Transportation Law Commons^™

Automobiles - Husband's Liability For Wife's Negligence While Driving Family Auto - "Family Errand" And "Family Purpose" Doctrines - Illinois Rule, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's automobile was damaged by collision with an automobile belonging to the defendant while being driven by defendant's wife who was on an errand to purchase a twenty-five cent Hallowe'en party dress for her daughter. The accident was caused by the negligence of the defendant's wife. The defendant, his wife, and their child were living together, and the wife's sole income was derived from her husband, and from this she was to provide clothing and meet other expenses for the child. The circuit court gave judgment of damages to the plaintiff and the defendant appeals. Held, the plaintiff could …

Railroads - Reorganization - Validity Of Conditioning Approval Of A Consolidation By Reference To Proper Treatment Of Employees, Kenneth J. Nordstrom

Michigan Law Review

A railroad made application to the Interstate Commerce Commission to obtain authorization to lease the lines of another railroad. The relevant federal statute provided that the commission should authorize consolidations and leases subject to such terms and conditions as it should find just and reasonable and as would promote the public interest. Accordingly, the commission conditioned approval of the lease by requiring that employees dismissed as a result of the lease be paid monthly allowances for fixed periods, or until securing re-employment; that those not dismissed be protected against any decrease in wages for five years, and reimbursed for expenses …

Carriers - Motor Carrier Act Of 1935 - Issuance Of Certificates Of Convenience And Necessity, William H. Hillier

Michigan Law Review

Applicant petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to operate a transcontinental bus line, claiming that it offered a distinct type of low-cost service, that by so doing it attracted a portion of the travelling public not served by other carriers, that its through-trip features were a special convenience to its passengers, and that meals en route were included in its fare charges, which were slightly lower than those of existing carriers. The protesting carriers claimed that existing bus facilities could amply handle all of applicant's traffic, that competition in the motor bus field …

Carriers - Gratuitous Pass - Limitation Of Liability, John L. Rubsam

Michigan Law Review

Appellee was traveling between Louisville and New Orleans on a gratuitous pass issued to her by reason of being the mother of a conductor employed by the Missouri-Pacific lines. The pass contained the following condition: "The person accepting and using it thereby assumes all risk of accident to person or property." Appellee had signed: "I accept the above conditions." The train gave a slight jerk due to coupling onto other cars, causing appellee to fall and sustain the injuries for which she sues. Held, where a passenger using a free interstate railroad pass agreed to assume the risk of …

Statutes - Interpretation - Application Of Venue Statute To Owners Of Forms Of Transportation Unknown At The Time Of Its Enactment, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

An Iowa venue statute passed in 1872 provided that "an action may be brought against any railway corporation, the owner of stages, or other line of coaches or cars . . . in any county through which such road or line passes or is operated." A damage action was brought against petitioner in a county through which its truck line regularly operated. Petitioner moved for a change of venue to the county where its principal office was located. The motion was overruled and petitioner tested the validity of the ruling in an action in certiorari. Held, a common carrier …

Negligence - Assumption Of Risk - Contributory Negligence, Roy L. Steinheimer

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, knowing that the driver of the automobile in which she was riding had been drinking, continued to ride with him though she was under no compulsion to do so. In an accident resulting from the driver's intoxication, plaintiff was injured and the driver killed. In an action against the personal representative of the driver, the defendant raised the defense of volenti non fit injuria. Held, for plaintiff. The maxim volenti non fit injuria would apply only where the drunkenness of the driver was extreme and glaring. Dann v. Hamilton, [1939] 1 K. B. 509.

Negligence - Causation - Failure To Sign License, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A New Hampshire statute provided that a motor vehicle operator's license should not be valid until endorsed on the margin by the operator. In a negligence action arising out of an automobile collision it was shown that defendant operator's license had not been endorsed. Plaintiff requested the court to charge that defendant's license was not valid and that defendant's violation of the statute was a legal cause of the accident, entitling plaintiff to recover unless found guilty of contributory negligence. Held, that defendant's failure to endorse his signature was not such a statutory violation that plaintiff could take advantage …

Automobiles - Guest Passengers - Gross Negligence, John L. Rubsam

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was the owner of a vehicle which was being driven by his servant and agent, a joint defendant. Plaintiff's status was that of a non-paying guest. Plaintiff brings an action in tort, alleging "gross negligence" in the operation of an automobile on a public highway in the state of Florida. Defendants pleaded and proved a "Guest Act" of the state of Florida. The action was brought in the state of New Jersey and the sole question on appeal is the propriety of the submission to the jury of the issue of gross negligence. Held, "gross negligence" is a …

Automobiles -Violation Of Parking Statute, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, in violation of a statute and ordinance prohibiting parking "within ten feet upon the approach to any flashing beacon, stop sign, or traffic control signal located at the side of a roadway," parked his truck within the prohibited area, thus blocking the sign from the view of the traffic it was intended to warn. A third party, approaching the stop street, being unable to see the sign, proceeded into the intersection without stopping, and struck the car in which plaintiff was a passenger, injuring him. Defendant demurred to the petition on the ground of lack of causal connection. Held …

Constitutional Law - Carriers - Supersedure Of State Regulations By Federal Regulations - Regulation Of Hours Of Service Of Motor Vehicular Drivers - Effect Of Federal Motor Carrier Act Of 1935, Fred C. Newman

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, whose business was chiefly interstate, violated a statute of New Hampshire which regulated the hours of service of drivers of certain motor vehicles. The violation occurred after the passage of the Federal Motor Carrier Act of 1935, which, among other things, conferred authority upon the Interstate Commerce Commission "to establish reasonable requirements with respect to . . . maximum hours of service of employees" of common and contract carriers by motor vehicle in interstate commerce. At the time of the breach of the state statute, the Interstate Commerce Commission had not prescribed regulations as to hours of service. Defendant …

Negligence - Duty To Discover Continuous Trespasser Or Bare Licensee On Railroad's Right Of Way, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff alleged that while he was carefully crossing defendant's right of way, on a clearly defined and well worn footpath, he was struck by defendant's engine, which was backing toward the footpath in a "stealthy manner"; that defendant's servants failed to give warning as they were accustomed to do, or keep a lookout; that the footpath had been habitually used in crossing defendant's right of way for many years, that such crossing had been constant, open, and notorious as defendant knew; and that defendant had never objected to this use. Defendant demurred. Held, demurrer sustained on the ground that …

Automobiles - Host-Guest Statutes - "Gross Negligence Or Wilful And Wanton Misconduct'', Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a guest in defendant's automobile, sustained injuries when defendant attempted to pass a car while approaching the brow of a hill and failed to see an oncoming car until too late to avoid a collision. Although the highway was heavily crowded, defendant had been driving at a speed of sixty-five to seventy miles per hour, and had been passing cars on the straight and over hills, ignoring the protests of his passengers. Defendant appealed from verdict and judgment for plaintiff. Held, with two justices dissenting, that under the statute requiring proof of defendant's "gross negligence or wilful and …

Negligence - Contributory Negligence - Last Clear Chance Doctrine Applied To The Plaintiff - Necessity Of Actual Knowledge Of Danger, John H. Uhl

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff was injured in a collision of the automobile in which she was riding, driven by her husband, and one driven by the defendant. The defendant, as an affirmative defense, alleged that as he was about to enter the intersection, his car skidded and went out of control; and that both the plaintiff and her husband saw the dangerous situation in sufficient time to have avoided the accident. The court instructed the jury that if the plaintiff or her husband saw, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence could have seen, that the defendant was in a place of …

Negligence - Proximate Cause - When Condition Created By Prior Of Successive Negligent Acts May Be The Proximate Cause, Benjamin G. Cox

Michigan Law Review

A railroad's employee negligently allowed plaintiff's intestate to board the wrong train and then put her off at an intermediate station to await the proper train. Coming from the waiting room later, preparatory to boarding the right train, intestate fell on the waiting room steps and suffered fatal injuries. Plaintiff sued the railroad. Held, that the employee's negligence was the proximate cause of intestate's injuries and that the employer railroad is liable. Louisville & N. R.R. v. Maddox, 236 Ala. 594, 183 So. 849 (1938).

Insurance -- Effect Of The Passenger-For-Hire Clauses On Scope Of Protection Under Automobile Insurance Policies, Benjamin G. Cox

Michigan Law Review

Quite common in automobile policies insuring against risks of fire, theft, collision, personal liability, etc., from the use of the automobile is a provision either effecting a termination of the policy or excluding the particular loss from the coverage of the policy if or when the automobile is used to carry passengers for hire or consideration. The full purport of this type passenger clause is unfortunately too often not realized by the insured person until he is met with a loss, unforeseen and against which he believed himself to be protected. This comment, then, will attempt an analysis of the …

Carriers - State Taxation Of Interstate Motor Carriers, Thomas K. Fisher

Michigan Law Review

Appellant, an Ohio corporation, was engaged exclusively in interstate commerce as a common carrier of property for hire by motor vehicle. In 1937 the Georgia legislature passed a Maintenance Tax Act which provided, inter alia, for a tax, graduated according to manufacturer's rated capacity, on each motor common carrier for hire, and a tax, substantially smaller in the respective rated capacities, on each motor vehicle not used as a common carrier for hire. Appellant contested the validity of the tax on the grounds that it was repugnant to the commerce clause of the Constitution and that it violated the equal …

Carriers - Discrimination -Allowance In Lieu Of Spotting Service By Railroads -Validity Of Cease And Desist Order, Arthur P. Boynton

Michigan Law Review

Nine industrial corporations sought to set aside an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission commanding the railroad or railroads serving industrial plants of the plaintiffs to cease and desist from the payment of allowance for the spotting of cars and switching services performed by plaintiffs on plant facilities. They contended the commission exceeded its powers in making the order and that its findings were not supported by substantial evidence. Held, that there was substantial evidence to support the findings and that the order was valid and should be sustained. United States v. Pan American Petroleum Corp., 304 U.S. …

Criminal Law And Procedure - Essential Definiteness Of Criminal Statutes - Automobile Regulations, Robert Meisenholder

Michigan Law Review

Defendant was convicted of reckless driving under section 48 of the Illinois Uniform Traffic Act which reads, "Any person who drives any vehicle with a wilful or a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving." He appealed on the ground that the statute violated the Illinois Constitution because it was too vague, indefinite, and uncertain. Held, that the statute did not violate the constitution and was a valid exercise of the police power of the legislature. People v. Green, 368 Ill. 242, 13 N. E. (2d) 278 (1938).

Interstate Commerce - Right Of State To Deny Use Of Highways To Carrier Having Certificate From Interstate Commerce Commission, Ralph Winkler

Michigan Law Review

A common carrier engaged in interstate commerce applied to the Interstate Commerce Commission for a certificate of convenience and necessity as required by section 206 of the Federal Motor Carrier Act of 1935. The carrier relied on the proviso authorizing the commission to grant a certificate without a showing of public convenience and necessity where the applicant was a carrier in bona fide operation on June 1, 1935; the statute further privileged a carrier applying for a certificate under this proviso to continue operation pending determination of its application. The State Railroad Commission of Texas earlier in 1934 had denied …

Recent Developments In Actions Against Nonresident Motorists, Maurice S. Culp

Michigan Law Review

When this subject was discussed several years ago, statutes in thirty-five states authorized service of process upon some state official in actions filed against nonresident motorists. The passage of such legislation has continued. Today, out of the forty-eight states and the District of Columbia, apparently only Missouri, Nevada and Utah do not make some provision for such service.

It is proposed herein to discuss the new statutes which have been enacted since the previous article was written, to consider significant changes and developments in older legislation, and to survey the recent judicial decisions interpreting these process statutes.

Carriers - Federal Regulation Of Motor Transportation Brokers, Charles E. Nadeau

Michigan Law Review

A broker is, in general, an intermediary or "go-between" in the business of negotiating contracts for others. His economic function is that of bringing buyer and seller together. A motor transportation broker is engaged in the business of arranging for contracts dealing with motor transportation service. His function is to bring together a prospective passenger or shipper seeking service and a carrier willing to provide the service demanded. "Tourist agency," "travel bureau," and "share-the-expense agency" are familiar terms used to designate the passenger transportation broker. There is a larger, but not so wellknown, group of brokers dealing in the hauling …

Automobiles - Effect Of Violation Of Penal Licensing Statute, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued to recover for damages sustained when a negligent defendant collided with plaintiff's car. An unlicensed operator was driving plaintiff's car at the time. A state statute prohibited the operation of an automobile by an unlicensed driver, and specifically provided that no person shall "permit" operation of his car by such a driver. Held, plaintiff may recover, as he reasonably believed that the driver was licensed. Bowdler v. St. Johnsbury Trucking Co., (N. H. 1937) 189 A. 353.

Automobiles - Guest Statutes - What Constitutes A Guest - Sharing Expenses On A Pleasure Trip, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued to recover for personal injuries sustained when riding with defendants in the latters' automobile. The parties were on a few days' pleasure trip. It was apparently the tacit and mutual understanding that the expenses of transportation, hotels, etc., would be shared equally. Held, plaintiff was a guest within the meaning of the guest statute, and thus had no right of recovery against the driver or owner for injury resulting from the negligence of the driver. McCann v. Hoffman, (Cal. 1937) 70 P. (2d) 909.

Conflict Of Laws - Guest Motorists -How Far Is The Lex Loci Delicti Controlling In The Forum?, M. M. Howard

Michigan Law Review

Before the advent of the "guest statutes," the decisions of all but a very few states recognized no degrees of negligence and measured the duty of the automobile host towards his non-paying guest by due care under all the circumstances-the "ordinary negligence" rule. In the few exceptional states, the decisions required the plaintiff to prove "gross," "wilful," or "wanton" negligence on the part of his host in order to maintain his action. And within the last decade nineteen states have adopted "guest statutes" which, with varying language, adopt the "gross negligence" rule. Since the rule of the lex loci delicti …

Carriers - Shipping - Limitation Of Liability By Stipulation On Ticket, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Libelant through an agent purchased a steamship ticket to the West Indies. Neither libelant nor his agent had actual knowledge of a stipulation on the back of the ticket which required passengers to lodge a written notice of any claim against the steamship company within thirty days after termination of the voyage. All passengers were required to sign their tickets, but libelant failed to do so until the day after the cruise began. The district court dismissed a suit for personal injuries suffered while aboard the ship because of noncompliance with the limitation of the ticket. Held on appeal, reversing …

Negligence - The Determination Of Existence Of Gross Negligence Making Automobile Host Liable To Non-Paying Guest, Jack L. White

Michigan Law Review

Under common-law principles a majority of courts require the motorist, who voluntarily undertakes to carry another gratuitously, to exercise the ordinary care of a reasonably prudent man in the management and operation of his automobile. The minority rule, by analogy to the gratuitous bailment cases, requires a person who invites another to ride gratis to use only slight diligence to avoid injury to that person and holds him liable for gross negligence. The minority view undoubtedly appeals to those who feel that it is unsportsmanlike to sue one's benefactor, and yet it is doubtful whether such a purely emotional foundation …

Nuisance Contributory Negligence As Defense, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought action against the county for injuries sustained when his truck fell into an unlighted and unguarded excavation made by the county in the center of the highway for the purpose of repairing a culvert. Held, that defendant's act, though required by statute, was done in such a manner as to constitute active wrongdoing and a public nuisance, to which a plea of contributory negligence is no defense. Hammond v. Monmouth County, (N. J. S. Ct. 1936) 186 A. 452.

Negligence - Res Ipsa Loquitur - Application To Carriers, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was injured while riding on defendant's bus when it was struck by defendant's street car, the collision being caused by the derailment of the street car. It was not made clear on trial what was responsible for the derailment. Held, the defendant controlled both vehicles, the event was of a type which would not ordinarily occur if reasonable care were used, the injury to plaintiff was not due to any voluntary act on her part, so the jury could properly infer that the defendant was negligent under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Birdsall v. Duluth-Superior Transit …

Negligence - Guest Statutes - Proximate Cause, Erwin S. Simon

Michigan Law Review

The deceased was fatally injured while riding as a guest in defendant's truck. In the course of the action for damages brought by the administratrix, the court instructed that "if you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the driver of the truck was guilty of willful and wanton misconduct . . . and that as a consequence thereof the accident occurred, and further, that such conduct contributed to the death of plaintiff's intestate," then the jury should find for the plaintiff. Verdict was for the plaintiff and defendant appealed. Held, that the instruction was erroneous because it …

Railroads - Violation Of Ordinance Limiting The Obstruction Of Highways By Trains - Collision At Crossing - Proximate Cause, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was injured, when an automobile in which she was a passenger, was driven into a freight train standing across a highway on a misty night. This train had been obstructing the crossing for more than five minutes, in violation of a state statute. Plaintiff sued the railroad, alleging negligence in violating the statute. On appeal from a judgment for the plaintiff, held that plaintiff had made no case, and that the judgment should be reversed without a new trial, and with costs to the defendant. Simpson v. Pere Marquette Ry., 276 Mich. 653, 268 N. W. 769 (1936).