John H. Jackson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The relationship of judge to jury in Michigan condemnation proceedings presents in many ways a merger of some of the problems and questions contained in the relationship of judge to jury in civil trials, and of court to tribunal in administrative law. Theorists as well as the practicing lawyer in Michigan and some other states" may well find in the development of the Michigan condemnation proceeding an interesting example of the growth of a procedure for adjudication, in a context of cross-fire between legislative ideas and judicial interpretation of a constitutional provision.


Cml Procedure - Mandamus - Application To Erroneous Refusal To Dismiss On The Ground Of Forum Non Conveniens, George E. Parker Iii Jun 1958

Cml Procedure - Mandamus - Application To Erroneous Refusal To Dismiss On The Ground Of Forum Non Conveniens, George E. Parker Iii

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner railroad, defendant in a suit brought in Illinois under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, moved to dismiss on the ground of forum non conveniens. The accident occurred in New Mexico, and none of the parties or witnesses was a resident of Illinois. The railroad, however, did business in Illinois as well as in other states, and had its principal offices and legal staff in Chicago. Upon denial of the motion to dismiss, the railroad, on original petition to the Supreme Court of Illinois, sought a writ of mandamus to compel dismissal. Held, writ denied, two justices dissenting. Mandamus …


Guided Tour In A Civil Law Library: Sources And Basic Legal Materials In French Civil And Commercial Law, G. M. Razi Jan 1958

Guided Tour In A Civil Law Library: Sources And Basic Legal Materials In French Civil And Commercial Law, G. M. Razi

Michigan Law Review

Lawyers everywhere rely upon their books with eagerness and confidence. The larger their libraries, the better equipped they feel to answer the questions of their clients. The composition of an average library differs somewhat in France and in the United States. In this country the law reports, in their familiar, substantial and elegant bindings, are displayed on the prominent shelves, while in Europe, the law reports-often merely paper bound-are relegated to some corner. The front place is reserved for the leather bindings and the gilt letters of the treatises bearing the names of outstanding authors in the various fields of …


Civil Procedure - Forum Non Conveniens - Judicial Adoption Of Doctrine When Statue Of Limitations Has Run Elsewhere, Jerome S. Traum Jan 1958

Civil Procedure - Forum Non Conveniens - Judicial Adoption Of Doctrine When Statue Of Limitations Has Run Elsewhere, Jerome S. Traum

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a Missouri resident, brought suit in Arkansas against defendant, a Missouri corporation authorized to do business in Arkansas, for injuries received in an accident in Illinois. Plaintiff had filed and dismissed an action in Missouri, and the statute of limitations had run in Illinois. Defendant's motion for dismissal on grounds of forum non conveniens was granted by the trial court. On appeal, held, reversed and remanded, one justice dissenting. Although the trial court could in its discretion refuse jurisdiction on the grounds of forum non conveniens, there was insufficient evidence in this case upon which a dismissal could …


Civil Procedure - Process - Immunity From Service Of Nonresident Entering State To Discuss Settlement Of A Dispute, Edward M. Heppenstall Jan 1958

Civil Procedure - Process - Immunity From Service Of Nonresident Entering State To Discuss Settlement Of A Dispute, Edward M. Heppenstall

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a resident of Idaho, leased a service station in Idaho from plaintiff, a Utah corporation. Plaintiff's attorney travelled to Idaho to attempt settlement of difficulties which had arisen concerning the lease. When the Idaho negotiations failed, plaintiff invited defendant to make further attempts at settlement in Utah. Defendant accepted the proposal and, when the Utah negotiations proved unfruitful, defendant was served with process in Utah at plaintiff's request. It was undisputed that defendant went to Utah solely to effect settlement, returning directly to Idaho after cessation of negotiations. On appeal from the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to …


Civil Procedure On The American Frontier, William Wirt Blume Dec 1957

Civil Procedure On The American Frontier, William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

The Treaty of Greenville (1795) by which Indian tribes of the Northwest Territory ceded to the United States the eastern and southern parts of the area which later became the state of Ohio, provided that certain small areas north and west of the treaty line should also be ceded.


Regulation Of Business-Civil Actions Under Section 3 Of The Robinson-Patman Act, Richard E. Day S.Ed. Apr 1957

Regulation Of Business-Civil Actions Under Section 3 Of The Robinson-Patman Act, Richard E. Day S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In Nashville Milk Co. v. Carnation Co. plaintiff sought to recover treble damages and asked injunctive relief, claiming defendant had sold filled milk at unreasonably low prices for the purpose of destroying competition by plaintiff in its sale of a like product in violation of section 3 of the Robinson-Patman Act. In affirming an order dismissing the complaint, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a private action may not be maintained for a violation of section 3 of the Robinson-Patman Act. That very same week, the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reached a contrary …


Calamandrei: Procedure And Democracy, Charles Alan Wright Mar 1957

Calamandrei: Procedure And Democracy, Charles Alan Wright

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Procedure and Democracy. By Piero Calamandrei.


Schwartz: The Code Napoleon And The Common Law World, J. G. Castel Jan 1957

Schwartz: The Code Napoleon And The Common Law World, J. G. Castel

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Code Napoleon and the Common Law World. Edited by Bernard Schwartz.