Common Law Commons^™

Real Property-Landlord And Tenant-Transfer By Lessee As Sublease, Not Assignment, John S. Slavens

Michigan Law Review

X leased lands to plaintiff for a term of years, with a provision that if property truces were assessed against the property in excess of a certain amount, plaintiff would pay X a certain proportion of the excess amount as additional rent. Plaintiff then transferred his remaining term to defendant "subject to the terms" of the overlying lease. In addition, the sublease provided for a right to cancel the sublease if defendant failed to restore in case of fire or in the event of taking by eminent domain. Subsequent to the sublease, the tax assessments exceeded the amount stipulated in …

Promissory Estoppel: Principle From Precedents: I, Benjamin F. Boyer

Michigan Law Review

The doctrine of promissory estoppel is an outstanding modem example of the way in which the Anglo-American legal system develops significant rules and principles out of the day-to-day decisions of our courts.

Progress in the law comes about through the formulation and acceptance of generalizations. However, merely stating the results of a number of different instances does not result in clarification and simplification. That comes only when the precedents are studied with a view to discovering the ''binding thread of principle that runs through them all." Such a principle, if discovered in the course of the appraisal of a series …

Restraints On Alienation Of Legal Interests In Michigan Property: I, William F. Fratcher

Michigan Law Review

During the century and a half which followed the Norman Conquest, the owner of land who attempted to transfer it might meet with opposition from three interested parties, his feudal overlord, his heir apparent and his tenant. His feudal overlord might object to a transfer by way of substitution, that is, one under the terms of which the transferor did not retain a reversion; because the proposed transferee was not a suitable person to perform the feudal services due for the land. As these services were frequently of a personal or military nature such an objection was not necessarily captious. …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Freedom Of Expression- Commerce Clause-Clause-"Green River" Ordinance As Applied To Door To Door Solicitation For Magazine Subscriptions, C. E. Lombardi, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In their famous article on the right of privacy, Warren and Brandeis noted that the common law protection of the right of privacy in the home was far more highly developed than the protection given to individual privacy in other respects. "The common law has always recognized a man's house as his castle, impregnable, often, even to its own officers engaged in the execution of its commands." The common law impregnability has met perhaps its stiffest test when those attacking it have sought constitutional protection. The recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Breard v. City of …

Wills-Execution And Revocation Of Duplicate Wills, Richard F. Hooker

Michigan Law Review

Testatrix executed three identical copies of her will. Counsel advised her that in the event she should desire to make a new will she must destroy "both copies of the will in her possession and he would 'definitely destroy the copy' which he retained.'' Thereafter, testatrix destroyed one of the two copies retained by her and struck out an objectionable devise in the other copy. Testatrix made no attempt to alter or destroy the third copy, although she was in temporary possession of it at a later date. The legatee (plaintiff) was successful in setting aside the decree of final …

The King Does No Wrong -- Liability For Misadministration, Reginald Parker

Vanderbilt Law Review

The age-old rule of the common law that a citizen may not seek redress from the government for wrongs committed by the latter is often restated in the form of two maxims. One is that "the king can do no wrong." It refers to "wrongs" in the narrower sense of the word, meaning torts and related delicts. It has its counter part if not origin in the Roman-Byzantine holding, princeps legibus solutus est.' Many modern countries and some states have abrogated the rule. The other maxim, "the sovereign cannot be sued without his consent," precludes any law suit, not merely …

Civil Procedure-Abatement-Status Of Suit Nominally Against Government Official When Official Leaves Office, Alan C. Boyd S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Often an action brought against an official of the sovereign is actually against the sovereign itself, nominally represented by the official. The status of such a suit when the official leaves office is even today not satisfactorily settled. The so-called representative suit, while at one time serving a purpose, has always been somewhat anomalous and today is antiquated and useless.

Regulation Of Business-Trade Restraints-Business Price And Use Restrictions Accompanying Sale Of Land, Jean Engstrom S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a wholesale and retail dealer in "Marathon" products, and the smallest wholesale distributor of gasoline in Ann Arbor, sought to enjoin defendant from selling Marathon gasoline at less than the price set under the provisions of the standard dealer's contract. Defendant bad acquired his station by a deed containing a covenant expressly intended to run with the land, providing for the operation of a filling station on the land, and a ten-year agreement that aII petroleum products sold on the premises were to be supplied by plaintiff "at such prices and on such terms as are customarily furnished to …

Torts-Alienation Of Parent's Affection, John J. Edman S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a minor child, brought a tort action against defendant for enticing her mother to desert her, thereby depriving plaintiff of support, maintenance, and maternal care and affection. The trial court sustained defendant's demurrer. On appeal, held, affirmed. The statutes of the state provide other means of support of the child, and he has no right of action for the deprivation of a parent's love and affection. Nelson v. Richwagen, (Mass. 1950) 95 N.E. (2d) 545.

The Federal Tort Claims Act And Its Application To Military Personnel, Harold F. Mcniece, John V. Thornton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The background and history of the Federal Tort Claims Act" are well known. Stemming in part from the medieval political theory that the King could do no wrong, a doctrine evolved in English law that the Crown was, in the absence of its consent, immune to suit. This concept became a part of the American common law, and in the main was enforced as rigorously on this side of the Atlantic as in the mother country.

The oft-times inequitable consequences of sovereign immunity in the United States were at first sought to be ameliorated through the device of private legislative …

Conflict Of Laws-The Nature Of Statutes Of Limitation, Nancy J. Ringland S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Several recent cases have again focused the attention of the courts on the nature of statutes of limitation; the question is whether they are procedural or substantive. For purposes of the conflict of laws this distinction is important, for it is universally agreed that in conflicts cases the substance of the cause of action is governed by the law of the place where it accrued, and the procedural aspects are governed by the law of the forum. There is no doubt that the theory which holds the usual statutes of limitation procedural in nature prevails in this country today, but …

Trusts And Estates - Relationship By Affinity-Meaning Of The Word "Stepchild" In A Tax Statute, Harold S. Lentz S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A widower with two children married Sarah Bordeaux and predeceased her. A child of the marriage died in infancy. The two children were raised by Sarah as if she had been their natural mother. A strong filial relationship developed, and at the death of Sarah in 1949, the bulk of her property passed to the two children by will. The inheritance tax division of the tax commission contended that the relationship by affinity had been terminated and that the children, no longer being "stepchildren," were not entitled to the lower tax rates under Class A of the inheritance tax statute …

Equity, Henry L. Mcclintock

Mercer Law Review

Insofar as practicable, the arrangement followed by Professors Hilkey and Hall in the review of equity in the survey for 1949-1950, will be followed, but the differences in the subject matter of the equity cases decided during the two periods necessarily requires many changes in that arrangement. During this past year, as during the one preceding it, the Georgia cases dealing with equity have been concerned mainly with the application of established equity principles to various fact situations; there has been substantially no occasion for the consideration of new principles. In this survey only cases which discuss or apply equity …

Custom As A Source Of English Law, E. K. Braybroolte,

Michigan Law Review

When writers on jurisprudence assert that custom is a source of law their primary meaning seems to be that in any given case a course of conduct persisted in by all or most of the members of a society engenders a rule of law enjoining the continuance of that course of conduct. This, for example, appears to be the burden of Dr. C. K. Allen's discussion of custom in his Law in the Making. He sums up the operation of custom in this sphere by saying that "the thing done" (semble, by all or most members of …

The Common Law: An Account Of Its Reception In The United States, Ford W. Hall

Vanderbilt Law Review

The story of the extent to which the common law of England has been received and applied in the United States, is one of the most interesting and important chapters in American legal history. However, many courts and writers have shown a tendency simply to say that our colonial forefathers brought the common law of England with them, and there has often been little or no inclination to look further into the question. Nevertheless, the problem of the reception of the common law in America has at various times occupied the attention of many of our most eminent jurists and …

Insolvent Decedents' Estates, Kurt H. Nadelmann

Michigan Law Review

The problems of insolvent decedents' estates have created special difficulties in all legal systems. Two unrelated fields of the law are involved: decedents' estates and insolvency. Treatment of the topic in works on one or the other field is often scanty and few studies exist which deal exclusively with insolvent decedents' estates law. Research in the conflicts problems of the field has led the writer to investigate the differences in the treatment of insolvent decedents' estates in this country, other common law countries, and countries of the civil law. Results of this study are used to discuss problems of the …

Future Interests-Suspension Of Power Of Alienation-Effect Of Trustee's Power To Sell And Reinvest, Douglas L. Mann S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Testatrix' will provided that the residue of her estate was to be held in trust for the benefit of her great-nephews and great-nieces. The income from the trust estate was to be paid to them each year and, when the youngest attained the age of fifty, the corpus was to be divided equally among them. Testatrix left two nephews surviving her. Held, the disposition was valid. There was an implied power in the trustee to sell and reinvest the trust corpus, and therefore, the trust did not violate the statutory prohibition against suspension of the absolute power of alienation. …

Contracts-Illegality-Effect Of Violation Of Assumed Name Statute, Gordon I. Ginsberg

Michigan Law Review

ln response to a subpoena, petitioner appeared as a witness before a United States district court grand jury. Several questions concerning· her knowledge and association with the Communist Party were put to her. In each case, she refused to answer the questions, claiming the constitutional privilege against self-incrimination. For refusal to answer these same questions when brought before the district court, petitioner was adjudged to be in contempt of court. The court of appeals affirmed the holdings, and certiorari was granted by the Supreme Court. Held, judgment reversed. The Smith Act makes it unlawful to advocate knowingly the desirability …

Limitations And The Federal Courts, William Wirt Blume, B. J. George Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Though as a practical matter it is difficult to secure passage of uniform legislation in all states, particularly when the subject matter has so long been considered as of local interest only, the need for such legislation in the case of the statute of limitations seems clear. To the extent that such a statute is adopted, the problem of varying limitation periods upon particular causes of action and similar causes of action will be removed. Only by a uniform state treatment of the problem will the conflict among federal districts resulting from the uniformity of result requirement of Erie Railroad …

Descent And Distribution--The 'Worthier Title" Doctrine In Iowa--A Limitation Established, Lewis R. Williams, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Testator left his entire estate of less than $7,500 to his wife who had predeceased him. Defendants claimed the estate through operation of the anti-lapse statute, as heirs of the wife. As the distribution statute gave the widow of an intestate the first $7,500 of the estate, plaintiffs, heirs at law of the testator, claimed title on a basis of the "worthier title" doctrine, arguing that the widow, had she lived, would have taken by descent and not by purchase, and therefore the anti-lapse statute did not apply. On appeal from a denial of defendants' motion to transfer the proceeding …

Landlord And Tenant-Liability Of Landlord To Persons On The Premises-Breach Of Covenant To Repair, Thomas P. Segerson

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a carpenter, hired by tenant, suffered personal injuries in a fall caused by a defective railing on the rear porch of premises leased by defendant to tenant. By the terms of the lease, tenant was given exclusive possession of the premises, while defendant agreed to keep the rear porch in repair. Defendant had failed to repair the railing on being notified of its defective condition. From a judgment holding defendant liable to plaintiff for the injuries sustained; defendant appealed. Held, reversed. In the absence of control of the premises, a lessor is not liable in tort for personal …

Torts-False Imprisonment-Detention Of Insane Person, John A. Hellstrom S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued defendant doctor for false imprisonment arising out of her detention as an insane person. Defendant had examined plaintiff at the request of the plaintiff's husband, called the police, and advised that she be detained as dangerous. Plaintiff was released ten days later but there was evidence to the effect that she was of unsound mind when originally detained. The arrest and detention of insane persons without a warrant is authorized by a District of Columbia statute on the affidavits of two responsible persons supported by certificates from two doctors or when such a person is found in a …

Torts-False Imprisonment-Detention Of Insane Person, John A. Hellstrom S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued defendant doctor for false imprisonment arising out of her detention as an insane person. Defendant had examined plaintiff at the request of the plaintiff's husband, called the police, and advised that she be detained as dangerous. Plaintiff was released ten days later but there was evidence to the effect that she was of unsound mind when originally detained. The arrest and detention of insane persons without a warrant is authorized by a District of Columbia statute on the affidavits of two responsible persons supported by certificates from two doctors or when such a person is found in a …

Future Interests-Contingent Remainders-Destructibility By Merger, Douglass L. Mann S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

X conveyed land to A for life, remainder to the heirs of A's body. Thereafter, X granted the same land by quit-claim deed to A in fee simple, without any conditions or restrictions whatever. The lower court upheld A's claim to an absolute fee in the property. On appeal, held, reversed. A holds a life estate and the reversion, but the remainder, though contingent, is not defeated. Whitten v. Whitten, (Okla. 1950) 219 P. (2d) 228.

Future Interests-Power Of Remainderman To Compel Partition Of Future Interests, Nancy J. Ringland S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A remainderman in fee of an undivided interest in real estate brought a suit to compel partition of the remainder. The whole of the premises was subject to a life estate, but the life tenant made no objection to this action. The applicable Nebraska statute provided that "all tenants in common, or joint tenants of any estate in land may be compelled to make or suffer partition of such estate or estates in the manner hereinafter prescribed." Demurrers to the petition were sustained on the ground that an estate in remainder could not be the subject of involuntary or compulsory …

Insurance-Loan Contract Which Provides For Cancellation Of Debt In Event Of Named Contingencies As An Insurance Contract, Wendell B. Will

Michigan Law Review

In consideration of plaintiff's promise to pay $720 to defendant in twelve monthly installments, defendant promised to advance $600. Plaintiff's obligation was to be cancelled in case of his death, and his obligation to pay installments was to be suspended while plaintiff was disabled because of illness or accident. Plaintiff warranted his good health and agreed that the contract was neither usurious nor one of insurance. The contract having been executed, plaintiff sought recovery under the Texas usury statute. The trial court held that of the $120 paid in excess of the loan, $60 was for maximum legal interest, $12 …

Actions For Wrongful Death In Tennessee, William T. Gamble

Vanderbilt Law Review

Familiar to most lawyers is the bit of law-lore to the effect that the reason the earliest Pullman cars were so constructed that passengers slept with their heads towards the front of the train was so that they would be killed rather than merely injured if an accident occurred.' Although the reason assigned for the Pullman Company's practice is purely fictitious the logic of the fiction is sound, for the common law gave no civil action for a wrongfully inflicted injury if death occurred before a judgment was recovered, and it thus was cheaper to kill a person than to …

Bases For Master's Liability And For Principal's Liability To Third Persons, Merton Ferson

Vanderbilt Law Review

The law with regard to principal and agent grew up as part and parcel of the law of contracts. The law with regard to master and servant grew up as part and parcel of the law of torts. Each one takes its origin far back in the history of the common law.

Agents were used in an early day to effect livery of seisin, to create covenants, and to carry on commercial transactions. The terms "principal" and "agent" may be of modern origin. But the power of one person to bind another in legal transactions was familiar in the days …

Citizenship-Intent Required For Expatriation, Willis B. Snell S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In recent years, many cases have involved the question whether an American citizen has expatriated himself by his actions. Expatriation in the United States is now covered by statute, but the courts, in construing these statutes, have faced a recurrent problem as to what intent on the part of the citizen is required to effect expatriation. To interpret the present doctrine, it is necessary to examine the history of expatriation, the statutes, and the various situations in which the question of intent has arisen.

Bailments-Owner Of Railroad Station Lockers As Bailee Of The User's Goods, Richard W. Billings

Michigan Law Review

Action was brought by the plaintiffs for the loss of a package of costume jewelry placed in a locker owned by the defendant company. The locker was of the type commonly found in railroad stations; one desiring to use it merely places his goods in the locker, inserts a coin, removes the key and retains it in his possession. Although the defendant kept a master key and reserved the right to remove any article which remained in the locker longer than the 24-hour rental period, it exercised no other control. On the other hand, the user had access to the …