LIENS - EXTENT TO WHICH COMMON-LAW ARTISAN\u27S LIEN HAS BEEN SUPPLANTED BY STATUTE

An artisan\u27s lien is the right of a bailee, who by his labor, skill, or material adds value to the chattel of another at the request of the owner, directly or impliedly, to retain possession of the chattel until the reasonable value of his services has been paid. The right to this lien, which is a specific lien, is of common-law origin, and in the absence of anything inconsistent in the contract has long been extended to all artisans. This common-law artisan\u27s lien, however, has been supplanted by statute in some respect in all but five states. In the other forty-three states and in the District of Columbia, statutes have in various ways extended the artisan\u27s lien beyond one or more of its common-law limitations. In an attempt to classify the numerous statutes into definite groupings, the best basis for any division seems to be the extent to which they have extended the common-law artisan\u27s lien

TAXATION - SOCIAL SECURITY - DISSOLUTION OF CORPORATION AND FORMATION OF PARTNERSHIP AS MEANS OF AVOIDING TAX

The O Company surrendered its corporate charter and began operating under an agreement purporting to establish a partnership relation between the former officers and employees whereby complete management including the power to employ, discharge and control the duties of its members was vested in a board of control elected by and subject to changes made by the majority in interest. Net profits and losses were shared in proportion to the respective interests. The firm could be dissolved only by a vote of the majority in interest and not by transfer of interest, death or resignation of a member. Advice was requested of the Internal Revenue Bureau whether this organization was a partnership for purposes of the social security taxes. Held, that the organization as such was not a partnership but an association taxable as a corporation for purposes of Titles VIII and IX of the Social Security Act, and individuals performing services for the organization were employees thereof for purposes of those titles. S. S. T. 337, INT. REV, BULL., No. 43, p. 6 (Oct. 24, 1938), 1 C. C. H. UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SERVICE, U 8722 (1938)

TORTS - LIABILITY OF LANDLORD FOR INJURY TO PROPERTY OF TENANT\u27S CUSTOMER

A customer of the tenant sued the landlord for damage, to fur coats left with the tenant in the normal course of his business, from water, due to a leaky condition of the roof of the building which was in the control of landlord. Held, that it was the duty of the landlord to exercise reasonable care to keep the roof in reasonable repair not only as regards the safety of persons in the building but also as respects property lawfully there; that this duty was not performed and the damage resulted therefrom. Whelkin Coat Co. v. Long Beach Trust Co., 121 N. J. L. 106, 1 A. (2d) 394 (1938)

CARRIERS - DISCRIMINATION -ALLOWANCE IN LIEU OF SPOTTING SERVICE BY RAILROADS -VALIDITY OF CEASE AND DESIST ORDER

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. 156, 58 S. Ct. 771 (1938)

BANKRUPTCY - CORPORATE REORGANIZATION - GOOD FAITH IN PRESENTING PETITIONS FOR REORGANIZATION PROCEEDINGS

Reorganization proceedings for corporations are now provided for in chapter ten of the recently enacted Chandler Act, which supersedes the provisions of 77B. This legislation, designed to aid corporations which are insolvent or unable to meet their debts as they mature, is available to all commercial corporations except municipal, insurance, and banking corporations and railroad corporations authorized to file a petition under section 77 upon the proper showing. Sections 130 and 131 enumerate the necessary requirements of any petition filed for the purpose of obtaining reorganization. However, the most important prerequisite to this relief, from the standpoint of difficulty in compliance, is found in sections 141 to 144 of the act, requiring the court to find that the petition was filed in good faith or dismiss it. This question lies at the threshold of the case and must be clearly shown before the court will interfere with the affairs of the corporation

TORTS - LIABILITY OF LANDLORD FOR INJURY TO PROPERTY OF TENANT\u27S CUSTOMER

A customer of the tenant sued the landlord for damage, to fur coats left with the tenant in the normal course of his business, from water, due to a leaky condition of the roof of the building which was in the control of landlord. Held, that it was the duty of the landlord to exercise reasonable care to keep the roof in reasonable repair not only as regards the safety of persons in the building but also as respects property lawfully there; that this duty was not performed and the damage resulted therefrom. Whelkin Coat Co. v. Long Beach Trust Co., 121 N. J. L. 106, 1 A. (2d) 394 (1938)

LIENS - EXTENT TO WHICH COMMON-LAW ARTISAN\u27S LIEN HAS BEEN SUPPLANTED BY STATUTE

An artisan\u27s lien is the right of a bailee, who by his labor, skill, or material adds value to the chattel of another at the request of the owner, directly or impliedly, to retain possession of the chattel until the reasonable value of his services has been paid. The right to this lien, which is a specific lien, is of common-law origin, and in the absence of anything inconsistent in the contract has long been extended to all artisans. This common-law artisan\u27s lien, however, has been supplanted by statute in some respect in all but five states. In the other forty-three states and in the District of Columbia, statutes have in various ways extended the artisan\u27s lien beyond one or more of its common-law limitations. In an attempt to classify the numerous statutes into definite groupings, the best basis for any division seems to be the extent to which they have extended the common-law artisan\u27s lien

BANKRUPTCY - CORPORATE REORGANIZATION - GOOD FAITH IN PRESENTING PETITIONS FOR REORGANIZATION PROCEEDINGS

Reorganization proceedings for corporations are now provided for in chapter ten of the recently enacted Chandler Act, which supersedes the provisions of 77B. This legislation, designed to aid corporations which are insolvent or unable to meet their debts as they mature, is available to all commercial corporations except municipal, insurance, and banking corporations and railroad corporations authorized to file a petition under section 77 upon the proper showing. Sections 130 and 131 enumerate the necessary requirements of any petition filed for the purpose of obtaining reorganization. However, the most important prerequisite to this relief, from the standpoint of difficulty in compliance, is found in sections 141 to 144 of the act, requiring the court to find that the petition was filed in good faith or dismiss it. This question lies at the threshold of the case and must be clearly shown before the court will interfere with the affairs of the corporation

Documenting Hurricane Impacts on Coral Reefs Using Two-Dimensional Video-Mosaic Technology

Four hurricanes impacted the reefs of Florida in 2005. In this study, we evaluate the combined impacts of hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma on a population of Acropora palmata using a newly developed video-mosaic methodology that provides a high-resolution, spatially accurate landscape view of the reef benthos. Storm damage to A. palmata was surprisingly limited; only 2 out of 19 colonies were removed from the study plot at Molasses Reef. The net tissue losses for those colonies that remained were only 10% and mean diameter of colonies decreased slightly from 88.4 to 79.6 cm. In contrast, the damage to the reef framework was more severe, and a large section (6 m in diameter) was dislodged, overturned, and transported to the bottom of the reef spur. The data presented here show that two-dimensional video-mosaic technology is well-suited to assess the impacts of physical disturbance on coral reefs and can be used to complement existing survey methodologies.The original document contains color images. Published in the Jnl. of Marine Ecology ISSN 0173-9565 p254-258 2006