State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Public Utilities-Rate Base-Allowance For Depreciation

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff toll bridge company appealed from an order of the Pennsylvania Public Service Commission which set a value for rate-making purposes on their bridge property, constructed in 1924-25, identical to the original valuation order of 1926, for the rate-base as of February 2, 1932. The order allowed a depreciation deduction annually which, with 4 per cent simple interest, would amount to enough to replace the bridge at the end of its estimated period of usefulness. The company claimed the order was confiscatory, as based solely on original cost, without taking into account current cost of reproduction; and that interest should …

Stare Decisis -The Retroactive Effect Of An Overruling Decision

Michigan Law Review

In 1923 the Supreme Court of Michigan ruled, in Kavanaugh v. Rabior, that property lying between the meander line and the waterline of the Great Lakes belonged to the State. The defendant, after this decision and upon the advice of the State Conservation Department, refused to pay rent to the plaintiff, the littoral proprietor. In 1930 the court, overruling the Kavanaugh case, held, in Hilt v. Weber, that such property belonged to the littoral proprietor. On the basis of this decision the plaintiff brought suit for use and occupation. Held, in the principal case, that the overruling …

Process In Actions Against Non-Residents Doing Business Within A State, Maurice S. Culp

Michigan Law Review

Many state legislatures have undertaken to subject non-resident persons or unincorporated groups, or both, to the power of their local courts in relation to business transacted within their limits. No less than forty States have at one time or another enacted statutes providing for substituted service of process in actions arising out of such transactions. Most of these statutes apply to non-residents generally; but in eighteen States statutes, now or formerly in force, have provided in express terms for substituted service on non-resident partnerships or unincorporated associations. Both types alike provide that service may be made upon an actual agent …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Fishing Rights In The Public Waters Of Michigan

Michigan Law Review

The Ne-Bo-Shone Association, Inc., is an Ohio corporation which owns property on both banks of the Pine River for some distance. Following the decision of the Michigan Supreme Court in Collins V. Gerhardt that the stream is navigable and public, the complainant association was ordered to remove obstructions in the stream which hampered the free use of the stream by the public for fishing purposes. Thereupon complainant sought an in junction against certain public officials from taking action to remove these obstructions, claiming that it has the right to exclude the public from this portion of the Pine River, and …

Banks And Banking - Public Moneys As Preferred Claims

Michigan Law Review

The State claims a preference in the assets of an insolvent bank on the basis of sovereign prerogative. Held, that the State has no preference now because the prerogative right has been abrogated: first, by the passing of a comprehensive state banking law; and second, by a constitutional provision giving bill holders of insolvent banks preference in payment over all other creditors. Fry, State Treasurer v. Equitable Trust Co., 264 Mich. 165, 249 N. W. 619 (1933). (Potter and McDonald, JJ., dissenting).

Intoxicating Liquors - Presumption Of Intoxicating Quality

Michigan Law Review

The defendant sold at his sandwich stand what was agreed to be a malt beverage commonly known as 3.2 beer. A statute made it unlawful for any person to sell "any spirituous, malt, vinous, fermented or other intoxicating liquors." In an action to enjoin the maintaining of a liquor nuisance the trial judge held that as the -defendant sold a malt liquor, the sale was a violation of the statute, and refused to admit evidence that the beer was not intoxicating as a matter of fact. On appeal, the supreme court of Kansas held, that while beer is presumed …

Practice And Procedure - Joinder Of Parties And Causes Under The Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff sought, in one suit, to recover the amount of a promissory note from the maker and to attack a transfer of property by the maker to her brother, alleged to be a fraud on the maker's creditors. The maker and transferee were made defendants. The transferee demurred to the complaint on the ground that the two defendants had essentially different liabilities and so could not be joined in one action, under the South Dakota code. Held, that section 9 of the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act permits the plaintiff to proceed in one action for a judgment on …

Municipal Corporations - Power To License - Discretionary Power In Administrative Officers

Michigan Law Review

The City Council of Philadelphia enacted an ordinance requiring as many officers or firemen as the Director of Public Safety should deem necessary to be present at all athletic contests for profit, and further provided that the officers or firemen so stationed should be compensated at the rate of $5.50 per day by those persons requiring or demanding such service. The plaintiff brought this suit in equity to declare invalid and restrain the enforcement of the ordinance. The lower court held that the ordinance was invalid, but the supreme court reversed this decision and held that this was a valid …

Criminal Law And Procedure - "Public Enemy" Statutes - Constitutionality

Michigan Law Review

Defendants were convicted of the crime of being disorderly persons within the meaning of section 167, Michigan Public Acts, 1931, No. 328, which provided that "any person who engages in an illegal occupation or business . . . shall be deemed a disorderly person. Proof of recent reputation for engaging in an illegal occupation or business shall be prima fade evidence of being engaged in an illegal occupation or business." Police officers testified as to the reputation of the defendants for being bootleggers, stick-up men, robbers, and murderers. Held, that section 167 of the statute is unconstitutional and void …

Process In Actions Against Non-Resident Motorists, Maurice S. Culp

Michigan Law Review

Personal service on the defendant within the jurisdiction of a State is the conventional form of process in personal actions. But considerations of convenience and public need have resulted in recognizing an additional form of process in personal actions against nonresident motorists. Statutes in 35 States authorize the commencement of suit against the non-resident motorist by substituted service on a public official of the State where the cause of action arises; the official is made for this purpose the agent or attorney of the non-resident motorist.

It is proposed herein to discuss (1) the constitutional basis of such legislation, and …

The Municipality As A Unit In Ratemaking And Confiscation Cases, Robert D. Armstrong

Michigan Law Review

The recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the so-called Martinsville case has been interpreted by some critics as laying down a "municipal unit doctrine" of rate making, denying to a system utility the right to earn from its entire operations a fair return on the value of its entire property, and substituting therefor a "bundle of rights" to earn in each "municipality" served a fair return on the value of the property used and useful therefor.

International Law -Extradition - Construction Of Treaty

Michigan Law Review

On complaint of the British Consul that the petitioner had "received certain moneys knowing the same to have been fraudulently obtained," the United States Commissioner for the Northern District of Illinois issued his warrant to hold petitioner in custody for extradition to England, under Article 10 of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, as supplemented by the Blaine-Pauncefote Convention of 1889, and certified the evidence to the Secretary of State. Upon application by petitioner for writ of habeas corpus and certiorari in its aid, the district court ordered him released from custody on the ground the act charged was not within …

Constitutional Law - Bank Reorganization Legislation - Composition With Depositors And Other Creditors, Maurice S. Culp

Michigan Law Review

Twenty States and the federal government now have laws permitting the reorganization and reopening of insolvent or failing banks. The usual statute provides for the reorganization of a bank upon some plan approved by a large majority of the general creditors of the institution; the plan must also have the approval of state banking officials and of a court of general jurisdiction, although the last is by no means a universal requirement. The reorganization, when approved, becomes binding upon all depositors and general creditors of the bank regardless of consent. By the terms of a few statutes, non-assenting creditors are …

Constitutional Law - Interstate Commerce - State Regulation Of Motor Carriers - Highway Conservation, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

In conformity with the Texas statute regulating contract carriers, the plaintiffs applied for permits to operate as contract carriers in interstate commerce. The Texas Railroad Commission denied the application on the grounds that the proposed use of the highways would unreasonably interfere with their use by the general public and would constitute an undue burden on said highways. Held, by a three-judge court, that the Commission was acting within its authority in refusing the application on these grounds, that such refusal was valid as to interstate motor carriers, and that evidence supported the Commission's findings, consequently the bill to …

Torts - Imputed Negligence - Passenger In Private Carrier For Hire

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff hired Hilton, a private carrier, to drive her from Detroit to Ann Arbor. Hilton's car collided with a car driven by the defendant, both Hilton and the defendant being negligent. Held, that the plaintiff could recover, as the negligence of a private carrier for hire will not be imputed to a passenger riding in his conveyance. Three judges dissented; the four concurring judges refused to join Justice McDonald in his opinion expressly overruling the whole doctrine of Thorogood v. Bryan. Lachow v. Kimmich, 263 Mich. 1, 248 N. W. 531 (1933).

Constitutional Law-Mortgage Foreclosure Moratorium Statutes

Michigan Law Review

The present economic crisis has been productive of much drastic legislation which is directed at the relief of the debtor class. Rather than let the depression run its course, legislative bodies have endeavored to alleviate some of the evils by so-called "emergency'' statutes. A common type of such enactment is that designed to protect mortgagors against foreclosure and sale of their property. Some of these statutes provide that the period of redemption after foreclosure sale shall be extended for a definite period, others that the courts may stay foreclosures, and some provide that there shall be no foreclosure sales unless …

Criminal Law In Action- Carrying Concealed Weapons - Chicago Statistics, John Barker Waite

Michigan Law Review

Lawyers are beginning to recognize, though slowly, that enforcement and administration of law are affected more by the psychological conditioning and the character of its administrators than by the content of the law itself. This basis of difference is well demonstrated by some data of Chicago criminal court operations as compared with similar proceedings before Detroit judges.

Mortgages - Assignment Of Rents And Profits - Michigan Statute

Michigan Law Review

There may be times when legislative action is so obviously dependent upon contemporary circumstances, or when its roots lie so near the chronological surface, that no study of background is possible or necessary. Such is not the case, however, with anything relating to mortgage law; it is too deeply imbedded in our legal system. And though its history be familiar it is felt that a brief review will not be out of place in considering a comparatively recent Michigan statute authorizing the assignment of rents and profits.

Executive Power In Emergencies, Maurice S. Culp

Michigan Law Review

The events of the last few months indicate that the American chief executive is capable of vigorous action in emergencies. The executive frequently has to use the armed forces of the State or Nation in the performance of his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed in troubled districts, but it is a new experience to have the governors and the President take emergency measures in combatting a depression. The banking crisis, which first received executive notice in Nevada last November and which attained alarming proportions with Governor Comstock's "bank holiday" in Michigan, culminated in the national holiday …

State Regulation Of Interstate Motor Carriers, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

After the decision in Buck v. Kuykendall, the question naturally arose whether a State could require an interstate carrier to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity in order to engage in intrastate business. The question is important because it is possible that interstate business cannot be conducted profitably on a given route without the benefit of supplemental earnings derived from intrastate business. No doubt was entertained by state commissions after the Buck case that they could still exercise plenary control over the intrastate operations of interstate carriers, and deny them permission to engage in intrastate business if …

Corporations - Dissenting Stockholder's Suit -Conditional Decree

Michigan Law Review

The directors and majority stockholders of a Minnesota mining corporation which. needed financing were also the directors and majority stockholders of another Minnesota mining corporation which had a large surplus. They decided to consolidate the two in order to finance the one, offering the stockholders of each corporation a share for share exchange, which would result in the stockholders of the unsuccessful corporation having a 9/16 control of the consolidated corporation. Dissenting stockholders, holding 18/100 of 1% of the total stock in the successful corporation, brought a bill to restrain the consolidation and to have a receiver appointed to take …

Railroads - Power Of Interstate Commerce Commission To Order Extensions

Michigan Law Review

After due hearing upon a complaint filed by the Public Service Commission of Oregon asserting a failure to provide adequate transportation facilities to a large and unexploited area within that State, the Interstate Commerce Commission found that public necessity and convenience required the construction of a connecting line 185 miles in length. The Commission also found that the proposed extension, adding 1.2 per cent to the existing mileage of the Union Pacific system and costing approximately $10,000,000, would not seriously affect the ability of that organization adequately to serve the public; and that though the venture might not be profitable …

State Regulation Of Interstate Motor Carriers, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

According to Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution, "The Congress shall have power . . . to regulate commerce . . . among the several States . . . . " Is this provision of the Constitution applicable to interstate motor transportation over a public highway, built, owned, and maintained by a State? The provincial view might have been put forward that because the State owns the highways, therefore it should have exclusive control with respect to the commerce passing over them. Whatever force might have been conceded such a view in the early history of our country, when …

Constitutional Law--Due Process--Martial Law

Michigan Law Review

The Texas Railroad Commission ordered a limitation of oil production in the East Texas field. Governor Sterling of that State issued a proclamation declaring martial law in the district and setting forth the existence of "a state of insurrection, tumult, riot and breach of the peace," and sent in troops to enforce the orders of the commission. A temporary injunction was issued restraining the commission's action but the governor continued, through the troops, to limit oil production. Such action was sought to be enjoined in the federal courts. The lower court granted the injunction. The decree was affirmed on the …

Injunctions- By Foreign Court-Forum Non Conveniens In Minnesota

Michigan Law Review

Alert Minnesota lawyers undertake to enlighten aggrieved persons in neighboring States in regard to the procedural advantages to be obtained in Minnesota. As a result of their efforts, a deluge of personal-injury litigation continues to flood the Minnesota courts. These tribunals are crowded with cases between non-residents on causes of action accruing abroad; Minnesota citizens are delayed in the trial of their own suits, and Minnesota citizens pay the bill for the added litigation. In addition, the non-resident defendant, required to appear in Minnesota, is deprived of evidence and is frequently put to useless expenditure; yet the Minnesota court, with …

Equity-Intervention

Michigan Law Review

A Kansas statute forbids the operation of theatres on Sunday. Appellee obtained an interlocutory injunction restraining "the Attorney General of the State of Kansas, and his subordinates . . . and every other person acting or attempting to act for said defendants" from enforcing the statute. Following this temporary injunction the appellee continued to operate his theatres on Sunday, and when the municipal authorities of Winfield and Eldorado threatened to enforce municipal ordinances prohibiting Sunday shows, the appellee served them with copies of the preliminary order against the attorney general, and warned them that contempt proceedings would be instituted if …

Municipal Corporations - Effect Of The Lowest Responsible Bidder Statutes On "Local Labor" Provisions

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff, a taxpayer, brought a bill to prevent the defendant from carrying out a contract with a certain construction company. The plaintiff alleged that the requirement in the proposal for bids that all laborers should have been residents of Delaware for at least six months prior to the awarding of the contract violated the lowest responsible bidder statute. Held, it not having been shown that the requirement would, as a matter pf fact, increase the cost, it therefore did not violate the statute, Ebbeson v. The Board of Public Education in Wilmington, (Del. 1931) 156 Atl. 286.

Carriers - State Regulation Of Interstate Motor Carriers

Michigan Law Review

Chapter 236, Laws of Kansas, 1931, requires private motor carriers for hire in interstate commerce to secure a license from the public service commission, to secure a liability insurance policy, to keep daily records as prescribed by the commission, to pay a tax of five-tenths of a mill per gross ton for highway maintenance, and to be subjected to the supervision of the commission. Various regulations for making the highways safer are included. Plaintiff operated as a private motor carrier for hire in interstate commerce and sued to enjoin the enforcement of the act which it claimed was unconstitutional, for …

Publicly Owned Utilities And The Problem Of Municipal Debt Limits, Lawrence L. Durisch

Michigan Law Review

The far-reaching contest being waged between the advocates of municipal ownership of public utilities and the private ownership group, between those who "want the government to get out of business" and those who desire to see an increase in its proprietary functions, has produced a number of sharp legal controversies. One of the most interesting of these, recently litigated in a number of state courts, is whether an obligation incurred for the purchase or repair of a municipally-owned utility is a "municipal debt" within the meaning of constitutional or statutory debt limits. Because of the wide-spread interest in, and the …

Constitutional Law -Validity Of Restrictions On House-To-House Selling

Michigan Law Review

Although data of an accurate nature are not available there seems no doubt that the use of house-to-house selling as a means of distribution has received a considerable impetus during the past few years. So extensive, in fact, has the practice become that many communities are seeking relief from whatever undesirable features may be felt. The problem has already been the subject of litigation in Fuller Brush Co. v. Town of Green River. That other controversies will inevitably follow justifies consideration of the legal aspects involved.