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Full-Text Articles in Common Law

Testamentary Option To Purchase Realty Can Be Exercised Under Anti-Lapse Statute By Heirs Of Beneficiary--Tuecke V. Tuecke, Michigan Law Review Jan 1965

Testamentary Option To Purchase Realty Can Be Exercised Under Anti-Lapse Statute By Heirs Of Beneficiary--Tuecke V. Tuecke, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Testator devised his farm to his son and two daughters. The son, who predeceased his father, was bequeathed an option to purchase the daughters' two-thirds interest in the farm for a specified amount. Over the objection of the daughters, the heirs of the son sought to exercise the option under an anti-lapse statute. The trial court concluded that the son's heirs had inherited the right to purchase. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Iowa, held,affirmed. An option to purchase is a valuable property right inheritable under an anti-lapse statute.


Torts-Joint Tort-Feasors--Release Of One Not Release Of All, Karen M. Swift Apr 1964

Torts-Joint Tort-Feasors--Release Of One Not Release Of All, Karen M. Swift

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a woman who had been struck by a taxicab, underwent treatment by defendant-physician. After eight months under defendant's care, she accepted his assurances that she would fully recover, and executed a general release in favor of the taxi driver. Plaintiff subsequently discovered, however, that the defendant had been negligent in his treatment of her both before and after the execution of the release. In a malpractice action before the Supreme Court of New York judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff, and defendant appealed. The Appellate Division dismissed the original complaint, holding that the general release discharging the …


The Worker And Three Phases Of Unionism: Administrative And Judicial Control Of The Worker-Union Relationship, Alfred W. Blumrosen Jun 1963

The Worker And Three Phases Of Unionism: Administrative And Judicial Control Of The Worker-Union Relationship, Alfred W. Blumrosen

Michigan Law Review

This article will examine the extent to which, and the methods by which, individual rights are protected in each of these three phases of union activity. We will see that the employee is well protected in his right to oppose political action of the union and has considerable legal protection for his rights to engage in internal union political struggles, but the employee has received little protection for his economic interests in collective bargaining between unions and employers. A recent decision by the NLRB, which will be examined in some detail, suggests that additional protection for individual economic rights in …


Condominium--Home Ownership For Megaopolis?, John E. Cribbet May 1963

Condominium--Home Ownership For Megaopolis?, John E. Cribbet

Michigan Law Review

The past year, 1962, witnessed no let up in the cold war between East and West. In the race for the conquest of space, in the battle of national rates of economic growth, in the propaganda struggle to fix the responsibility for nuclear testing, in the trial of strength over Cuba, and in countless other areas, each bloc leader continued to measure achievement against the rival's successes or defeats. The cold war is a deadly business and produces little to warm the cockles of a man's heart, but, if only the threat of nuclear destruction could be averted, there is …


Territorial Courts And The Law: Unifying Factors In The Development Of American Legal Institutions-Pt.Ii-Influences Tending To Unify Territorial Law, William Wirt Blume, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown Jan 1963

Territorial Courts And The Law: Unifying Factors In The Development Of American Legal Institutions-Pt.Ii-Influences Tending To Unify Territorial Law, William Wirt Blume, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown

Michigan Law Review

With the exception of Kentucky, Vermont, Texas, California, and West Virginia, all parts of continental United States south and west of the present boundaries of the original states came under colonial rule, and were governed from the national capital through territorial governments for varying periods of time. All territories in this area were "incorporated" in the sense that they were destined to become states of the United States. All became states by 1912, leaving only Alaska and Hawaii for future statehood. Now that these territories have become states, it seems desirable to review legal developments in all of these "incorporated" …


Turner: The Law Of Trade Secrets, John Stedman Dec 1962

Turner: The Law Of Trade Secrets, John Stedman

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Law of Trade Secrets. By Amedee E. Turner.


Territorial Courts And Law: Unifying Factors In The Development Of American Legal Institutions-Pt.1-Establishment Of A Standardized Judicial System, William Wirt Blume, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown Nov 1962

Territorial Courts And Law: Unifying Factors In The Development Of American Legal Institutions-Pt.1-Establishment Of A Standardized Judicial System, William Wirt Blume, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown

Michigan Law Review

The United States first became a sovereign nation when individual states of the Confederation ceded to the states collectively their several interests in the lands west of the Appalachians which lay east of the Mississippi, north of Spanish Florida, and south of the Great Lakes. This area had been relinquished by Great Britain by the Treaty of 1783 and, with the exception of Kentucky, now became the property of the United States. It was the first area over which the states as a group had complete sovereignty, subject only to the claims of the various Indian tribes. Colonies fresh from …


Property-Joint Bank Accounts-The Donee's Inter Vivos Interest, David K. Kroll S.Ed. May 1962

Property-Joint Bank Accounts-The Donee's Inter Vivos Interest, David K. Kroll S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The use of joint bank accounts has become widespread throughout the United States in recent years and has been the source of considerable litigation and comment. The predominant importance of this type of account is that it allows funds remaining at the death of a co-depositor to pass to the survivor without the necessity of a will. This aspect of the account, causing it to be known sometimes as a "Poor Man's Will," has been the focal point of the attention given to the transaction; and today, after more than half a century of uneven treatment by the courts, all …


Torts-Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act-General Release Of One Tortfeasor Releases All, Robert L. Harmon Mar 1962

Torts-Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act-General Release Of One Tortfeasor Releases All, Robert L. Harmon

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, riding as a passenger with X, was injured in an accident involving the automobile driven by X and a truck owned by defendant. Several months later X paid plaintiff $1,518.87 and received a release. Plaintiff then brought an action in trespass against the defendant, charging negligence in causing the accident and claiming $10,000 damages. The defendant joined X as an additional defendant and X pleaded the release. Defendant's amended answer claimed that the broad language of the release, "any and all other persons," within the meaning of the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act, provided a release for the defendant …


Criminal Law - Insane Persons - Competency To Stand Trial, John H. Hess M.D., Henry B. Pearsall S.Ed., Donald A. Slichter S.Ed., Herbert E. Thomas M.D. May 1961

Criminal Law - Insane Persons - Competency To Stand Trial, John H. Hess M.D., Henry B. Pearsall S.Ed., Donald A. Slichter S.Ed., Herbert E. Thomas M.D.

Michigan Law Review

Mental unsoundness in a person accused of a crime raises two distinct legal questions. One is the question of the individual's responsibility for his behavior and the other is the question of the individual's competency to enter into the legal procedures of trial or punishment. In recent years considerable attention has been given to matters of responsibility, but relatively little attention has been paid to the problem of incompetency and especially to the consequences of incompetency proceedings. In order to analyze and evaluate the operations of the Michigan law in the area of incompetency to stand trial, two psychiatrists joined …


British Antitrust In Action, Michael Conant Apr 1961

British Antitrust In Action, Michael Conant

Michigan Law Review

The Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1956 was the first positive anti-monopoly statute in the United Kingdom since the Statute of Monopolies in 1623. Now that the statute has been in effect four years there are sufficient decisions and consent orders to make possible a report on its operation. Since most American readers are unfamiliar with the legal and economic background of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act, the prior common law in this area and the 1948 monopolies investigation statute will be summarized first. This summary is followed by an analysis of the structure of the 1956 Act, of the …


Habeas Corpus - Procedural Prerequisites - Motion Denied For Failure To Appeal Convicion Despite Failure Being Excusable, Harvey O. Mierke Jr. Apr 1961

Habeas Corpus - Procedural Prerequisites - Motion Denied For Failure To Appeal Convicion Despite Failure Being Excusable, Harvey O. Mierke Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was convicted of robbery in a federal district court and, although represented by counsel, failed to appeal within the statutory ten-day period. Three months later he filed a motion in the same court under section 2255 of the judicial code to vacate the sentence on the ground that the conviction, because it was based on a coerced confession, was unconstitutionally obtained without due process of law. The motion was denied and the denial affirmed, in the absence of any attempt to excuse the failure to appeal. On reargument, plaintiff attempted to excuse his failure to appeal by alleging that …


Tingle: The Stockholder's Remedy Of Corporate Dissolution, Hugh L. Sowards Apr 1961

Tingle: The Stockholder's Remedy Of Corporate Dissolution, Hugh L. Sowards

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Stockholder's Remedy of Corporate Dissolution. By James O'Malley Tingle


Escheat - Abandoned Property - Full Faith And Credit As A Bar To Multiple Escheat Of Intangibles, Clarold L. Britton S.Ed. Mar 1961

Escheat - Abandoned Property - Full Faith And Credit As A Bar To Multiple Escheat Of Intangibles, Clarold L. Britton S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Escheat of abandoned or unclaimed property by the sovereign is as old as the common law. Recast in constitutional form, this ancient right of kings has become a significant source of revenue in an increasing number of American states. While the right of escheat is inherent in the power of a sovereign, its exercise requires specific legislative authority. Until recently this authority was sparingly given and escheat was generally limited to the administration of estates and abandoned tangible property. However, in this past decade, state legislatures have greatly expanded the scope and extent of escheat by authorizing the escheat of …


Chancery Practice On The American Frontier: A Study Of The Records Of The Supreme Court Of Michigan Territory, 1805-1836, William Wirt Blume Nov 1960

Chancery Practice On The American Frontier: A Study Of The Records Of The Supreme Court Of Michigan Territory, 1805-1836, William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

The act of Congress of January 11, 1805, which created Michigan Territory out of Indiana Territory, provided that the new territory should have a government "in all respects similar" to that provided for the Northwest Territory by the Ordinance of 1787. The Ordinance had provided for the appointment of a court to consist of three judges who should have "a common law jurisdiction. "


Literary And Artistic Property -- Common-Law Copyright-- Filing Of Architectural Plans In A Public Office As Publication, Judd L. Bacon S.Ed. Nov 1960

Literary And Artistic Property -- Common-Law Copyright-- Filing Of Architectural Plans In A Public Office As Publication, Judd L. Bacon S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff home designer prepared plans for a client and filed a copy in a county office as required by ordinance in order to obtain a building permit. Defendant copied and used these plans without plaintiff's consent. In an action under a state statute codifying the common-law right of designers to the exclusive ownership of their unpublished designs, the lower court held for defendant, finding plaintiff's copyright to have been destroyed by publication. On appeal, held, reversed. The filing of architectural plans in a public office in order to secure a building permit does not constitute a publication of them …


Trust Administration - Apportionment And Other Remedies Of An Income Beneficiary When The Trustee's Retention Of Unproductive Property Causes A Loss Or Termination Of Income, Bruce M. Stiglitz S. Ed. May 1960

Trust Administration - Apportionment And Other Remedies Of An Income Beneficiary When The Trustee's Retention Of Unproductive Property Causes A Loss Or Termination Of Income, Bruce M. Stiglitz S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this comment is to examine apportionment and other remedies of a beneficiary who has been deprived of his income by the retention of unproductive property, and especially to examine the problems which arise when the trustee's retention of such assets constitutes a breach of trust.


Property - Powers - State Powers Statutes Protecting Creditors And Requiring Formal Execution, Robert A. Smith S. Ed. Mar 1960

Property - Powers - State Powers Statutes Protecting Creditors And Requiring Formal Execution, Robert A. Smith S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The first part of the comment considers the elevation sections of the statute-sections that change the donee's interest in the appointive or dispositive property to a fee for the benefit of creditors. The second part considers the execution sections of the statute-sections that subject the execution of powers to conveyancing requirements. These sections are of the utmost significance to estate planners.


Bills And Notes - Acceptance - Payment By Drawee Of Raised Check Precludes Recovery Under Section 62 Of The Uniform Negotiable Instruments Law, Louis A. Kwiker Jan 1960

Bills And Notes - Acceptance - Payment By Drawee Of Raised Check Precludes Recovery Under Section 62 Of The Uniform Negotiable Instruments Law, Louis A. Kwiker

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, collection bank and presenter, paid the face amount of a raised check, executed its unqualified indorsement thereon, transmitted the check through regular banking channels, and received payment from drawee bank. Upon discovery of the overpayment plaintiff, surety, reimbursed the drawee and sought recovery from the defendant. The trial court sustained defendant's demurrer. On appeal, held, affirmed. Under section 621 of the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Law, a drawee bank which pays a raised but otherwise genuine check to a non-negligent holder in due course cannot recover the amount by which the instrument was raised because payment constitutes an acceptance …


Future Interests - Oil And Gas - Applicability On The Rule Against Perpetuities To Remote Future Interest Following Reserved Oil And Gas Interest, Robert B. Nelson S.Ed. Dec 1959

Future Interests - Oil And Gas - Applicability On The Rule Against Perpetuities To Remote Future Interest Following Reserved Oil And Gas Interest, Robert B. Nelson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A grantor conveyed real property to defendant reserving "all oil and gas and all minerals" in and under the land "for the period of twenty-five years... and as long thereafter as oil or gas or petroleum products" should be produced. Following this reservation, but in another clause of the deed, the grantor provided, "Subject to the reservations and conditions aforesaid, [grantor] hereby grants ... all of said real property ...to the [defendant], together with ...the reversion and reversions thereof." Some years later, the same grantor quitclaimed to the plaintiff "all oil and gas in and under" the same property. The …


Admiralty- "Twilight Zone" In Workmen's Compensation - Pursuit Of State Common Law Action Against Employer, James S. Leigh Jun 1959

Admiralty- "Twilight Zone" In Workmen's Compensation - Pursuit Of State Common Law Action Against Employer, James S. Leigh

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was injured on his employer's barge moored in navigable waters while assisting in a loading operation. The employer was insured solely under the Federal Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Act. Instead of pursuing the remedy available under the federal act, petitioner brought the common law action authorized by state workmen's compensation legislation in the state courts. The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed judgment for the employer on the ground that the injury was covered exclusively by the federal act. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed per curiam, two justices dissenting. The injury was incurred within the …


The Law Of The Collective Agreement, Charles O. Gregory Mar 1959

The Law Of The Collective Agreement, Charles O. Gregory

Michigan Law Review

The Wagner Act contained no law governing collective agreements. Congress left their enforcement to the state and federal courts under the miserable body of common-law rules. Under various theories the courts worried about consideration, mutuality of obligation, duress and public policy aspects as if they were dealing with conventional contracts.


Judgments - Res Judicata - Limitation Of California Doctrine Of Collateral Estoppel In Multiple Claimant Cases, Sidney B. Hopps Feb 1959

Judgments - Res Judicata - Limitation Of California Doctrine Of Collateral Estoppel In Multiple Claimant Cases, Sidney B. Hopps

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs were injured when their car was struck by defendant. They commenced separate negligence actions, which were consolidated for trial. These actions resulted in a judgment for plaintiff son, but judgments were entered against the plaintiffs mother and father. These parties were granted a new trial, with no limitation upon the issues to be tried. On the second trial the parents asserted the son's judgment, which had become final and been satisfied, as conclusively establishing defendant's negligence. The trial court ruled against them and submitted the issue of defendant's negligence to the jury. On appeal by the parents, held, …


Criminal Procedure On The American Frontier: A Study Of The Statutes And Court Records Of Michigan Territory 1805-1825, William Wirt Blume Dec 1958

Criminal Procedure On The American Frontier: A Study Of The Statutes And Court Records Of Michigan Territory 1805-1825, William Wirt Blume

Michigan Law Review

The area north and east of Lake Michigan, organized in 1805 as Michigan Territory, was first organized in 1796 as Wayne County of the Northwest Territory. In 1800 the western half of the county, and in 1803 the eastern half, became parts of Indiana Territory, and so remained until July 1805. In 1818 Michigan Territory was expanded westward so as to include all of the area north of Illinois to the Mississippi River.


Future Interests - Rule Against Perpetuities - Recent Statutory Amendment In New York, Paul K. Gaston S.Ed. Dec 1958

Future Interests - Rule Against Perpetuities - Recent Statutory Amendment In New York, Paul K. Gaston S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

After 128 years of criticism and confusion and enormous amounts of litigation, New York has amended its statutory rule against perpetuities. The old rule provided that the absolute power of alienation could not be suspended for longer, than "two lives in being" at the creation of the estate plus a minority exception in some cases. Under the new rule the absolute power of alienation can be suspended for a period measured by any number of "lives in being" at the creation of the estate so long as they are not "so designated or so numerous as to make proof of …


Constitutional Law - Right To Jury Trial In Indirect Criminal Contempts In Federal Courts, Denis T. Rice S.Ed. Dec 1958

Constitutional Law - Right To Jury Trial In Indirect Criminal Contempts In Federal Courts, Denis T. Rice S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Should constitutional provisions for jury trial apply to contempts committed outside the physical presence of a federal court? The United States Supreme Court, in the recent case of Green v. United States, reviewed this long disputed question. The case involved two Communist Party leaders who had been convicted of Smith Act violations and then had "jumped bail" when they disappeared in violation of surrender orders requiring their presence in court for sentencing. After four and a half years as fugitives they surrendered in 1956 and were charged with criminal contempt of court. Following a so-called "summary" hearing (without the …


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.


Workmen's Compensation - Federal Employers' Liability Act - Basis Of Liability Not Common Law Negligence, Robert L. Knauss S.Ed. Nov 1957

Workmen's Compensation - Federal Employers' Liability Act - Basis Of Liability Not Common Law Negligence, Robert L. Knauss S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, a laborer in a railroad section gang, was assigned to burn weeds near a railroad track. He was injured when he fell into a culvert as he was trying to escape from smoke and flames which had been fanned by a passing train. A jury in the Circuit Court of St. Louis awarded damages under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). The Supreme Court of Missouri reversed upon the ground that the evidence was not sufficient to support a finding of the railroad's liability, and the case should not have been allowed to go to a jury. On certiorari …


Required Joinder Of Claims, Dieter L. Hoegen May 1957

Required Joinder Of Claims, Dieter L. Hoegen

Michigan Law Review

In review we can say that within a comparatively broad field of the American law required joinder of claims is the rule. There are some exceptions. The German law has no rule of compulsory joinder of claims. Here, there are some exceptions, too. In this sense and within a field which is marked out by the American rule and the German exceptions, the relationship of rule and exceptions is reversed in the two systems.


Required Joinder Of Claims, Dieter L. Hoegen Apr 1957

Required Joinder Of Claims, Dieter L. Hoegen

Michigan Law Review

This comparative study is confined to the situation of one claimant against one claimee. The principles which will be considered seem to be rather well settled both in the American and the German law. The fact, however, that besides many a common result we shall find fundamental differences in the pertinent basic concepts of the American and German systems makes the discussion worthwhile. It may, at least, promote a reconsideration of the propriety of those concepts.