State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Civil Procedure-Joinder Of Causes Of Action In Michigan, J. David Voss

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs were the owners of several lots, and used their respective properties as residences. Defendants, manufacturers of cement and concrete products, operated several large trucks in their business. Plaintiffs filed a declaration to recover damages for injuries to their properties sustained as a result of the loud noises, vibrations, and cement dust caused by the defendants' trucks when using an alley leading to defendants' place of business. The defendants' motion for dismissal on grounds of misjoinder of parties and causes of action was overruled. On appeal, held, reversed. Owners of property are not entitled to be joined in one …

Constitutional Law-Relation Between State And Federal Governments, J. David Voss

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs, employees of a United States Naval Ordnance Plant located in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction within the State of Kentucky, sued in a state court for a declaratory judgment that a license tax on the privilege of working in the City of Louisville, measured by a percentage of all salaries, wages and commissions earned within the city, was not applicable to them. Defendants' demurrer was overruled, and the collection of the tax enjoined. The Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed, and judgment was entered for the defendants. The court of appeals affirmed. On appeal to the United States Supreme …

Federal Procedure-Applicability Of State Decisional Law Interpreting State Statutes Of Limitations Under Section 11 (E) Of The Bankruptcy Act, Charles E. Oldfather S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff is the trustee in bankruptcy of a Virginia corporation whose petition for reorganization under chapter X of the Bankruptcy Act was approved by a Virginia federal district court in 1942. Plaintiff filed this action in a New York federal district court under section 11 (e) of the Bankruptcy Act against defendant, the principal stockholder, and others for breach of fiduciary duty. The alleged breaches of duty occurred in 1927 and 1929. The defendant pleaded the New York statute of limitations and contended that it should be applied as interpreted by New York decisions, which hold that the statute begins …

Future Interests-Powers Of Appointment-Exclusive And Nonexclusive Powers And The Doctrine Of Illusory Appointments, John Houck S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Testatrix, after making certain specific bequests, devised the residue of her estate to her son George for life. The will stated that upon the death of George, the property should pass to his widow and descendants, "provided, however, that [George] may devise his interest to his widow, his descendants or my descendants." The will further provided that if George should die leaving no widow or descendants, and without having made a testamentary disposition, the property was to pass one-half to George's brother and his descendants, and one-half to a sister. George died without having married and left a will which …

Real Property-Torrens System-Preservation Of Equitable Easements, Paul Campbell

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued to have certain lots declared free and clear of a restrictive covenant. The land was registered under a Torrens statute, but the restrictive covenant was not noted on the certificate of title. However, it was noted on a plat of the land which was referred to in the certificate of title for the purpose of identifying the location of the land. The lower court denied relief and enjoined violation of the restrictions. Held, reversed, plaintiff as a good faith purchaser for value of registered land, obtains the land free and clear of a restrictive covenant not noted …

Municipal Corporations-Expenditure Of Funds Accruing From Parking Meters, William A. Bain, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Panama City proposed to issue bonds to finance the reconstruction, paving, and improvement of city streets. The bonds were to be secured by and payable from the revenue of the city's parking meters. A petition for validation of the bond issue was submitted and was refused. On appeal, held, affirmed. The city may not use the revenue from the parking meters to finance the reconstruction, paving and improvement of streets since this bears no reasonable relation to the regulation of parking and is therefore an illegal exercise of the police power. Panama City v. State, (Fla. 1952) 60 …

Civil Procedure-Habeas Corpus-Exhaustion Of State Remedies In Rendition Cases, Alfred W. Blumrosen

Michigan Law Review

Respondent, a convict, was apprehended in Ohio after escaping from an Alabama prison. He attempted to prevent rendition by petitioning the Ohio courts for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that he had suffered cruel and unusual punishment in the Alabama prison contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment and, if forced to return, would be subject to further brutal treatment. His petition was denied at all levels in the Ohio courts and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. A similar petition was then denied by the Federal District Court in Ohio, but the court of appeals reversed without opinion and …

Civil Procedure-Right Of Impleader Under Michigan Contribution Statute, W. J. Roper

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a resident of Michigan, brought a negligence action against defendant, an Illinois corporation, for personal injury in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The defendant moved to implead a citizen of Michigan and a Michigan corporation as third party defendants on the theory that under the Michigan Contribution Statute as concurrent tortfeasors they would be liable to him for part of the judgment in the event that plaintiff recovered in the suit. The court granted the motion and the defendant filed its third party complaint. Plaintiff then moved to dismiss the third party complaint. Held …

Legislation-Michigan Veterans' Re-Employment Act, William Andrew Bain, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A recent Michigan statute provides for the re-employment of former employees of the state or the subdivisions thereof who left their positions, voluntarily or involuntarily, for service in the armed forces of the United States and have been honorably discharged. No opinion as to the interpretation or effect of the statute has been rendered by the Michigan courts or by any official state agency, but an examination of the very similar federal statute, and the litigation which it has fostered, indicates that a number of problems may arise. An insight into some typical problems and their possible solutions may be …

Municipal Corporations--Charter Amendment-Submission Of Three Propositions In The Form Of One Question, Joseph M. Kortenhof S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The council of defendant city adopted a resolution whereby the city charter was to be amended to authorize a limitation of I% per annum on property taxes, an excise tax of 1% per annum on salaries, commisions and profits of both nonresidents and residents, and disposition of the monies received by the income tax. The proposed charter revision was approved by the qualified electors by a margin slightly less than two to one. The plaintiffs, electors and residents of the city, obtained an injunction against enforcement of the charter amendment. On appeal, held, affirmed. The charter revision was ineffectual …

Constitutional Law-Due Process-Burden Of Proving Insanity As Defense To Crime, Lois H. Hambro S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was convicted of first degree murder after having pleaded insanity as a defense to the charge. He appealed to the Supreme Court of Oregon, alleging that the Oregon statute, which required an accused pleading insanity to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it placed on him the burden of proving his inability to premeditate and intend the criminal act. The defendant relied in part on the fact that Oregon is the only state requiring insanity to be proved ''beyond a reasonable doubt," while other states require at most that …

Labor Law-Class Action By Labor Union Members To Enforce Collective Bargaining Agreement-Jurisdiction Of State Courts, John Houck S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was an employee of defendant corporation, and an officer of the union accredited as bargaining agent. He brought an equity suit in the Ohio courts for specific enforcement of a collective bargaining agreement and to collect back wages, on behalf of himself and other union members similarly situated. The basis of the suit was section 11257 of the Ohio General Code, providing for class actions. The lower court dismissed the petition on the grounds of no jurisdiction under that section. On appeal, held, reversed. Although the defendant corporation's activities in interstate commerce subject it to federal labor legislation, …

Interstate Recognition Of Custody Decrees: Law And Reason V. The Restatement, Albert A. Ehrenzweig

Michigan Law Review

After days of bitter contest, a weary judge dissolves the marriage bond and, lacking Solomon's sword, allots the child to his mother. Thus the stage is set for the second act of the tragedy. Craving a new life for herself and her child, the mother moves to another state, and the father, seeing his right of visitation thus put in jeopardy, pleads the mother's removal in the original court which, loyal to the more faithful citizen, now awards custody to him. Should a judge of the mother's new home state heed this change? And again, what should be done if …

Municipal Corporations--Annexation-Violation Of Due Process, Joseph M. Kortenhof S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The City of Silver Grove brought a proceeding to incorporate within its boundaries a parcel of defendant railroad's land under a general law of annexation. It was shown that the land sought to be annexed contained nothing but switchyards, roundhouses, refrigeration plants and other facilities designed exclusively for railroad purposes. It was further shown that the city could make no use of the land nor could it benefit the land in any way since the railroad had complete electrical, sanitation and police facilities. Defendant railroad entered a remonstrance to which the city generally demurred. The trial court sustained the demurrer. …

Regulation Of Business-Resale Price Maintenance-Constitutionality Of Non-Signer Provion In Michigan Fair Trade Act, Richard D. Rohr S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a manufacturer of trade-marked products, brought a bill to restrain defendant-retailer from selling plaintiff's products at prices below the minimum prices established by plaintiff in contracts made pursuant to the Michigan Fair Trade Act. Defendant admitted such sales; but contended that because it had not signed a fair trade agreement with plaintiff, enforcement of the Michigan act against defendant would violate its rights under the due process clause of the state constitution. The trial court, treating the transactions involved as being exclusively in intrastate commerce, held the Michigan Fair Trade Act, as applied to non-signers of fair trade agreements, …

Title Examinations In Michigan As Affected By The General Federal Tax Lien, L. Hart Wright

Michigan Law Review

There are three federal tax liens which serve to haunt the average title examiner. The first of these is pitched at the wholesale level; it is a shotgun type lien applicable to all federal taxes and is now provided for by section 3670 of the Internal Revenue Code. The second and third are not nearly so sweeping. One is confined to the federal estate tax, being provided for by section 827 of the code, while the other reinforces the federal gift tax and is the product of section 1009 of the code.

The discussion which follows deals only with the …

Civil Procedure-Parties-Intervention Denied Where Applicant Asserts An Independent Cause Of Action In Damage Suit, Richard P. Matsch S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

ln plaintiff's action for property damages sustained in a collision with defendant's automobile, defendant's wife filed a petition of intervention for her claim against plaintiff for personal injuries received in the accident. Plaintiff's motion to strike the petition of intervention was overruled by the trial court. On appeal, held, reversed. Petitioner's cause of action was independent of the controversy between plaintiff and defendant and did not fall within the provisions of the court rule allowing intervention. Edgington v. Nichols, (Iowa 1951) 49 N.W. (2d) 555.

Judicial Reform In Michigan Between Two Constitutions, 1835-1850, Clark F. Norton

Michigan Law Review

The first fifteen years of Michigan's existence as a state were marked by much experimentation and change in state government. In this short period two state constitutions, a basic constitutional amendment, two general revisions of the statutes, and numerous fundamental laws were enacted and put into effect. Both the legislative and executive branches underwent extensive renovation in these years, but it was the state court system in particular that was subjected to constant pressure for alteration and which was most radically modified, both in structure and procedure.

Insurance-Conditions-Effect Of Non-Compliance With Notice Clause On Insurer's Liability, John W. Hupp S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Automobile liability insurance policies invariably contain a provision requiring immediate notice of accident and suit. The purpose of such a provision is to allow the insurer to make an investigation of the accident in order to prepare a defense and to prevent fraudulent and invalid claims. Although compliance with the provision may be of the utmost importance to the insurer, it frequently is a matter of little or no concern to the insured, and so upon the happening of an accident the insured frequently fails to give due notice to the insurer. The succeeding action by the injured party against …

Constitutional Law-Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Segregation In Recreational Facilities Furnished By A Municipality, James S. Taylor S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, a Negro, was denied admission to a municipal golf course under an ordinance setting aside certain public parks for the exclusive use of Negroes, and providing that all other public parks were for the exclusive use of white people. Only the public parks provided for the "whites" had golf courses, though in all other respects the park facilities offered were substantially equal. The plaintiff brought an action in a federal district court for a declaratory judgment as to his civil rights and for an injunction protecting such rights. The injunction was denied on the grounds that the facilities …

Ten Probate Codes, Lewis M. Simes

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this article to summarize some of the most important aspects of these codes for the purpose of indicating legislative trends. For the most part, they will be discussed in the chronological order of their enactment. While some of them deal with many other matters besides the law of decedents' estates, such as guardianships and testamentary trusts, this discussion will be limited to the substantive and procedural law of decedents' estates, exclusive of matters of ancillary administration.

Municipal Corporations-Power Of The Municipality To Expend Public Funds For Municipal Advertising, William A. Bain, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A statute allowed any city to set aside a certain amount annually from the general tax fund, which money might be expended under the direction and control of the city council for the purpose of aiding and encouraging the location of industry and other purposes which would increase the population, taxable property, and business prospects of the city. The Burlington City Council appropriated $2,000 to the Chamber of Commerce, a private non-profit corporation, which was organized for the purpose of advancing the commercial, civic, industrial, and monetary interests of the city. No specification was, made as to use, and the …

Constitutional Law-Civil Procedure-Due Process Requirements For State Jurisdiction Over Foreign Corporations, Richard D. Rohr

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, a nonresident of Ohio, brought an action in Ohio against the defendant, a sociedad anonima organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands, on claims which neither arose in Ohio nor were connected with the defendant's activities in Ohio. Defendant's president, who was also its general manager and principal stockholder, had returned to his home in Ohio when the company's mining operations were suspended by the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. During the war years, he conducted such business as was possible in Ohio, holding directors' meetings, carrying on correspondence, maintaining bank accounts, but the defendant did not …

Conflict Of Laws-Property-Law Governing Mortgage Deficiency Judgments, William O. Allen S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a Michigan corporation, became a guarantor on a mortgage of land located in Alabama. Both the mortgage and underlying note were executed in Alabama and the note was payable there. Upon default, mortgagee, acting under a power of sale, foreclosed the mortgage and became the purchaser at the sale, which was duly conducted according to Alabama law. Mortgagee then brought this action in the federal district court for Michigan to recover the deficiency remaining due after foreclosure. Defendant claimed that the fair market value of the mortgaged property exceeded the balance due on the mortgage debt, and that under …

Corporations--Shareholders-Effect On Voting Trust Agreement Of Inability To Transfer Shares To The Voting Trustees, Peter Van Domelen

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff filed a petition in equity attacking his removal as a director and president of the defendant corporation on the grounds that such removal was brought about through the exercise of an alleged invalid voting trust agreement The plaintiff and another shareholder, each owning fifty per cent of the stock in the defendant corporation, had entered into a voting trust agreement by which they appointed themselves and a third party as voting trustees. At the time the trust agreement was executed, all of the stock was on deposit with an escrow agent subject to an existing escrow contract. Plaintiff challenged …

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 …

Municipal Corporations-Tort Liability Of Municipality For Injury Caused By Neglect To Perform Mandatory Duty, J. S, Ransmeier S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

By statute the State of New Jersey imposed upon every New Jersey municipality the obligation to insure the drivers of municipal motor vehicles against liability for damages resulting from the operation of such vehicles. The Township of Lyndhurst neglected to procure insurance in favor of plaintiff, and a personal judgment was recovered against him for his negligent operation of a township fire truck while in pursuance of his municipal duties. Plaintiff brought the present action to recover from the municipality for its breach of the statutory obligation. Judgment below was for defendant. On appeal, held, affirmed, three justices dissenting. …

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 …

Constitutionality Of Marketable Title Acts, Ralph W. Aigler

Michigan Law Review

In recent years several states in that part of the United States commonly identified as the "Middle West" have enacted comprehensive legislation that is hoped will simplify land title transactions. These statutes, though varying in detail, have a common objective-the extinguishment in favor of certain persons of claims against, and interests in, land, which claims and interests arose out of events and transactions that occurred many years ago, unless such claims or interests have been preserved by the recording of a preserving notice within that period of time. A comparatively short period is prescribed for such recording as to old …

Constitutional Law-Relation Of Federal And State Governments- Title Of United States To Tidelands, John K. Delay, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

For the past decade and a half, one of the most harrassing problems in the realm of federal-state relationships has been that concerned with the ownership of the so-called "tidelands." This struggle of interests, which involves 23,000 square miles of offshore lands within the boundaries of the littoral states, has developed since 1937; for prior to that time, the Federal Government recognized the states' claims, making no assertion of federal ownership. The development of the conflict appears to be coextensive with the discovery and development of valuable mineral deposits found under these submerged lands, which have been leased to private …