Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2005

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2005

Wayne County Circuit Court rules Detroit wins 'no cause' where city bus strikes, kills pedestrian.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Verdicts & Settlements Plus Can the estate of a man who was killed by a city bus while trying to cross the street successfully sue for substantial damages, even though the man's own negligence may...

New Michigan legislation would let doctors say 'I'm sorry'.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Legislative Preview Doctors whose patients experience unfavorable treatment outcomes may soon be able to express regret without fear that their statements will be used against them if they are...

Commentary: Letters to the Editor, April 4, 2005.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: Chief Justice Clifford Taylor should take care how far he advocates his textualist approach to interpretation of the Constitution and laws. (See, "Chief justice to carry on court's...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: April 4, 2005.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Michael J. Schmedlen has been appointed acting chief commissioner of the Michigan Supreme Court. Additionally, Shari M. Oberg has been named acting deputy chief commissioner and...

Commentary: Employee Handbooks - Should you have one?
April 4, 2005... Byline: Melvin J. Muskovitz An important question facing employers is, "Should I have an employee handbook?" Whether you should have an employee handbook and what it should contain depends upon a number of factors, including the number of...

Commentary: 'Magee': The latest decision on accrual of claims under ELCRA.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Timothy H. Howlett and Ryan K. Mulally In its recent decision in Magee v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., Lawyers Weekly No. 06-54932, the Michigan Supreme Court addressed the issues of accrual of claims under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil...

Verdicts & Settlements April 4, 2005: Neurosurgeon wins 'no cause' verdict.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff patient presented to defendant neurosurgeon after failure of C6-7 cervical diskectomy fusion (done by another neurosurgeon) a year earlier. The defendant performed a "re-do" of the...

Verdicts & Settlements April 4, 2005: Closed-head injury settles for $675K.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The defendant truck driver caused the plaintiff's car to spin off the road. Although the plaintiff refused treatment at the scene, he was later diagnosed with having a mild, closed-head injury. ...

Verdicts & Settlements April 4, 2005: Engineer gets $112K for neck injury.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a locomotive engineer on the defendant's line. He was required to run the engine and its cars on a regular basis to one destination and then push the empty cars back. Operating the...

Verdicts & Settlements April 4, 2005: 'No Cause' verdict in hearing loss suit.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The 22-year-old plaintiff underwent surgery to repair a perforated right eardrum. A few weeks later, testing proved she had become totally deaf in that ear. It was claimed that antibiotic drops known...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: April 4, 2005.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Section 1983 - Statute Of Limitations A doctoral candidate's civil rights suit against a university for failing to award him his doctorate of philosophy and for failing to redress...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: April 4, 2005.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 13 Proof Of Claim - Evidence of Debt A U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee's objection to a creditor's proof of claim is denied where the sole reason for the objection is that the creditor did not...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 4, 2005.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Plea And Sentencing - Guidelines A court does not need to articulate "substantial and compelling" reasons for imposing a sentence in excess of the guidelines when the sentence is...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: April 4, 2005.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Discipline Matters Eisenberg v. Attorney Grievance Comm'n. SC: 126518; AGC: 1294/04. On order of the Court, the motion for reconsideration of this Court's order of December 29, 2004 is...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 4, 2005.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Felonious Driving - Operation Of Vehicle A front-seat passenger who grabbed the vehicle's steering wheel without permission, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and strike a...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: April 11, 2005.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Sale Of Assets - Assumption Of Liability Defendant-corporations were improperly found liable for breach-of-contract damages and for damages under the Michigan Sales Representative...

Plaintiff's back spasms are not a 'serious impairment', Michigan Court of Appeals holds.(Espinoza v. Dixon)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram, Esq. A car accident victim who began to experience back spasms after the accident did not suffer a serious impairment of body function, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided in an unpublished opinion. ...

Michigan receivership attorney champions cause of creditors.(Phillip S. Stenger)(Interview)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Practice Profile He's part sleuth, part accountant, and part banker. Put it all together and you've got one savvy solicitor. Nearly a dozen years ago, Grand Rapids attorney Phillip S. Stenger...

Commentary: Mid-sized firms compete for talent.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Irwin M. Alterman Some say mid-sized firms will eventually become extinct. With a shrinking market and growing competitors, the squeeze is definitely on, but they can still compete with the right tools. Included in the small...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: April 11, 2005.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Appointments Eric S. Richards has been appointed an alternate member of the Cascade Township Zoning Board of Appeals. Richards, a member with Mika Meyers Beckett & Jones PLC, in...

Commentary: Outsourcing HR - turning leverage into profits.(human resource)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Bradford Qua Let's face it: The legal profession is a service industry and service industries live and die by client rapport. It is not enough anymore to have satisfied clients. Now, a firm has to have clients that are passionate...

Michigan Court of Appeals decision protects migrant workers.(Cabrera, et al. v. Ekema)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Practitioners tell Lawyers Weekly that workers who file unpaid wage claims may now be protected from having to disclose their Social Security numbers under a recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision that...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 11, 2005: $11.9M awarded in legal-mal matter.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Initially, the plaintiff filed suit under the Whistleblower Protection Act after he had been discharged from his general surgery residency with St. Joseph Hospital in Detroit for reporting goings-on at...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 11, 2005: Wrongful death suit ends in 'no cause'.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff's decedent's family admitted her to a nursing home after her neurological disease progressed to the point that she could no longer be cared for at home. During the next weeks, her...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 11, 2005: Motorcycle crash yields $250K pre-suit.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On July 4, 2003, Michelle Thurston, 41, went for a ride on a motorcycle with her husband, Robert Thurston. As they proceeded down a paved road in Van Buren County, the front tire suddenly lost pressure...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 11, 2005: $55K for wrongful extraction of tooth.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On Sept. 6, 2001, 49-year-old plaintiff Judy Michon was referred by her general dentist, Douglas McDaniel, D.D.S., to defendant oral surgeon, Michael Loudon, DDS, M.S., for extraction of tooth #31...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: April 11, 2005.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeal Vacated Barnes v. Vettraino. SC: 123661; COA: 235357; Oakland CC: 00-022089-NH. On order of the Court, leave to appeal having been granted and the Court having considered the briefs and oral...

Bay County Circuit Court judge rules motorcyclist's ankle injury is a 'serious impairment'.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A motorcyclist whose ankle was severely injured when he collided with a van turning left in front of him has suffered a serious impairment of body function, a Bay County Circuit Court judge has ruled....

U. S. Supreme Court rules age discrimination plaintiffs can sue for 'disparate impact'.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Reni Gertner U.S. Supreme Court Case Plaintiffs who claim that an employer's practices had a disparate impact on older workers can sue for age discrimination under the ADEA, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. However, the...

Defendant to face trial after failed double jeopardy bid.(Gevon Ramon Davis)
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Michigan Supreme Court Case A defendant who pleaded guilty in Kentucky to attempted theft of a car he allegedly stole in Michigan cannot avoid a theft prosecution in Michigan on grounds that it...

Letter to the Editor: Bill is comfort against 'conspiracy of silence'.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: I read with interest, "New Bill Would Let Doctors Say 'I'm Sorry.'" (See, April 4, 2005, issue.) I don't know that the bill in question will change the legal landscape for...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: April 18, 2005.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Ronald G. Acho, co-founder and partner with Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, P.L.C., in Livonia, has been elected to the board of the Bank of Michigan. Acho centers his practice on...

Commentary: IRS Audit - Why Me? Part II.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Allen M. Scioli As you rifle through the day's stack of mail, one piece catches your eye an envelope from the Internal Revenue Service. You tear it open and skim the letter quickly while a sinking feeling sets in. Your business...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: April 18, 2005.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Social Security Relevant Work - Benefit Denial Reversed The Social Security Commissioner's decision to deny plaintiff-GM worker's claim for disability benefits based on a back injury is...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 18, 2005.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Double Jeopardy - Effect of Plea in Other State The Michigan Constitution's Double Jeopardy Clause does not prevent the state from prosecuting defendant for the theft of an...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: April 18, 2005.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Leave Granted Oral Argument Ordered People v. Jackson. SC: 125250; COA: 242050; Oakland CC: 2001-177534-FC. On October 7, 2004, the Court heard oral argument on the application for leave to...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 18, 2005.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Appeal or Stay Bonds - Taxation of Costs Where the Michigan Supreme Court has remanded this case so that this court can determine whether plaintiff-appellant insurance company...

Michigan Attorney General's Opinions: April 18, 2005.
April 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Statutes Legal Birth Definition Act - Abortion Procedures The Legal Birth Definition Act, MCL 333.1081 et seq, which defines when a person shall be considered born for all purposes under the...

Schiavo controversy sparks trend in Michigan.(Terri Schiavo's case of right to die)
April 25, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Practice Trend The Terri Schiavo case has been a wake-up call for the nation, underscoring the importance of making legally-sound, end-of-life medical decisions in times of good health, so that, in less...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: April 25, 2005.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Appointments Jerry R. Swift has been appointed to the Steering Committee of the Trucking Law Section of the Defense Research Institute. Swift, of Dean & Fulkerson, in Troy,...

Commentary: Business appraisal & divorce: The importance of independence.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Laurie Miller Business owners and those who hold an interest in a privately-held business should get the business appraised in the event of a divorce. In selecting a business appraiser, many companies' and their attorneys'...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 25, 2005: Class action vs. chemical co. nets $1.2M.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This was an environmental class action lawsuit. Defendant ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc., released chlorine and methyl mercaptan during an explosion that caused the one-day emergency evacuation of...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 25, 2005: Restaurant wins 'no cause' verdict.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff alleged that a waiter or bus boy in defendant restaurant turned around and bumped into him, causing him to fall to the floor. The plaintiff claimed two torn rotator cuff injuries, both...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 25, 2005: $1.4M awarded for defamation.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, an assistant superintendent for the Troy School District, was involved in the termination of the defendant who had been employed by the district as a custodian/janitor for more than 15...

Verdicts & Settlements: April 25, 2005: Auto neg matter settles for $750K.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a 35-year-old tile setter, was stopped for traffic when the defendant's 26,000-lb dump truck backed into him. Conservative medical treatment did not alleviate the plaintiff's symptoms...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: April 25, 2005.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Law Debt Collection - Improper Practices Defendant-collection agency violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Michigan Collection Practices Act (MCPA)...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: April 25, 2005.
April 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Proposed Court Rule Amendments Oral Argument Ordered ADM File No. 2004-60 Proposed Amendment of Rule 9.205 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, this is to advise that the...