MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS-ZONING-RIGHT OF MUNICIPALITY AND PROPERTY OWNERS THEREIN TO OBJECT TO AMENDMENT OF ZONING ORDINANCE OF ADJACENT MUNICIPALITY

The borough of Dumont in New Jersey amended its zoning ordinance to change one city block from a residential area to a district in which business user would be permissible. The amendment occasioned objections By certain boroughs which were adjacent to the reclassified block, property owners in the adjacent boroughs, property owners in Dumont, and property owners in the block itself. On suit in lieu of prerogative writ by these parties, held, ordinance set aside. Where several boroughs are adjacent to the block of the defendant borough, and in reliance on the residential character of the whole area single family dwellings are erected in all the boroughs, property owners in adjacent boroughs have vested rights to benefits from the zoning restrictions of defendant borough, subject only to a proper exercise by defendant of its police power. The adjacent boroughs are proper parties to contest the validity of the amendment. Borough of Cresskill v. Borough of Dumont, (N. J. Super. Ct. 1953) 100 A. (2d) 182

Corporations - Officers and Directors - Liability for Realizing Less than Full Value from Sale of Corporate Assets on Dissolution

The defendants were directors, officers, and sole stockholders of a corporation engaged in the business of wholesaling electrical supplies. The business gradually declined until the corporation was no longer able to meet maturing obligations, even though expenses had been cut to a minimum. After trying unsuccessfully to borrow more money the defendants decided to wind up the business. Faced with several possible methods of liquidation, they chose to sell the assets at an open auction sale. The net proceeds of the sale were about $20,000, while the cost of the inventory had been at least$60,000. The creditors, through the trustee in bankruptcy, sued the directors for waste of the assets under the New York statute. The appellate division decided that there had been waste, for the directors had not given the required notice to the creditors of the sale and bad not realized full value for the assets. On appeal, held, affirmed, two judges dissenting. While notice to the creditors is not required, directors must respond in damages for the amount, if any, by which less than full value is realized from the liquidation sale of a corporation\u27s assets. New York Credit Men\u27s Adjustment Bureau., Inc. v. Weiss, 305 N.Y. 1, 110 N.E. (2d) 397 (1953)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-DUE PROCESS-SEARCH AND SEIZURE-USE IN STATE COURTS OF EVIDENCE OBTAINED ILLEGALLY

Petitioner was convicted of bookmaking under the anti-gambling laws of California by the use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure and through disclosures petitioner made when purchasing a federal wagering tax stamp. While petitioner and his wife were away, police concealed a microphone in the hall of his home, later moving it to the bedroom and finally to a bedroom closet. The instrument was connected to a receiver in a neighboring garage where other officers monitored all conversations for more than a month. Petitioner exhausted all state remedies in his attempt to have the evidence so obtained declared inadmissible. On certiorari the United States Supreme Court held, affirmed, four justices dissenting. The Fourteenth Amendment does not prevent the use in a state court of evidence acquired illegally. Irvine v. People of State of California, 347 U.S. 128, 74 S.Ct. 381 (1954)

Negligence - Causation - Liability Under Statute for Injury Resulting from Fire Started by Railroad Locomotive

Sparks from defendant\u27s train started a fire on defendant\u27s right of way which spread toward plaintiff\u27s farm. Plaintiff, in an attempt to contain the fire, plowed a fire guard along the edge of his property. While driving his tractor to a safe place after completing the last furrow, he ran over a root or limb which flew up and struck him in the eye, causing blindness. In the trial court plaintiff recovered from the railroad under an Oklahoma statute which specified that Any railroad company operating any line in this state shall be liable for all damages sustained by fire originating from operating its road. On appeal, held, affirmed, three judges dissenting. The fire was the proximate cause of the injury. St. Louis-San Francisco R. Co. v. Ginn, (Okla. 1953) 264 P. (2d) 351

Real Property - Compensation for Abrogation of a Restrictive Covenant by Public Authority

It is the purpose of this comment to examine the legal consequences produced when the tranquility of the residential district is disturbed by governmental action

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

Modelling human choices: MADeM and decision‑making

Research supported by FAPESP 2015/50122-0 and DFG-GRTK 1740/2. RP and AR are also part of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics FAPESP grant (2013/07699-0). RP is supported by a FAPESP scholarship (2013/25667-8). ACR is partially supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-DUE PROCESS-SEARCH AND SEIZURE-USE IN STATE COURTS OF EVIDENCE OBTAINED ILLEGALLY

Petitioner was convicted of bookmaking under the anti-gambling laws of California by the use of evidence obtained through unreasonable search and seizure and through disclosures petitioner made when purchasing a federal wagering tax stamp. While petitioner and his wife were away, police concealed a microphone in the hall of his home, later moving it to the bedroom and finally to a bedroom closet. The instrument was connected to a receiver in a neighboring garage where other officers monitored all conversations for more than a month. Petitioner exhausted all state remedies in his attempt to have the evidence so obtained declared inadmissible. On certiorari the United States Supreme Court held, affirmed, four justices dissenting. The Fourteenth Amendment does not prevent the use in a state court of evidence acquired illegally. Irvine v. People of State of California, 347 U.S. 128, 74 S.Ct. 381 (1954)

Corporations - Officers and Directors - Liability for Realizing Less than Full Value from Sale of Corporate Assets on Dissolution

The defendants were directors, officers, and sole stockholders of a corporation engaged in the business of wholesaling electrical supplies. The business gradually declined until the corporation was no longer able to meet maturing obligations, even though expenses had been cut to a minimum. After trying unsuccessfully to borrow more money the defendants decided to wind up the business. Faced with several possible methods of liquidation, they chose to sell the assets at an open auction sale. The net proceeds of the sale were about $20,000, while the cost of the inventory had been at least$60,000. The creditors, through the trustee in bankruptcy, sued the directors for waste of the assets under the New York statute. The appellate division decided that there had been waste, for the directors had not given the required notice to the creditors of the sale and bad not realized full value for the assets. On appeal, held, affirmed, two judges dissenting. While notice to the creditors is not required, directors must respond in damages for the amount, if any, by which less than full value is realized from the liquidation sale of a corporation\u27s assets. New York Credit Men\u27s Adjustment Bureau., Inc. v. Weiss, 305 N.Y. 1, 110 N.E. (2d) 397 (1953)