Commercial Law Commons^™

Sales-Implied Warranty-Merchantable Quality Of Tobacco Products, John E. Mogk

Michigan Law Review

Decedent's widow and the administrator of his estate brought a consolidated suit against the American Tobacco Company on six theories of liability for the death of decedent, allegedly caused by lung cancer purportedly contracted from the smoking of defendant's cigarettes. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, the district court directed a verdict for defendant on all counts except those of implied warranty and negligence. The jury determined that, although defendant's cigarettes were the cause of decedent's lung cancer and resultant death, defendant had no means of knowing that the cigarettes would cause cancer. On appeal of the implied warranty charge …

Administrative Law-Primary Jurisdiction-Availability Of Common-Law Reparations Remedy Following Commission Finding Of Unreasonable Practice Under The Motor Carrier Act, James D. Zirin

Michigan Law Review

The petitioner delivered goods to respondent, a common carrier by motor vehicle, for shipment from Buffalo, New York, to New York City, with the route of shipment left unspecified. The goods were shipped over the carrier's interstate route at a higher tariff filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission rather than over its intrastate route at the lower tariff filed with the New York Public Service Commission. Alleging causes of action under the Motor Carrier Act and at common law, the petitioner brought a postshipment action in a federal district court seeking reparation of the difference paid. The court, after a …

Trade Regulation-Robinson-Patman Act-Price Discrimination In The Marketing Of Gasoline, Howard R. Lurie S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The emergence of chain stores and mail-order houses in the 1920's posed a new threat to competition; this time at the retail level. The quantity purchase discounts which large buyers could exact placed the small independent merchant at a competitive disadvantage so substantial as to cast doubt upon his continued presence in the competitive picture. To prevent these competitive advantages, which were felt to be unfair and undesirable, Congress, in 1936, passed the Robinson-Patman Act which, in part, amended section 2 of the Clayton Act. The effect of the amendment was to tighten the application of the quantity purchase defense …

A Radical Restatement Of The Law Of Seller's Damages: Michigan Results Compared, Robert J. Harris

Michigan Law Review

Conventional doctrine does not address itself directly to the choice among valuation techniques, although the various parochial damage formulae give some clues. Underlying this series of articles is an assumption that the doctrine makes more sense when restated in valuation terms. These articles involve an effort to restate in such terms one sector of expectation damage law-the part that governs cases in which plaintiff is a "seller."

Administrative Law-Judicial Control-Injunctive Extension Of The Rate Suspension Period Under The Interstate Commerce Act, John Eppel

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs, two interstate carriers and a municipal corporation, and defendants, four railroad companies, were parties to an investigation and suspension proceeding before the Interstate Commerce Commission. Section 15(7) of the Interstate Commerce Act allows the Commission to suspend the effectiveness of rate revisions proposed by carriers for seven months while it is deciding whether to approve them. If no decision is reached by the end of the suspension period, the proposed rates automatically become effective subject to a subsequent determination of their validity by the ICC. Expiration of the order suspending defendants' rate proposals was imminent when, in an unprecedented …

Space Communications And The Law: Adequate International Control After 1963?, Samuel D. Estep, Amalya L. Kearse

Michigan Law Review

During the current year, a space event of legal and technological significance will occur. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (A.T. & T.), using the launching facilities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), will launch its first satellite for research in the area of commercial communications.† The A.T. & T. sphere will be the first tested by a private, commercial organization specifically for business purposes- to implement a plan eventually to provide increased and improved telecommunications on a grand scale at a lower cost. The satellite will relay television signals from the United States to England, Germany, and …

Federal Antitrust Law-Sherman Act-Resale Restrictions In Agreements Between Manufacturer And Distributors, S. Anthony Benton

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a manufacturer of heavy trucks, entered into agreements with its wholesale distributors and retail dealers whereby the distributors and dealers agreed to resell defendant's trucks at prices fixed by defendant. They also agreed to restrict their sales to customers located within the territories designated by defendant and to allow defendant to deal directly with all government accounts. The Justice Department, charging violation of sections I and 3 of the Sherman Act, brought a civil suit to enjoin defendant from continuing or renewing any of the aforementioned arrangements. On plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, held, motion granted. Vertical agreements …

The Lazy Lawyer's Guide To Secured Transactions Under The Code, Peter F. Coogan

Michigan Law Review

It is expected that few, if any, who can really qualify as "lazy lawyers" will read this paper. There is, however, an obvious need for a reasonably simple statement which a young Iawyer, for example, may find helpful in explaining article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code to the partners in his firm, or a lender's lawyer may use in explaining the essentials of article 9 to a borrower's counsel who has only occasional contact with secured transactions-- or, in either case, vice versa.

If we could assume that our learner had absolutely no knowledge of article 9, we could …

A General Theory For Measuring Seller's Damages For Total Breach Of Contract, Robert J. Harris

Michigan Law Review

This article is concerned with the legal rules which should govern the process of valuing what plaintiff saved by exercising his power to stop further performance upon notice of defendant's serious breach. Where plaintiff is a "buyer" (whether he buys land, services, personality, or the temporary use of some kind of property), and he was to pay the price in dollars, few difficulties arise in valuing his saved performance. But if he was a "seller" of any of those commodities, valuation is hard. Thus our inquiry is chiefly concerned with cases in which plaintiff is a "seller," not a "buyer."

Insurance-State Regulation-Unauthorized Insurers False Advertising Process Act, Chester A. Skinner

Michigan Law Review

Recent Illinois legislation subjects foreign insurers who are not authorized to do business in Illinois and who circulate false advertising there to the jurisdiction of the state courts and the State Insurance Commissioner. When the Insurance Commissioner is informed of false or misleading advertising, he is to notify the supervisory insurance official of the domicile state of the foreign insurer. If this notice does not result in the cessation of the activity, the Commissioner may proceed against the insurer under the state's Unfair Trade Practice Act. Since the typical mail order insurer will not have agents or property within the …

Uniform Commercial Code - Motor Vehicles - Filing Requred To Perfect Security Interests, David Finkelman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1958 Kentucky enacted the Uniform Commercial Code providing for the perfection of security interests in chattels by filing a financing statement, and a motor vehicle Certificate of Title Act requiring liens to be noted on the registration certificate covering the vehicle. The Code excludes from its filing provisions security interests in property subject to a Certificate of Title Act and provides that such interests can be perfected only by compliance with the requirements of the title act. However, unlike the typical Certificate of Title Act, the Kentucky title act does not provide that the notation of the lien on …

Bills And Notes-Payees By Impersonation And By Assumption Of A Name-Drawer's Intent And Commercial Policy, Stuart S. Gunckel S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Consider the following scheme for fraudulently obtaining money: A, a stranger to D, personally appears before D, represents himself as B and requests a loan. There is an existing person named B. For D's security a mortgage is produced in the name of B, but it has actually been penned by A. A check of the land records by D verifies that the land described in the mortgage is in fact owned by B. D, having satisfied himself as to the existence of B, draws a check payable to the …

Constitutional Law - Commerce Clause - Local Smoke Control Ordinance Not An Undue Burden On Interstate Commerce, John M. Niehuss

Michigan Law Review

In accordance with a scheme of federal ship inspection, appellant possessed certificates which permitted its ships to operate on the Great Lakes and which specified the type of boiler which might be used. While two of its ships were docked in Detroit, smoke was emitted from their boilers in violation of the minimum density and duration requirements of the Detroit Smoke Abatement Code. The equipment which appellant was then using made compliance with the ordinance impossible. When criminal proceedings were instituted against appellant, it brought an action to enjoin the City of Detroit from enforcing the ordinance on the theory …

Steinheimer: Michigan Negotiable Instruments And The Uniform Commercial Code, Douglass G. Boshkoff

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Michigan Negotiable Instruments and the Uniform Commercial Code. By Roy L. Steinheimer.

Document Of Title: A Comparison Of The Uniform Commercial Code And Other Uniform Acts, With Emphasis On Michigan Law, Douglass Boshkoff

Michigan Law Review

Although this article is mainly oriented toward the legal materials of one jurisdiction, the presence of a fairly common background of uniform acts makes it relevant to other jurisdictions, except where there are contrary interpretations of a particular statutory provision. Therefore, parallel citations to the various uniform acts have been provided with the hope that this article will be of assistance to other groups attempting to evaluate article seven of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Taxation - Income Tax -Gross Income From Mining As The Basis For Computing Percentage Depletion Allowances, John Niehuss

Michigan Law Review

Respondent, a miner of raw fire clay and a manufacturer of such clay into vitrified products, claimed a percentage depletion deduction based upon the gross income from the sale of its finished goods, contending that because its crude minerals could not be sold profitably in a local market, these final products were the first to meet the statutory standard of "commercially marketable mineral product." The district court and the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit accepted respondent's contention. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed, one Justice concurring. The fact that a taxpayer himself cannot …

Stein And Nicholson: American Enterprises In The European Common Market: A Legal Profile, Volume 1, James N. Hyde

Michigan Law Review

A Review of American Enterprises in the European Common Market: A Legal Profile, Volume 1. Edited by Eric Stein and Thomas L. Nicholson.

Sales - Privity - Disclaimer Of Implied Warranty, Richard W. Odgers

Michigan Law Review

Husband purchased a new automobile from a dealer. The contract of sale contained on its reverse side an express warranty from the manufacturer to the "original purchaser" providing for the replacement of any parts which were returned to the manufacturer and were in its judgment defective. The warranty was " ... expressly in lieu of all other warranties expressed or implied .... " The dealer warranty was substantially identical to that extended by the manufacturer; both adhered to the form prescribed by the Automobile Manufacturer's Association. Shortly after the delivery of the automobile, wife was injured in a collision caused …

Sales - Implied Warranty - Privity Of Contract As A Prerequisite To Recovery From Manufacturer, John L. Peschel S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sustained injuries in the course of his employment when a defective abrasive wheel, while being used in its intended manner, exploded in his face. The abrasive wheel was purchased by plaintiff's employer directly from the manufacturer. Plaintiff sought recovery from the manufacturer on two grounds: negligence in the manufacture of the abrasive wheel and breach of implied warranty for fitness of purpose. The negligence issue was submitted to the jury, which returned a verdict adverse to the plaintiff. The manufacturer's demurrer to the cause of action based upon implied warranty was sustained by the trial court. On appeal from …

Removal Of Judicial Functions From Federal Trade Commission To A Trade Court: A Reply To Mr. Kintner, Raoul Berger

Michigan Law Review

Not long ago, Attorney General Rogers stated that, "The entire field of administrative law and of Government regulation may require a searching re-examination of some of the premises on which we have based our conclusions." What lifts this utterance to the level of "man bites dog" is that the Attorney General almost alone among federal administrators does not insist that the administrative process, in major outline, is forever frozen. The orthodox administrative view is exemplified by Mr. Earl W. Kintner's (formerly General Counsel and now Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission) numerous strictures upon the American Bar Association proposal that …

Labor Law-Fair Labor Standards Act-- Coverage Of Construction Workers, David G. Davies

Michigan Law Review

Respondent construction firm was engaged in building a dam, the sole purpose of which was to enlarge a reservoir that supplied water to the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. Industrial producers of goods for interstate commerce and operators of instrumentalities of interstate commerce consumed nearly half of the water supplied by the city's system. The Secretary of Labor sought an injunction against violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act The district court granted the injunction; the court of appeals reversed, relying primarily upon the "new construction" doctrine. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held …

Regulation Of Business - Sales - Below-Cost Statutes - The Elements Of Violations And The Defense Of Meeting Competition, Robert B. Jones S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this comment is to discuss two controversial aspects of the sales-below-cost statutes: (1) the intent or effect required for a :finding of violation and (2) the defense of meeting competition.

Unfair Competition-Motor Carrier Act - Private Remedy For Operation In Excess Of Certificate Of Necessity And Convenience, Daniel E. Lewis Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In response to plaintiff trucking company's complaint under section 15 of the Clayton Act alleging violation of sections I and 2 of the Sherman Act, defendant railroads entered a counterclaim for damages resulting from interference with the railroad's franchise rights by the plaintiff's operations in excess of its Interstate Commerce Commission certificate of convenience and necessity. On plaintiff's motion for judgment on the pleadings to dismiss the counterclaim for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, held, motion granted. Congress did not contemplate that the common law action of a franchise holder would lie when …

Constitutional Law - Import-Export Clause - Power Of State To Tax Foreign Imports Supplying Current Operating Needs, Stevan Uzelac

Michigan Law Review

Appellant imported from five countries iron ore which was stored at its processing plant and drawn upon to fill the current operational needs of the plant. When the ore arrived it was originally stored in stock piles containing a three-month supply. As needed, ores were conveyed from the stock piles to "stock bins," holding one or two days' supply and located in close proximity to the plant, from which the ores were used in the operation of the plant. The State of Ohio collected a personal property tax upon all the imported ore. In a companion case petitioner imported from …

Constitutional Law - Commerce Clause - Power Of States To Levy Net Income Tax On Businesses Engaged In Soley Interstate Commerce, John C. Peters S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Appellant, an Iowa corporation, maintained a sales office in Minnesota and employed salesmen who solicited orders from dealers within that state, though all of its sales contracts were made at the corporation's home office in Iowa. In accordance with a Minnesota statute, a state net income tax, fairly apportioned to the state's share of the corporation's interstate business, was levied upon appellant. In a suit brought by the state to collect this tax, appellant contended that the statute as applied violated the commerce and due process clauses of the Federal Constitution because it taxed the net proceeds of a business …

Contracts - Statute Of Frauds - Effect On Oral Exclusive Distributorship Agreement For Indefinite Duration, Robert Segar

Michigan Law Review

In 1935 plaintiff brewery made an oral agreement of no definite duration by which defendant and his father, as partners, were given the exclusive right to distribute its beer. Defendant, changing from one partnership to another, complied with various wishes of the plaintiff such as furnishing warehousing, purchasing uniform amounts of beer throughout the year although seasonal demands varied, dissolving the second partnership in 1950, discontinuing distribution of a rival beer in 1954, and hiring a sales promotion man in June 1954; the latter three actions taken on plaintiff's assurance that he would continue defendant's distributorship. In July 1954 plaintiff, …

Specific Performance In France And Germany, John P. Dawson

Michigan Law Review

Edgar Durfee studied long and closely the subject of specific performance. He taught it for many years, wrote about it and planned to ·write more. He conceived it broadly, as he did every subject that ever had his attention, but he had a lively interest in details, including very technical details. Long before others and much more than most, he saw the importance of our remedial system both in shaping law and as a reflection of its larger purposes. All those who learned from him will remember as long as memory lasts the insight he gave and the hidden meanings …

Brewster, Jr.: Antitrust And American Business Abroad, And Fugate: Foreign Commerce And The Antitrust Laws, Kenneth S. Carlston

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Antitrust and American Business Abroad. By Kingman Brewster, Jr., and Foreign Commerce and the Antitrust Laws. By Wilbur L. Fugate.

Civil Procedure - Jurisdiction - Service Of Process On Foreign Television Corporation, Arnold Henson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a West Virginia corporation, operated a television station in Huntington, West Virginia. Its telecasts regularly reached into Boyd County, Kentucky, where part of its customary viewing audience was located. During a twelve-month period in 1954-1955 the corporation derived $71,310.30 in advertising revenue from Kentucky firms, although the contracts for this advertising were made outside Kentucky. In the course of a newscast defendant published an alleged libel against plaintiff, and suit was brought in Boyd County Court. Substituted service of process was made on the Secretary of State in accordance with the Kentucky "doing business" statute, and defendant then removed …

Insurance - Federal Regulation - Authority Of Federal Trade Commission To Regulate False Advertising By Insurance Companies As Affected By The Mccarran-Ferguson Act, Charles C. Moore S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, the FTC, issued cease and desist orders prohibiting respondent health and accident insurance companies, doing business in interstate commerce, from disseminating allegedly false and deceptive advertising through the medium of local agents. These orders, issued pursuant to the FTC act, sought to proscribe such activity both in states that had statutes prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices and in states that did not. The Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits concluded that the FTC had no authority to regulate such advertising in states which had prohibitory legislation. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, …