Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2003

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2003

Detroit Tiger Bobby Higginson Assists SMILE Program.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Detroit Tiger Bobby Higginson, through the Higginson Foundation, has provided assistance to the Oakland County SMILE (Start Making It Liveable For Everyone) Program by donating necessary funds in order...

Firm Celebrates 100 Years Of Practice In Oakland County.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff One hundred years after it was founded, Beier Howlett is still going strong, pursuing favorable outcomes for its clients with a vigor and level of success that places it among the most successful and...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Referee's Decision Subject To Review.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Even though the parties to a family law dispute agreed to have a Friend of the Court referee decide the issues without a right to trial-court review, the plaintiff was still entitled to de novo review...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law DEQ Permit Required Where the trial court determined that defendant-county board of commissions were not required to obtain a DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality)...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions OUIL Causing Death; Habitual Offender, Second Offense. Expert Witness. "Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion for funds to hire an expert to...

Young Michigan Lawyers Honor New Judges.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Donald DeNault, as chair of the young lawyers section of the Macomb County Bar Association, presented gavels to a record number of new judges this year. Following the bar association's long standing...

Attorney Purchases Motown Legend's Home In Detroit.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Cynthia F. Reaves -- a partner with the healthcare department of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, LLP -- has purchased The Michelson-Young Estate from its former resident, Berry Gordy Jr. In...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Gym's 'Release' Does Not Preclude Negligence Claim.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram Even though a gym's sign-in sheet contained a release stating it would not assume responsibility for injuries incurred by its patrons, the estate of a man who died after falling off a treadmill could still bring...

Michigan Supreme Court Rules University Not Liable For Fall At Dorm.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Karen M. Poole A woman who was injured when she tripped and fell outside her daughter's dormitory cannot sue the university under the public building exception to governmental immunity, the Michigan Supreme Court has decided. ...

Verdicts & Settlements July 14, 2003: Undiagnosed Injury Nets $100K Verdict.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This automobile negligence matter arose from the fact that the plaintiff's shoulder injury went undiagnosed for 13 months after the injury. The defendant agreed that the plaintiff would have had...

Verdicts & Settlements June 14, 2003: Failure To Detect Cancer Leads To Death.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Seventeen-year-old Stacey Sanford had a large black mole removed from her back. The tissue was biopsied by the defendant lab. Twelve months later, Stacey developed double vision and intense headaches....

Happy Birthday To Judicial Review.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff More than 200 years ago, perhaps the greatest Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall, authored his first opinion, the court's decision in Marbury v. Madison. This year is the 200th...

Michigan Supreme Court Rules Complaint Timely Filed, But Limitations Period Not Tolled.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth Where an employee filed a complaint against his employer within the statute of limitations but failed to comply with any of the requirements of MCL 600.5856, the statute of limitations was not tolled and the claim...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Appointments Chief Justice Maura D. Corrigan has been named to the newly-established Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. Former Attorney General Frank J. Kelley has been...

Michigan Attorney Discipline Board Case Summaries: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Misconduct Level Of Discipline False Statements Where respondent was found to have filed a motion with the Michigan Court of Appeals that contained false statements about a judge and an...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Orders ADM File No. 2003-15 Proposed Amendment and Redesignation of Administrative Order No. 1993-5 State Bar of Michigan Activities On order of the Court, this is to...

6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Sovereign Immunity Not Available Where appellant seeks a refund of corporate excise taxes, interest, and penalties paid to appellee-State of Massachusetts, the bankruptcy court...

State Of Israel Bonds Honors Justice, Judge In Michigan.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn J. Kelly and Judge Amy P. Hathaway of Michigan's Third Circuit Court were honored by the Metropolitan Detroit Attorney Division of Israel Bonds at a recent...

Michigan Companies Briefed On Opportunities In Israel.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Commercial Service, recently presented "Exploring Business Opportunities In Israel," with guest speaker Michael Richardson, senior commercial officer at the U.S....

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Statute Of Limitations No Tolling By Mere Filing Of Complaint Where a complaint is filed, this alone does not toll the statute of limitations. There must also be...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: July 14, 2003.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Class Action Certification Granted Where plaintiff-retired public school teachers seek refunds from defendant-Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for funds they claim were...

Verdicts & Settlements June 14, 2003: Car, Bus Crash Causes Herniated Disk.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On April 9, 2001 the plaintiff, Dallas Thomas, was a passenger on a bus belonging to the defendant, the City of Detroit. The bus was hit by the co-defendant, Tremayne Scales, who skidded across the...

6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Settlement Statements Needn't Be Disclosed.
July 21, 2003... Byline: David M. Benson Litigants in a breach-of-contract action could not be forced by an intervening party to violate a judge's confidentiality order and disclose statements made in the course of settlement talks, the 6th U.S. Circuit...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Patient's Suit Subject To Med-Mal Damages Cap.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth a patient's leg was injured as nurses tried to move her from a toilet to a wheelchair, and the leg was eventually amputated, the patient's subsequent lawsuit was subject to the med-mal cap on noneconomic damages, the...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Appointments Jennie E. Barkey and Brian Mackie have been appointed to the Michigan Child Support Leadership Council. Barkey is the circuit court referee in the Genesee County...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Drunk Driver Not Liable For Plaintiffs' Next Accident.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Where a father and his child were being transported to a hospital after being mildly injured in an accident caused by a drunk driver, and the ambulance in which they were riding was hit by a second...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Murder, Second Degree; Felony Firearm. 'Miranda.' "Defendant acknowledged that his initials were on the advice of rights form, but claimed that he was advised of his rights...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Jurisdiction" Court Of Claims Where the State Housing Development Authority told a limited dividend housing association that it intended to keep all escrowed funds and reserve...

Citizen's Advisory Committee in Michigan Makes Recommendations, Offers Volunteers.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Flint 68th District Judge Herman Marable Jr.'s Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) met in May and made recommendations regarding the adoption of a courtroom to the classroom program as well as the...

Poll: Divided Feelings Over Affirmative Action Rulings.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Americans are as divided in their views over the landmark Supreme Court rulings on college affirmative action admissions programs as the court itself after its recent 5-4 and 6-3 decisions, according to...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2002-34 Amendment of Rules 7.211 and 7.216 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes and an opportunity for...

U.S.Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Confidentiality Order Settlement Discussions Where the federal district court imposed a confidentiality order that prevented either of the named parties in a case from...

U.S.District Court Michigan Eastern Case Summaries: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 11 Untimely Appeal Notice Excusable Neglect Where plaintiff-debtors filed a notice of appeal of the court's order granting defendant summary judgment more than 10 days but less than...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Class Certification Granted Where plaintiffs-retired school teachers seek class certification on their claim against the IRS for a refund of the Federal Insurance...

Calculating Quantum Meruit Fees.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Marcia L. Proctor From time to time, a lawyer is discharged or withdraws before the case is resolved. If the lawyer-client engagement was based upon an hourly fee arrangement, the calculation of the lawyer's fee for work done prior...

Delayed Applications For Leave To Appeal Eliminated By Michigan Supreme Court.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Karen M. Poole Practitioners are cautiously optimistic about the Michigan Supreme Court's package of rule amendments that eliminates delayed applications for leave to appeal in exchange for longer filing periods. Pursuant to...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Sentences Home Invasion, First Degree; Criminal Sexual Conduct, First Degree. A sentence of 100 to 240 months' in prison for the home-invasion conviction, to be served consecutive to...

Michigan Supreme Court Rules Ski Area Can't Be Sued Over Collision.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Karen M. Poole A skier who collided with a "timing shack" cannot recover from the ski area for his injuries, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled. Such collisions with stationary objects are inherent to the sport of skiing...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Workers Who Took Early Leave Get Unemployment.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employees of an automaker were entitled to unemployment benefits where they agreed to a pre-retirement leave program that paid 85 percent of their wages plus benefits and required them to retire after...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Felon In Possession; Felony Firearm. Possession Instruction. Defendant claims the court should have given the jury an instruction on possession but did not object to the...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Murder, Second Degree. Sufficient Evidence. There was sufficient evidence to find defendant guilty but mentally ill of second-degree murder. "At trial, the prosecution...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Default Judgment - Motion To Set Aside Where the trial court refused to set aside a default judgment entered after defendants failed to produce an individual for deposition as...

Michigan Supreme Court Rules Pregnancy Not Shown To Be Cause Of Non-Hire.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Paul J. Martinek An employer was entitled to a directed verdict where a discrimination plaintiff failed to introduce evidence of a causal connection between her pregnancy and the employer's failure to hire her, the Michigan Supreme...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2003-39 Amendment of Rule 3.955 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, in conformity with the notice provided in People v Petty, 469 Mich...

U.S.District Court Michigan Eastern Case Summaries: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Company Property - Claim And Delivery Where plaintiff-employer sued defendant-former employee to recover $217,690.46 in company sales samples (medical implants and surgical...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Honors Sally A. Hamby has received the Friend of NAWBO award from the National Association of Women Business Owners -- Greater Detroit Chapter. Hamby is principal with Miller,...

Interview With Judge C. Joseph Schwedler: Iron County Trial Court.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Iron County Trial Court Judge C. Joseph Schwedler understands the value of community involvement, and he has made it a personal priority throughout his legal career to cultivate strong ties with his...

Michigan Attorney General Opinion: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Penal Code Peace Officers - Stun Guns County corrections officers who are also "peace officers" have been exempted from the ban on possession of stun guns and similar devices in sections 224a...

Michigan Supreme Court Rules Underinsured-Motorist Limit Applied To Multiple Victims.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth Where a car-accident victim's policy limited the $100,000 per person underinsured motorist coverage to the amount that exceeded the "total" limits of the underinsured motorist's coverage and the tortfeasor's policy...

U.S.Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Pending State Litigation - No Jurisdiction Where plaintiff sued defendant under 42 U.S.C. Sect. 1983 over the seizure of her Jeep Cherokee under the Michigan forfeiture...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Family Medical Leave Act - Statue Of Limitations Where plaintiff, who suffers from migraine headaches, alleges defendant-employer terminated her employment in violation of the Family...