Legal Remedies Commons^™

The 'Right' To Break A Contract, Willard T. Barbour

Articles

It is common knowledge that the fully developed common law affords no means to compel the performance of a contract according to its terms. Does it follow from this that there is no legal obligation to perform a contract, or if obligation there be, that it is alternative: to perform or pay damages? A note in the XIV MICH. L. REV. 480 appears to give an affirmative answer to this question and at least one court (Frye v. Hubbell, 74 N. H. 358, at p. 374) has taken the same view. Probably the most forcible exposition of this position is …

Liability Of Public Officer For The Loss Of Private Funds Entrusted To His Keeping, W. Gordon Stoner

Articles

There is much contrariety of decision concerning the liability of public officers for the loss of funds with which they have been entrusted. A recent case illustrates some of the more important phases of the law of such a situation. People for use of Hoyt et al. v. McGrath et al. (Ill. 1917), I17 N. E. 74. In this case the public brought an action of debt on the official bond of the clerk of court for the use of Hoyt and others. Usees had tendered into court a sum of money which the clerk took under the court's order …

Performance Of Legal Obligation As A Consideration For A Promise, John B. Waite

Articles

At a time when the true reasonableness of the common law and its responsiveness to the actualities of life are under criticism, it is interesting to find several cases, within the past year, affirming the old rule that performance of a legal duty is not consideration for a promise. In Vance v. Ellison, (V. Va.) 85 S. E. 776, suit was brought to enjoin the enforcement of a deed of trust executed by plaintiff to defendant, to secure payment of $1000 promised for legal services. It was admitted that when the deed was executed the defendant was already bound by …

The Sheriff's Return, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

When William the Conqueror found himself military master of Britain, he was confronted by a governmental problem quite different from that which has usually accompanied foreign conquest. He did not subdue a nation already organized, substituting his power for that of its former ruler in the conventional way of conquerors. Britain was a geographical unit but politically and socially it was a congeries of loosely related communities. The natural law of survival of the fittest normally operates upon peoples as upon individuals, and develops centralized power as a means of self-preservation. But Britain had a substitute for this. The sheltering …

Limitation As To The Amount Of Liability For Loss Of Goods By Carriers, Edwin C. Goddard

Articles

A carload of automobiles was shipped by express, under an express receipt limiting recovery to $50, unless a greater value was named and a greater carrying charge paid. The shipper knew of this stipulation, and deliberately chose the restricted liability so as to secure the lower rate. On a suit for loss of the automobiles, recovery was limited to $50. Geo. N. Pierce Co. v. Wells Fargo & Co., 189 Fed. 561, commented on in 10 MICH. L. REB. 317. The United States Supreme Court has just affirmed this decision, 35 Sup. Ct. 351.

The Rule Of Certainty In Damage And The Value Of A Chance, Joseph H. Drake

Articles

AIthough our text-books say that the rule of certainty is "more fundamental than any rule of compensation because compensation is allowed or disallowed subject to it," (cf. SEDGWICK, EL. or DAMAGES, p. 12) nevertheless the tendency of the courts seems to be to save the equitable principle of compensation at the expense of certainty. A striking illustration of this is found in a recent case in the Court of Appeal, Chaplin v. Hicks, C. A. [1911] 2 K. B. 786. The defendant, a theatrical manager, agreed to give positions as actresses to persons chosen by the votes of the readers …

Trusts And Duties Of Trustees: Instruction Paper, George L. Clark

Books

“Trusts and Duties of Trustees: Instruction Paper” is an overview of the history and current [1912] practice regarding express trusts. Chapters: Chapter I. Origin and Requisites of Expressed Trusts; Chapter II. Nature and Requisites of Express Trusts; Chapter III. Nature of Cestui Que Trust’s Interest; Chapter IV. Resulting and Constructive Trusts; Chapter V. Transfer of Trust Property; Chapter VI. Relinquishment of a Trust; Chapter VII. Duties of a Trustee. Included is an “Examination Paper” for self-testing -- the material is designed to facilitate distance learning under the auspices of the American School of Correspondence based in Chicago, Illinois, as of …

Is A Judgment Open To Collateral Attack If Rendered Without Written Pleadings As Required By Statute, Or If The Writings Do Not Comply With The Statutory Requirements?, John R. Rood

Articles

It is believed that no good reason can be assigned for answering the above question in the affirmative. Certainly none has yet been discovered in a careful search of the cases involving the point. And yet the assurance and unanimity with which lawyers and judges give the affirmative answer to it on first thought is indeed remarkable. For instance, Mr. Justice FIELD in speaking for the Supreme Court of the United States, on the question as to whether a judgment is subject to collateral attack if one served with process is not permitted to make any defense when he appears …

Construction Of 'Survival Act' And 'Death Act' In Michigan, Thomas A. Bogle

Articles

It is known as the "Death Act." It was enacted in i848, amended in 1873, and follows closely Lord Campbell's Act. In the, construction of these acts, troublesome questions have arisen, difficulties have been encountered, different theories urged, different views entertained, different conclusions reached, and different opinions rendered, respecting the number of actions that can be maintained under them, the circumstances that invoke one rather than the other, the measure of damages applicable, respectively, and certain questions of practice as to the joinder of counts and the amendment of pleadings. The statement would hardly he justified that all these questions …

Attachments On Unliquidated Demands, John R. Rood

Articles

If the creditor should not have the aid of attachment to recover on unliquidated demands, why not? It is true that attachment as a security for the satisfaction of the judgment that may be recovered in an action pending or just commenced was unknown to the general common law of England, and existed only in a restricted form as a special custom of London and other places in the form of garnishment till it was introduced into the New England colonies by an early statute of Massachusetts, whence its utility commended it so that it was soon adopted in all …

Measure Of Damages When A Property Is Wrongfully Taken By A Private Individual, Hugh Evander Willis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Recovery Of Money Paid Under Mistake Of Law, William P. Rogers

Michigan Law Review

Few questions which come before the courts seem more difficult to settle than those growing out of the maxim, ignorantia juris non excusat. The fact that the most recent decisions bearing on the subject are as much at variance and as conflicting as those rendered more than a century ago, is the excuse, if not a justification, for this article. It is proposed, however, to examine only that phase of the subject found in this inquiry: "Can one recover from another money paid under mistake of law to which the payee is not entitled, and which he can not in …

Surface Water In Cities, John R. Rood

Articles

It is evident that no one hard and fast rule could be applied to all cases, either in city or country, without producing injustice and impolitic results. The needs and conditions in city and country are different. They usually differ widely in different parts of the same city. These considerations have induced the Supreme Court of New Hampshire to adopt the flexible rule, that: "In determining this question all the circumstances of the case would, of course, be considered; and among them the nature and importance of the improvements sought to be made, the extent of the interference with the …

Liability Of Hospitals For The Negligence Of Their Physicians And Nurses, Harry B. Hutchins

Articles

Liability of Hospitals for the Negligence of their Physicians and Nurses.-This question was recently examined by the Supreme Court of Utah in the case of Gitzhoffen v. Sisters of Holy Cross Hospital Association, 88 Pac. Rep. 691 (Jan. 26, 1907), and the opinion filed may well serve as a basis for comment. The hospital association was sued for damages for injuries that plaintiff claimed to have sustained through the negligence of defendant's nurses.

The Liability Of Charitable Corporations For The Torts Of Their Servants, Harry B. Hutchins

Articles

The Liability of Charitable Corporations for the Torts of their Servants.--This question was discussed quite fully in the last number of the REVIEW, pp. 552-559, under the title Liability of Hospitals for the Negligence of their Physicians and Nurses, particular attention being given to the reasons underlying the doctrine that charitable corporations are not liable for the negligence of their servants, provided proper care has been exercised in their selection, and to the limitations within which that doctrine should be confined. It was concluded that the true reason for the doctrine is not to be found, as many cases apparently …

Cases On The Law Of Damages, Floyd R. Mechem

Books

Note to the Second Edition: “The following selection of cases in the law of Damages has been made primarily for use in connection with the lectures upon that subject given in the Law department of the University of Michigan. The purpose has been particularly to supply illustration of the application of principles referred to in the lectures, and partly to supplement the lectures by rounding out the view of certain fields not otherwise completely developed.”

Note to the Third Edition: “While the general features remain the same, the number of cases in this edition has been considerably increased in the …

Recent Legal Literature, Henry H. Swan, James F. Tracey, Robert E. Bunker, Floyd R. Mechem, Bradley Thompson, James H. Brewster, Floyd R. Mechem, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Michigan Law Review

Hughes: Handbook of Admiralty Law; Wilgus: Cases on the General Principles of the Law of Private Corporations; Spelling: A Treatise on Injunctions and Other Extraordinary Remedies; Brannon: A Treatise on the Rights and Privileges Guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; Boone: Real Property Law, 2nd ed.; Abbott and Abbott: The Clerks' and Conveyancers' Assistant; Rose: Notes on the United States Reports; Nichols: Britton: An English Translation and Notes

Cases On The Law Of Damages, Floyd R. Mechem

Books

The following selection of cases in the law of Damages has been made primarily for use in connection with the lectures upon that subject given in the Law Department of the University of Michigan. The purpose has been partly to supply illustrations of the application of principles referred to in the lectures, and partly to supplement the lectures by rounding out the view of certain fields not otherwise completely developed.

Arbitrary, but inexorable, considerations of size and price have determined the scope of the selection; and, for reasons perhaps suficiently obvious, preference has been given, when pqssible, to cases which …

Accident And Mistake As Grounds For Relief In Equity, Herbert A. St. George

Historical Theses and Dissertations Collection

No abstract provided.

Contracts Of Sale Of Merchandise--Fraud On The Vendor, Levi T. Griffin

Articles

This is an interesting topic to every jobbing house, and to every attorney concerned with mercantile collections. The law is pretty well settled on the general subject and the Treatises on Sales are plentiful. Among the best is that of Mr. Benjamin. Tiffany on Sales of the Hornbrook Series recently issued assumes also to state briefly the principles which control in these cases. At large commercial and metropolitan points, and among lawyers who have occasion to often deal with this question, there is perhaps not much difficulty in arriving at correct conclusions, and promptly enforcing the rights of a defrauded …

Contracts Of Sale Of Merchandise--Fraud On The Vendor, Levi T. Griffin

Articles

In a former article (May number JOURNAL) fraud in contemplation of law, or legal fraud was considered. It was contended that a false representation, though honestly made and believed to be true, afforded sufficient ground to the vendor for rescinding a con- tract of sale. We now propose to briefly consider character of statements made, with some reference also to representations made to commercial agencies. It may be regarded as within the common knowledge of the profession, that the false representation must be the assertion of a fact, and usually of an existing fact, although the fact may depend upon …

The Growth Of The Equitable Remedy Of Injunction, George Franklin Bailey

Historical Theses and Dissertations Collection

No abstract provided.

Railroad Receivers, Henry L. Green

Historical Theses and Dissertations Collection

No abstract provided.

Specific Performance Of Land Contracts, James J. Mahoney

Historical Theses and Dissertations Collection

No abstract provided.

The Remedies For The Collection Of Judgments Against Debtors Who Are Residents Or Property Holders In Another State, Or Within The British Dominions, Thomas M. Cooley

Articles

Whenever a party who has obtained a judgment in one state or county has occasion to take proceedings for its enforcement in another, he finds-perhaps to his surprise-that his judgment as such has no extra-territorial force, but that in other jurisdictions it is merely evidence of a settled demand, upon which judgment must be obtained in a new suit before there can be process for its enforcement. A creditor cannot, for example, upon a judgment recovered in New York, have an execution in Pennsylvania; for courts issue executions only upon their own judgments; and while it would no doubt be …

A Treatise On The Law Of Taxation Including The Law Of Local Assessments, Thomas M. Cooley

Books

"The following pages have been prepared with a view to present in a shape for practical use, the general rules which must govern the action of all authorities acting in matters of taxation ….

The preparation of any treatise on taxation necessarily involves the presentation of disputed points, and the expression of opinions upon them. This has been done in the following pages. It has not been the purpose, however, to take any positions which it was not believed the authorities would justify; and if this has been done in any instance, the references which are made to authorities will …

Effect Of A Change In The Law Upon Rights Of Actions And Defences, Thomas M. Cooley

Articles

A very interesting and important question frequently is, what effect has been produced upon a right of action, or upon a previously existing defence to an action, by a change in the law effected by statute after the right has accrued, or the cause of action has arisen, to which the defence was applicable. The question is encountered in a great variety of cases, and is sufficiently important to be considered under the several heads where the cases seem to range themselves. This is done imperfectly below.

Liability Of Public Officers To Private Actions For Neglect Of Official Duty, Thomas M. Cooley

Articles

A public office is a public trust.The incumbent has a property right in it, but the office is conferred, not for his benefit, but for the benefit of the political society. The duties imposed upon the officer are supposed to be capable of classification under one of three heads: the legislative, executive, or judicial; and to pertain, accordingly, to one of the three departments of the government designated by these names. But the classification cannot be very exact, and there are numerous officers who cannot be classified at all under these heads. The reason will be apparent if we name …

A Treatise On The Law Of Taxation Including The Law Of Local Assessments, Thomas M. Cooley

Books

"The following pages have been prepared with a view to present in a shape for practical use, the general rules which must govern the action of all authorities acting in matters of taxation ….

The preparation of any treatise on taxation necessarily involves the presentation of disputed points, and the expression of opinions upon them. This has been done in the following pages. It has not been the purpose, however, to take any positions which it was not believed the authorities would justify; and if this has been done in any instance, the references which are made to authorities will …