Jurisdiction Commons^™

Corporations - Clayton Act - Service Of Process On Alien Corporations Through Their Local Subsidiaries, George R. Haydon Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Two affiliated German corporations, one of which is the defendant, established a jointly owned subsidiary in New York. Three members of the subsidiary's five-man board of directors are officers or directors of the German parents, while a fourth is a former employee sent to this country to manage the subsidiary. The American company is devoted exclusively to the business of the German parents. It assists in the negotiation of contracts, although it has no power to bind the parents, advises with respect to patents, and makes infrequent sales and purchases. For these services, it receives a flat fee plus a …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Jurisdiction Of State Court Over Nonresident Tortfeasor, J. Martin Cornell

Michigan Law Review

The defendant, a resident of Wisconsin, was engaged in the business of selling appliances and sent one of his employees to deliver a gas cooking stove to the plaintiff in Illinois. Claiming that the employee had negligently injured him in unloading the stove, the plaintiff brought action in Illinois, seeking damages of $7,500. A summons was personally served on the defendant in Wisconsin, and the defendant appeared specially, moving to quash the summons on the ground that the Illinois statute, providing for extraterritorial service on any person who commits a tortious act within the state, contravened the constitutions of the …

Admirality - Jurisdiction - Action For Wrongful Death On The High Seas Limited To Admiralty, Robert Knauss S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff as widow and administratrix seeks damages from the United States for the alleged wrongful death of her husband on the high seas. Action was brought at law under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Government's motion to dismiss was sustained. There is no common law cause of action for wrongful death on the high seas. The federal Death on the High Seas Act gives a remedy to the representative only "in Admiralty," and thus jurisdiction is lacking at law in the district court. Kunkel v. United States, (S.D. Cal. 1956) 140 F. Supp. 591.

Equity -- 1956 Tennessee Survey, Val Sanford

Vanderbilt Law Review

One of the most important characteristics of the administration of justice in Tennessee is the maintenance of separate courts of law and equity. While numerous statutes have been enacted from time to time in an effort to clarify the jurisdiction of the two courts and the boundaries of their respective jurisdictions have been further defined by the courts, nevertheless, cases are still dismissed because they are brought in the wrong court...

Cml- Procedure - Jurisdiction - Recent Legislation Asserting Jurisdiction Over Nonresident Tort-Feasors, A. Duncan Whitaker

Michigan Law Review

A recent Illinois statute provides inter alia that a nonresident person who commits a tortious act within the state submits to the jurisdiction of the state as to any cause of action arising out of such act. The statute provides that process personally served on the defendant outside the state shall have the same force and effect as though the summons had been personally served within the state. Ill. Rev. Stat. (1955) c. no, § 17.

Conflict Of Laws - Torts - Proper Party Plaintiff In Wrongful Death Actions, John M. Webb

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this comment is to examine the differing solutions and determine the vitality of the common law rule in wrongful death actions.

Municipal Corporations - Tort Liability - Purchase Of Liability Insurance As Waiver Of Immunity, Alice Austin S.Ed., William C. Becker

Michigan Law Review

According to a well-established common law rule, a municipal corporation is immune to tort liability for wrongs committed in the performance of governmental or public functions, although it is liable for torts committed in the performance of corporate or proprietary functions. This immunity generally cannot be waived without the authorization of the state legislature, and this authorization must be very clearly stated. Interesting questions arise, therefore, when a municipality, with or without statutory authorization, takes out a liability insurance policy covering itself or its agents, or when it causes its agents to take out bonds for faithful performance. The questions …

Federal Procedure - Jurisdiction - Suit Under Direct Action Statute Where There Is Diversity Of Citizenship Between Claimant And Insurer But Not Between Claimant And Wrongdoer, William R. Jentes

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a citizen of Louisiana, was injured in an automobile accident allegedly caused by the negligence of another citizen of Louisiana. Defendant insurance company, an Illinois corporation, had issued a public liability policy insuring the latter against claims arising from the negligent operation of his car. Pursuant to a Louisiana statutory provision that "the injured person or his or her heirs, at their option, shall have a right of direct action . . . against the insurer alone or against both the insured and the insurer, jointly and in solido,'' respondent brought an action against the petitioner alone in the …

Federal Procedure - Venue In Third-Party Tort Actions Against The United States, Robert B. Olsen S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sustained serious injuries when he was struck by a mail pouch thrown from defendant's moving train by a United States mail clerk. Action was was brought against the railroad in the District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, whereupon the railroad filed a third-party complaint against the United States, alleging negligence on the part of the mail clerk. The United States moved for a dismissal on the ground that both plaintiffs residence and the situs of the injury were in the Eastern District of Oklahoma; since the venue provisions of Title 28, U.S.C. (1952) §1402(b) prescribe that tort …

Civil Procedure - Service Of Process Under Nonresident Motorist Statute - Effect Of Death Of Nonresident Defendant, Warren K. Urbom S.Ed..

Michigan Law Review

A wife sued for the wrongful death of her husband, which was allegedly caused by a nonresident defendant's negligent operation of his automobile on a Wisconsin highway while the plaintiff's husband was a passenger therein. Service of process was made on the Commissioner of the Motor Vehicle Department in Wisconsin, and copies of the summons and complaint were mailed to defendant in Illinois in accordance with the Wisconsin nonresident motorist statute. Shortly thereafter, before a judgment was rendered, defendant died. Plaintiff sought to revive the action against defendant's administrator by serving notice of the filing of a petition for revival …

Interstate Publication, William L. Prosser

Michigan Law Review

It is an amazing and a sobering thought that by the utterance of a single ill-considered word a man may today commit forty-nine separate torts, for each of which he may be severally liable, in as many jurisdictions within the continental limits of the United States alone, and without regard to any additional liability he may incur in the possessions and territories and in foreign countries. It calls to mind at once in all solemnity those first words that ever were sent over an interstate wire, and later to the moon. What, indeed, hath God wrought!

Little less astonishing, although …

Conflict Of Laws-Torts-Choice Of Law In Multiple State Defamation, Peter Van Domelen S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a Connecticut corporation engaged in business throughout several Eastern states, brought an action for an injunction and damages arising from alleged defamatory statements broadcast over defendant's radio network. Defendant's broadcast originated in New York and was heard by listeners from Maine to North Carolina and as far west as Pennsylvania including the area in which plaintiff was carrying on its business. Defendant moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted. To rule on this motion, it was necessary to choose the appropriate governing law. Held, the law of New …

Federal Procedure-Jurisdiction-Removal Under Section 1441(C) Of Title 28 By Nonresident Defendant Where Joint Torts Cause A Single Injury, Wilber M. Brucker, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a citizen of Utah, brought a joint action for damages in a state court of Utah against Powell, also a citizen of Utah, and the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Company, a Delaware corporation. Plaintiff alleged both an assault and battery by Powell in the depot of the railroad company, and negligence of the railroad company in failing to take action to prevent or arrest this assault. The railroad company had the entire action removed to the federal district court under section 1441(c) of the Judicial Code. Upon motion of the railroad company, the claim against it was …

Civil Procedure-Jurisdiction-Commission Of Isolated Tort By Foreign Corporation As "Doing Business" Within The State, W. H. Bates S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a Vermont resident, brought action for damages in the Vermont court, alleging negligence of defendant in re-roofing plaintiff's house located in that state. Defendant, a Massachusetts corporation, had not qualified to do business in Vermont, nor had it appointed an agent to receive service therein. There was no evidence to indicate that defendant was actively engaged in business there. Substituted service was made upon defendant through the Secretary of State of Vermont as authorized by a statute. The statute stipulated that the term "doing business" included those instances in which a foreign corporation made a contract in Vermont with …

Jurisdiction-Basis And Range Of Process-Recent Developments, Thomas Hartwell S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Since Pennoyer v. Neff, holding that mere notice was an insufficient basis for in personam jurisdiction, it has generally been held that an in personam judgment requires service, as distinguished from notice, on a defendant present or domiciled within the jurisdiction. With the increased tempo of interstate activities, however, it has become expedient to relax the concept of physical power as being the basis of jurisdiction, which prompted the Pennoyer decision. Presence has assumed a more elaborate meaning, while service has become more closely equated with adequate notice. Illustrative of this development is the recent decision of Traveler's Health …

Jurisdiction-Basis And Range Of Process-Recent Developments, Thomas Hartwell S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Since Pennoyer v. Neff, holding that mere notice was an insufficient basis for in personam jurisdiction, it has generally been held that an in personam judgment requires service, as distinguished from notice, on a defendant present or domiciled within the jurisdiction. With the increased tempo of interstate activities, however, it has become expedient to relax the concept of physical power as being the basis of jurisdiction, which prompted the Pennoyer decision. Presence has assumed a more elaborate meaning, while service has become more closely equated with adequate notice. Illustrative of this development is the recent decision of Traveler's Health …

Venue-Interpretation Of Title 28, United States Code, Section 1406(A), Nolan W. Carson

Michigan Law Review

A tort action for injuries sustained in Wyoming was commenced in an Illinois state court and removed to the proper United States District Court in Illinois. Defendant interposed the Illinois statute of limitations as a defense. In order to take advantage of the longer Wyoming statute of limitations, plaintiff moved to transfer the suit to the United States District Court for Wyoming under authority of Title 28, United States Code, section 1406(a), providing for the transfer of actions from district courts where venue was improperly laid. The motion to transfer was denied and the, complaint was dismissed. Held, section …

Statutory Construction--Extra-Territorial Application Of Federal Statutes--Application Of Federal Tort Claims Act To Claims Arising In Foreign Areas Leased To The United States, Thomas L. Waterbury S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, an airlines employee, was killed in a plane crash at Harmon Field, Newfoundland, a base leased to the United States by Great Britain for ninety-nine years. The plaintiff, decedent's administratrix, brought suit in a district court against the United States, relying on the Federal Tort Claims Act as a waiver of federal immunity from suit. Judgment for the United States was reversed by the Court of Appeals. On certiorari to the Supreme Court, held, reversed. The claim arose in a foreign country and the FTCA specifically retains federal immunity from suit on such claims. United States v. Spelar …

Admiralty - Uniformity Rule, William C. Whitehead

Michigan Law Review

From the words of the Federal Constitution the federal courts have spelled out the rule that maritime matters shall be governed by a uniform set of laws. These laws consist of the general maritime law at the adoption of the Constitution plus regulations subsequently promulgated by Congress. The decisions which have outlined the "uniformity rule" have concerned themselves with admiralty's interrelationship with interstate commerce. A recent application of the rule suggests another problem which uniformity is designed to circumvent--the difficulty of enforcing local rules against subjects on navigable waters. The federal courts have not always been precise in their application …

Recent Important Decisions

Michigan Law Review

A collection of recent important court decisions.

In The Hope Of A New Birth Of The One Form Of Action, Charles M. Hepburn

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Tort Obligations And The Conflict Of Laws, Herbert F. Goodrich

Articles

"This article is an extract from a textbook on 'The Conflict of Laws,' by Professor Goodrich, now in course of preparation, and is here published by permission of the West Publishing Company."--Footnote

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

No abstract provided.

The 'Source Of Law' In The Panama Canal Zone, Joseph H. Drake

Articles

A case just decided in the Supreme Court of the United States, coming to that court from the Canal Zone, shows the great difficulties under which our courts labor when they are called on to interpret and administer the law in our extra-continental possessions. The courts have apparently had the most difficulty in amalgamating the Roman law and the common law in cases involving questions of delictual liability. In the case of Fernandez v. Perez (1906), 202 U. S. 80, the procedural question was presented as to the validity of an action on the case for the wrongful levy of …

Recent Important Decisions

Michigan Law Review

A collection of recent important court decisions.

Recent Important Decisions

Michigan Law Review

A collection of recent important court decisions.

Recent Important Decisions

Michigan Law Review

A collection of recent important court decisions.

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Adverse Possession--Hostile Character--Possession Under Executory Contract for Sale; Bills and Notes--Bona Fide Purchase--Effect of Taking After Maturity; Bills and Notes--Bona Fide Purchase--Payment of Forged Check--Recovery of Payment; Bills and Notes--Invalidity of Note--Recovery Upon Original Consideration; Constitutional law--Due Process of Law--Situs of Ship for Purposes of Taxation; contracts--Sufficiency of Typewritten Signature; Copyright--Moving Pictures as Dramatization of Book; Corporations--Stockholder's Meetings--Effect of Withdrawal of Stockholders; Courts--The New Commerce Court--Jurisdiction--First Decision; Covenants Running with the Land--Building Restrictions; Damages--Excessiveness--Personal Injuries--Remittitur; Dead Bodies--Burial Determination of Place; Easements--Merger--Use by Owner of Servient Estate--Adverse Possession; Homicide--Burden of Proof When Insanity is a Defense; Intoxicating Liquors--Illegal Sale--"Dispensing"; Judgment--Collateral Attack--Defective …

Recent Important Decisions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Attachment--Jurisdiction Over Non-Resident; Bankruptcy--Debts Entitled to Priority--Workman, Clerk, Etc.; Bankruptcy--Title of Trustee Under Unrecorded Conditional Sale--Effect of Amendment of 1910; Bills and Notes--Actions--Real Party in Interest; Carriers--Limiting Liability for Loss of Baggage--Interstate Commerce; Commerce--Constitutionality of State Regulation of Rates; Commerce--Natural Gas as Subject of Interstate Commerce; Covenants Running with the Land--Establishment of Railroad Station; Damages--Penalty or Liquidated Damages--Construction of Stipulation in Contract; Deeds--Covenant to Stand Seised to Uses; Divorce--Recrimination--Dismissal of Bill-When Both Parties Guilty; Equity--Jurisdiction--Adequate Remedy at Law; Evidence--Admissibility of Admissions and Confessions of Accused to Prove the Corpus Delicti; Insurance--Suicide--Waiver of Statutory Provisions; Judgment--Collateral Attack on Judgment of Probate …

Recent Important Decisions, Michigal Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Appeal and Error--Attorney's Interest in Case on Appeal--Contingent Fee; Bankruptcy--discharge--subsequent Action for Fraud; Bills and Notes--Usury No Defense Against a bona Fide Holder--Construction of Negotiable Instruments Statute; Boundaries--Street, Terminus A Quo; Carriers--Hepbern Act--State and Federal Courts--Phrase "Caused by It"; Chattel Mortgages--Payment without Notice of Assignment--Construction of a Mortgage Provision; Constitutional Law--Equal Protection of Laws--Statute Requiring Screens on Cars Operated by Corporations; Constitutional Law--Equal Protection of the Laws--Class Legislation; Contracts--No Recovery Under an Entire Illegal Contract; Contracts--Validity of Contract in Contemplation of Divorce; Courts--Federal Courts--authority of Decision of State Courts--"Telegraph"; Covenants--Breach of that Against Incumbrances; Elections--Ballots--Indication of Choice by Voter; Evidence--Facts …