Workmen's Compensation Acts--Nature of Action Thereunder a Propos the Extraterritoriality Question

Authors

Abstract

The nature of the right and duty created by Workmen's Compensation Acts has been the subject of considerable discussion by courts and writers, but still defies settlement. The United States district court in Kansas was called upon to decide this question in a recent case involving the application of the Kansas statute of limitations. The court held that an action under the Workmen's Compensation Act was not one entitling the plaintiff to claim the longer period which applied to "an action upon contract, express or implied." Davidson v. Payne, 281 Fed. 544. There is nothing in the nature or purpose of the statute of limitations which would require any particular restriction of the term contract as used in such statutes. So we have directly raised the question: Is the obligation created by the Workmen's Compensation Act delictual or contractual; or something else distinct from both of these?

Recommended Citation

Workmen's Compensation Acts--Nature of Action Thereunder a Propos the Extraterritoriality Question, 21 Mich. L. Rev. 449 (1923).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol21/iss4/7