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Articles 541 - 570 of 1067

Full-Text Articles in Contracts

Infants - Minority As A Defense To Rescission For Fraud, Raymond H. Rapaport Jun 1941

Infants - Minority As A Defense To Rescission For Fraud, Raymond H. Rapaport

Michigan Law Review

Two defendants, one of whom was a minor, sold a business to the plaintiff. The plaintiff, in seeking to rescind the contract on the ground that it was induced by fraud, obtained a decree declaring the contract cancelled, and judgment was entered against the defendants for the sums they had received from the plaintiff. The minor defendant filed a petition to vacate the judgment as to him because during the trial no guardian ad litem had been appointed to represent him. Held, defendant is entitled to a new trial only if he could have made a good defense, and …

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Administrative Law - Doctrine Of Prior Resort - Resort To The Railway Adjustment Board Before Court Suit, Felicia I. Hmiel Jun 1941

Administrative Law - Doctrine Of Prior Resort - Resort To The Railway Adjustment Board Before Court Suit, Felicia I. Hmiel

Michigan Law Review

In 1937 the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, a party to a collective bargaining agreement which protected the seniority rights of the company's employees, rehired one of its old employees and put his name on the seniority list ahead of those of the plaintiffs, who were hired in 1924. For breach of the agreement the plaintiffs brought suit in the Georgia court without first applying for relief to the National Railway Adjustment Board, which has jurisdiction over disputes relating to the interpretation and application of such agreements. Held, that the jurisdiction of the board does not prevent recourse to …

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Insurance - False Statements In Application - Implied Knowledge Of Insurance Company As Ground For Waiver, Michigan Law Review Jun 1941

Insurance - False Statements In Application - Implied Knowledge Of Insurance Company As Ground For Waiver, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In a suit by the beneficiary on a life insurance policy, the insurance company defended on the ground that the insured knowingly had made false statements material to the risk in his application and therefore the company had a right to rescind the contract. The insured's false statements were to the effect that he had never been refused insurance on a former application, whereas in fact the John Hancock Insurance Co. had rejected his application in the preceding year. Both the John Hancock Co. and the defendant insurer were members of a common agency which gave information to its members …

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The Present Status Of Collective Contracts In The American Legal System, Arthur Lenhoff May 1941

The Present Status Of Collective Contracts In The American Legal System, Arthur Lenhoff

Michigan Law Review

Can it be that less than a score of years has elapsed since Schlesinger v. Quinto pointed out the difference between employment contracts and collective contracts? And yet in that short period the various objections recurrently raised regarding the enforceability of these contracts, such as lack of consideration and of mutuality as well as the dictate of the "personal service" rule, came to be disregarded. At a time when employers are not only obliged to bargain collectively but also, after reaching an agreement, to reduce it to writing, reminiscences of the "custom" doctrine must, indeed, resemble the frozen sounds in …

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Corporations - Close Corporations - Methods Of Retaining Ownership Of Stock In Surviving Stockholders When One Stockholder Dies, Reid J. Hatfield May 1941

Corporations - Close Corporations - Methods Of Retaining Ownership Of Stock In Surviving Stockholders When One Stockholder Dies, Reid J. Hatfield

Michigan Law Review

The close corporation is generally formed by a small group who take an active part in the business and whose participation is essential to the successful operation of the venture. Thus, a partnership may decide that the corporate form will more effectively protect the interests of its members, or a small number of people interested in the same enterprise may incorporate in order to limit their individual liability in the common endeavor. Whatever the reason for the use of the corporate entity, the active participation of each stockholder is probably of vital importance to the financial welfare of all. To …

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Contracts - Right Of Donee Beneficiary, Michigan Law Review Apr 1941

Contracts - Right Of Donee Beneficiary, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant contractor was engaged by the city of Duluth to do sewer construction work contemplating excavation in solid rock with heavy charges of explosives. The contract made defendant "liable for any damage done to private property and injuries sustained by persons" in the course of its work. Plaintiff's nearby land was damaged by defendant's blasting operations. Held, that plaintiff, a mere donee beneficiary, was entitled to recover, although he was not a party to the contract, had furnished no consideration, and was not identified at the time the contract was made. La Mourea v. Rhude, (Minn. 1940) 295 …

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Contracts - Consideration - Moral Obligation To Pay For Services Rendered In Past, Michigan Law Review Apr 1941

Contracts - Consideration - Moral Obligation To Pay For Services Rendered In Past, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

After decedent's wife died, claimants, her mother and sister, at the request of the decedent, broke up their home and came to live with him, to keep house for him and to care for his children. These services continued for ten years, at which time the decedent gave claimants his promissory notes aggregating $2,000. They entered these notes as claims against his estate. Held, the claimants' services, even if rendered gratuitously, were performed at the decedent's request and raised a moral obligation which was sufficient consideration for the notes. In re Schoenkerman's Estate, (Wis. 1940) 294 N. W. …

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Insurance - Fraternal Benefit Policy - Who Is A "Dependent'', Michigan Law Review Mar 1941

Insurance - Fraternal Benefit Policy - Who Is A "Dependent'', Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Deceased was an inmate of an old age home, having paid an entrance fee and signed an entrance contract in which the home reserved the right to discharge inmates at any time without reason upon refund of a proportionate amount of the entrance fee. Deceased lived in the home until his death. He had taken out a policy in a fraternal benefit association whose by-laws provided that "In the event of the death of all beneficiaries named in a certificate . . . the benefits shall be paid . . . [to the] . . . person or persons upon …

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Bankruptcy - Right Of Trustee Against Claimant Of Vendor's Lien, Michigan Law Review Feb 1941

Bankruptcy - Right Of Trustee Against Claimant Of Vendor's Lien, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

More than four months before bankruptcy the vendor sold an automobile truck to the bankrupt grocer under an unrecorded conditional sales contract, and a part of the purchase money, represented by an installment note, is still owing. The appellant was assigned the contract and note before the first installment became due. The truck was turned over to the trustee in bankruptcy, who sold it and holds the proceeds. Appellant filed a claim in bankruptcy asserting a statutory purchase money lien. Held, that the lien of the vendor prevails over the trustee. Commercial Credit Co. v. Davidson, (C. C. …

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Election Of Remedies- Contracts Induced By Fraud, Michigan Law Review Feb 1941

Election Of Remedies- Contracts Induced By Fraud, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In 1939, plaintiff brought an action alleging in his complaint that defendant became indebted to him on December 17, 1928, for $13,400, for money had and received by defendant to the use of plaintiff. In a bill of particulars plaintiff pointed out that the indebtedness arose from the purchase of certain bonds and the subsequent rescission of the contract of purchase prior to the commencement of this action, basing his right to rescind upon misrepresentations made by, and the fraud of, defendant in inducing the purchase of said bonds. When defendant moved for a summary judgment on the ground that …

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Insurance - Conditional Vendor's Insurance - Effect Of Repair By Or Restoration To The Vendee Or Sub-Vendee, Michigan Law Review Feb 1941

Insurance - Conditional Vendor's Insurance - Effect Of Repair By Or Restoration To The Vendee Or Sub-Vendee, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a Minnesota corporation, purchased the vendor's interest in an automobile sold under a conditional sales contract. The defendant insured the plaintiff against direct loss or damage to the automobile by collision and/or upset. The vendee, without plaintiff's knowledge or consent, sold the car to a sub-vendee who drove it to Texas, became involved in an accident, and sold the wreckage to a resident of Texas who purchased in good faith. The car was rebuilt and resold. Plaintiff sued for the loss caused by the collision. Held, plaintiff may recover even though the car was repaired by others prior …

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Labor Law - National Labor Relations Act - Necessity Of A Written Contract To Meet Requirement Of Good Faith Collective Bargaining, Rex B. Martin Feb 1941

Labor Law - National Labor Relations Act - Necessity Of A Written Contract To Meet Requirement Of Good Faith Collective Bargaining, Rex B. Martin

Michigan Law Review

Having found that the petitioner, by refusing to sign an agreement reached with the union, was refusing to bargain collectively, the National Labor Relations Board ordered it to bargain by signing a written agreement. The Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit directed enforcement of the board's order. On certiorari to that court, held that the board's order should be enforced. H.J. Heinz Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, (U. S. 1941) 61 S. Ct. 320, affirming (C. C. A. 6th, 1940) 110 F. (2d) 843.

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Marriage And Divorce - Power Of Court To Modify Decree For Alimony Or Property Settlement As Affected By Agreement Of The Parties, Roy L. Rogers Nov 1940

Marriage And Divorce - Power Of Court To Modify Decree For Alimony Or Property Settlement As Affected By Agreement Of The Parties, Roy L. Rogers

Michigan Law Review

Contracts settling the property interests of a husband and wife or providing for support of the wife or for both of these ends are no doubt valid in all jurisdictions where the parties may contract with each other if the purpose is not to facilitate divorce or future separation. Even at common law, separation agreements could be made, however, through the intervention of a trustee. If not invalid, the contract may ordinarily be enforced in an action on the promise. But, when a divorce is decreed, it is quite often the practice to incorporate in the divorce decree the provisions …

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Contracts - Intervening Impossibility - Nature Of Excuse Under Casualty Clause, Edmund R. Blaske Nov 1940

Contracts - Intervening Impossibility - Nature Of Excuse Under Casualty Clause, Edmund R. Blaske

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff sought to compel the performance of a contract by which the defendant obligated himself to make deliveries of logs in specified months. The contract contained the following casualty clause: "And the seller is not liable for delay or nonshipment or for delay or nondelivery if occasioned by . . . strikes, lockouts, or labor disturbances. . . . Buyers agree to accept delayed shipment and/ or delivery when occasioned by any of the aforementioned causes, if so required by the seller, provided the delay does not exceed thirty days." When performance got under way, the longshoremen's strike intervened …

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Contracts - Sales - Effect Of Reasonable Belief In Buyer's Insolvency On Seller's Duty To Perform, W. Wallace Kent Nov 1940

Contracts - Sales - Effect Of Reasonable Belief In Buyer's Insolvency On Seller's Duty To Perform, W. Wallace Kent

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff ordered goods from the defendant, for immediate delivery, terms $1,500 down, balance covered by notes of three and six months. The check given for the down payment was dishonored because of insufficient funds but was subsequently honored. On investigation the defendant discovered that there were unpaid judgments outstanding against the plaintiff, some of which were upwards of three years old. Inferring that the plaintiff was insolvent, the defendant refused to deliver the goods unless cash was paid therefor and when plaintiff refused this offer defendant attempted to return the down payment. Held, plaintiff's affairs were in such …

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Public Policies Underlying The Law Of Mental Incompetency, Milton D. Green Jun 1940

Public Policies Underlying The Law Of Mental Incompetency, Milton D. Green

Michigan Law Review

Mental incompetency, or legal insanity, has usually been studied in the patchquilt fashion. It appears as a sub-heading of incidental interest in such widely diversified subjects as crimes, contracts, domestic relations, torts and wills. It can, however, be conceived of as a single strand in the seamless web. So viewed, it may appear to wind in and out of the various artificial subdivisions of the law, cutting across each at one particular place or another. And so conceived, it can be studied according to the second and less orthodox method of analysis. Few are the isolated areas in the law …

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Corporations - Preincorporation Contracts Of Promoters And Incorporators - Effect Of Statute On Personal Liability Of Incorporators, Roy L. Rogers Jun 1940

Corporations - Preincorporation Contracts Of Promoters And Incorporators - Effect Of Statute On Personal Liability Of Incorporators, Roy L. Rogers

Michigan Law Review

It seems difficult to draw such a conclusion directly from the terms of the statute. Indeed, the section is not very definite as to the liability either of the incorporators or of the corporation on contracts of the designated class. However, in Hart Potato Growers' Association v. Grenier, it was intimated that this section made the corporation liable upon the contracts of the incorporators immediately upon incorporation. Toward this conclusion certain provisions of the section are rather persuasive. The clause providing that all property held by the incorporators for the benefit of the corporation shall be deemed to be …

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Vendor And Purchaser-Vendor's Release Of Sub-Assignee Held A Discharge Of All Prior Assignees, Robert M. Warren Jun 1940

Vendor And Purchaser-Vendor's Release Of Sub-Assignee Held A Discharge Of All Prior Assignees, Robert M. Warren

Michigan Law Review

The bank for which plaintiff is receiver sold land on contract. There followed four successive assignments of the vendee's interest, in each of which the assignee expressly assumed the contract obligation. After the fourth assignment, default occurred as to payments and taxes, and plaintiff began negotiations to sell the property to an intermediate assignee, R. To effectuate this sale, plaintiff procured an assignment in blank from the fourth assignee, W, in consideration of a release of W from further liability on the contract. The negotiations with R having failed, plaintiff brought suit against the vendee and all the …

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Contracts - Assignment - Authority To Pay Out Of A Particular Fund, Michigan Law Review May 1940

Contracts - Assignment - Authority To Pay Out Of A Particular Fund, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff had a contract to receive a commission from the defendant based on the number of shares of stock sold by the defendant. Plaintiff subsequently made an agreement with Gray in which it was stipulated, "that the first $2,500 received by the said George Allardyce [plaintiff] shall be given to John C. Gray, and the said George Allardyce hereby gives the said Dart & Company [defendant] authority to issue a check to John C. Gray in that amount." Because the state securities commission authorized fewer shares of stock for sale than was anticipated, plaintiff's commission amounted to only $2,250. Defendant's …

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Contracts - Third Party Beneficiary - Power Of Promisee To Discharge Promisor - Necessity For Consideration, Roy L. Rogers May 1940

Contracts - Third Party Beneficiary - Power Of Promisee To Discharge Promisor - Necessity For Consideration, Roy L. Rogers

Michigan Law Review

Stanfield recovered judgment against W. C. McBride, Inc. for personal injuries suffered in an automobile accident which was occasioned by the negligence of Strunk, employee of the McBride company, who at the time of the accident was driving (with the owner's consent) an automobile owned by the Miller-Morgan Auto Company. The McBride company in turn recovered a judgment against its employee, Strunk, and now as garnishor seeks to reach an insurance policy issued to the Miller-Morgan company which at the time of its issuance contained an omnibus clause insuring all persons driving the insured car with the consent of the …

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Damages - Contracts - Recovery For Mental Suffering, G. Randall Price May 1940

Damages - Contracts - Recovery For Mental Suffering, G. Randall Price

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff bought a loaf of bread at defendant's bakery. After she had eaten half of one of the slices, plaintiff discovered a dead cockroach near the upper crust of the bread whereupon she became ill and suffered serious emotional disturbances. Held, no recovery for mental suffering arising out of breach of an implied warranty of wholesomeness. Wheeler v. Balestri, (Mass. 1939) 23N.E. (2d) 132.

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Contracts - Discharge - Accord And Satisfaction With A Third Person, W. Wallace Kent Apr 1940

Contracts - Discharge - Accord And Satisfaction With A Third Person, W. Wallace Kent

Michigan Law Review

Action by P against D on an alleged oral promise to pay a debt owed to P by D's mother. P had agreed to discharge the mother from liability. There was no direct evidence that the mother was a party to the transaction. Apparently the defense was that D's promise was within the statute of frauds if the agreement to discharge was executory, or, if it was executed, that there was no consideration for D's promise because the discharge of D's mother was not legally binding since it was an accord and satisfaction with a third …

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Contracts - Wills - Third Party Beneficiary Contract As Testamentary Disposition, Harold M. Street Apr 1940

Contracts - Wills - Third Party Beneficiary Contract As Testamentary Disposition, Harold M. Street

Michigan Law Review

The defendant executed a bond and mortgage to one Catherine McCarthy Jackman. Subsequently the parties entered into an extension agreement wherein it was provided that in the event of the death of the mortgagee prior to the .maturity of the mortgage, the interest and principal were to be paid one-half to a brother of the mortgagee and one-half to the heirs of a deceased sister. After the death of the mortgagee prior to the maturity of the mortgage, the plaintiffs (the brother and heirs of the deceased sister) claimed a right to the payment of interest as third party beneficiaries. …

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Municipal Corporations - Liability For Services Performed Under Invalid Contract, Michigan Law Review Apr 1940

Municipal Corporations - Liability For Services Performed Under Invalid Contract, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was employed by the board of overseers of defendant city to supervise obtaining employment for recipients of welfare relief, thus relieving the city of the expense of providing for them. The powers of the board were restricted by an ordinance which provided that before any increase should be made in the number of subordinates, a report thereof would be sent to the mayor for his approval. It appeared that the original employment of the plaintiff was in violation of this provision, although the mayor subsequently approved it up to April 5, 1936, when plaintiff's civil service appointment expired. Plaintiff …

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Contracts - Illegality - Collateral Agreements Under Home Owners' Loan Act, Roy L. Steinheimer Feb 1940

Contracts - Illegality - Collateral Agreements Under Home Owners' Loan Act, Roy L. Steinheimer

Michigan Law Review

In transactions under the Home Owners' Loan Act it is customary for the holder of the mortgage on the property on which a new loan is sought to agree with the H. O. L. C. to accept in full settlement of his claim bonds of the H. O. L. C. of a face value often times less than the amount of the obligation secured by the old mortgage. However, not infrequently the mortgagee also exacts from the home owner a collateral agreement under which the home owner gives him a new second mortgage on the property as security for an …

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Labor Law - Collective Agreements- Validity After Change Of Union Affiliation By Employees, William F. Andersen Feb 1940

Labor Law - Collective Agreements- Validity After Change Of Union Affiliation By Employees, William F. Andersen

Michigan Law Review

Among the problems raised in magnified form by the AFL-CIO schism is the determination of rights and duties under a collective agreement when there is a change in affiliation of the members of the union which negotiated the agreement. Suppose that union A, as sole bargaining representative for the employees in the particular unit, has negotiated an agreement with the employer, that thereafter a majority of union A shift their allegiance to union B. Does the agreement continue to canter rights upon employees who have changed their affiliation? Upon the employees who have not changed their affiliation? This …

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Eminent Domain - Covenants - Violation Of Building Restrictions By Exercise Of Public Authority - Necessity For Compensation, Edmund R. Blaske Jan 1940

Eminent Domain - Covenants - Violation Of Building Restrictions By Exercise Of Public Authority - Necessity For Compensation, Edmund R. Blaske

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to examine the contract and the property theories of restrictive covenants; and to suggest other possible grounds upon which to decide whether or not a public agency should compensate owners in the subdivision for interference with their restrictive covenants.

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Quasi-Contracts -- Unsolicited Performance Of A Statutory Duty, Edward S. Biggar Jan 1940

Quasi-Contracts -- Unsolicited Performance Of A Statutory Duty, Edward S. Biggar

Michigan Law Review

An Indiana statute required county officers to publish reports of public business in two newspapers, representing the leading political parties of the county. Plaintiff, one of the two newspapers in Decatur county, printed the required notices without first obtaining official authorization. After defendant had disallowed the claim for this service, plaintiff appealed to the circuit court, there obtaining a verdict. Defendant appealed from the denial of its motion for a new trial. Held, that plaintiff had performed an obligation created by law and was entitled to recover on quasi-contract principles. On motion for rehearing, defendant urged the statute prohibiting recovery …

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Contracts - Vendor's Agreement Not To Compete - Construction Of The Areement, Michigan Law Review Dec 1939

Contracts - Vendor's Agreement Not To Compete - Construction Of The Areement, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A South Carolina statute prohibited labor of employees in enumerated manufacturing and mercantile establishments for more than fifty-six hours per week or more than twelve hours in any one day. Plaintiffs were druggists who brought suit to restrain the commissioner of labor from enforcing the statute. A temporary restraining order was issued and the commissioner of labor appealed. Held, the statute was unconstitutional as in violation of the due process and equal protection clauses in both state and federal constitutions. Gasque, Inc. v. Nates, (S. C. 1939) 2 S. E. (2d) 36.

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Limitation Of Actions - What Is A "Written" Contract Within Statute?, Michigan Law Review Dec 1939

Limitation Of Actions - What Is A "Written" Contract Within Statute?, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued on a clause in a deed in which the grantee assumed and agreed to pay a mortgage indebtedness therein specified. This obligation in the deed, being unsigned by the party to be charged, was held to be an unwritten contract by the lower court, and therefore barred by the six-year statute of limitations. Plaintiff appealed. Held, the contract, though unsigned by the party to be charged, was "in writing," and therefore the statutory fifteen-year period of limitations applied. McCormick v. Taft, (Ohio App. 1938) 22 N. E. (2d) 510.

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