Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2004

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2004

Michigan Supreme Court rules damage reduction cap does not apply to highway claim.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram A driver and passenger who were not wearing seatbelts when they were involved in a single-car accident cannot rely on the safety belt use statute's cap on the reduction of damages in their suit against a county...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: July 12, 2004.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2004-15 Amendment of Rule 6.429 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, the need for immediate action having been found, the notice...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 12, 2004.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Aviation Law - Substantial Evidence Where petitioner-air center filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration, alleging that intervenor-airport authority...

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Mich. Case Summaries: July 12, 2004.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Duty Of Fair Representation - No Breach Where plaintiff-employee claims that defendant-union violated the duty of fair representation by not pursuing his grievance regarding his...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: July 12, 2004.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Automatic Stay - Annuity Payments Where, in return for a lump-sum payment, the debtor made a "qualified assignment" of her rights to certain periodic payments she was receiving under...

Commentary: Concerns in the short-term rental of cars or trucks.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michael Hale Individuals or commercial enterprises that rent vehicles on a short-term basis face four types of possible claims arising out of an accident with those vehicles: * bodily injury to other people; * property...

Bar not liable for drunk patron's slip & fall injury, rules Michigan Supreme Court.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole A bar was not liable for an injury sustained by a patron who slipped and fell in its parking lot, even though the patron was visibly intoxicated when he left the bar, the Michigan Supreme Court has decided. The...

Dad can be prosecuted for felony nonsupport, rules Michigan Court of Appeals.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Todd C. Berg A father who owed more than $50,000 in unpaid child support was subject to prosecution for felony-nonsupport, even though more than eight years had passed since his youngest child turned 18, the Michigan Court of...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 12, 2004.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Attorney General Mike Cox has been appointed chairman of a Homeland Security Committee for the National Association of Attorneys General. Judge Rudolph Serra has been appointed to...

Homeowners can't recover damages for toxic mold, rules Michigan Court of Appeals.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A couple forced to move out of their home because of toxic mold could not recover damages under their homeowners policy, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided. The insurer argued that the...

Michigan Attorney General Opinion Summaries: July 12, 2004.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law Auditor General - Access To Local School Records The State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction may not delegate their authority to examine school...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 12, 2004.
July 12, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Agency Death Of Principal - Effect On Agent's Actions Where an agent completed all the acts necessary to transfer limited partnership shares before the principal died but a third party had not...

$10M award in 'palimony' case could signal trend.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Denise G. Callahan A woman's recent $10 million jury award in a lawsuit against a man with whom she was romantically involved for more than two decades could be the start of a trend toward relaxing legal restrictions on recovery in...

Rental car death award subject to damage cap, rules Michigan Supreme Court.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole Even though the estate of a woman killed in a rental car accident received a $900,000 jury award -- subject to a high-low agreement -- its recovery was limited to $20,000 because the statutory cap on such damages is...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: July 19, 2004.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2003-60 Amendment of Rule 5.125 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes and an opportunity for comment in...

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Mich. Case Summaries: July 19, 2004.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 13 Mortgage Lien - Perfected Where the debtors (in their third bankruptcy petition) seek to determine the validity of defendant-mortgage company's second, unrecorded mortgage on their...

Commentary: Law firm political action committees.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Marcia L. Proctor Law firms may establish political action committees to support elected candidates. Such activities are governed by MCL 169.200 et seq, and where the candidate is seeking a judicial position, by the Michigan Code...

Verdicts & Settlements July 19, 2004: $950K awarded in indemnity case.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff MDOT contracted with Ajax Paving Industries, Inc. for a highway construction project. The contract required Ajax to provide contractual indemnity to MDOT and to purchase an OCP policy insuring MDOT. ...

Verdicts & Settlements July 19, 2004: Condemnation matter nets $25M verdict.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff In September 2000, plaintiff City of Detroit filed a condemnation action to take, by eminent domain, a vacant 6.3 acre tract of property on the Detroit River for inclusion in the city's proposed...

Slip & fall plaintiff cannot recover from snow service, rules Michigan Supreme Court.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram A woman who injured her ankle when she slipped and fell in an icy parking lot cannot recover damages from the snow removal contractor hired to plow the lot, the Michigan Supreme Court has decided. The woman...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 19, 2004.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Jeffrey S. Theuer has been elected to the Okemos Public Schools board of education. Theuer, a shareholder with Loomis, Ewert, Parsley, Davis & Gotting, P.C., concentrates his...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 19, 2004.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Witness Intimidation. Prior Assault. "Defendant asserts that the prosecutor failed to provide adequate notice of his intent to introduce the prior acts evidence at trial, as...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 19, 2004.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Motor Vehicle Lease Damage Cap - Constitutionality Where MCL 257.401(3) caps the amount of a motor vehicle lessor's liability when the vehicle is rented for less for 30 days or...

No-fault insurer must pay uninsured motorist claims, rules Michigan Court of Appeals.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Todd C. Berg A no-fault provider was required to pay uninsured motorist benefits to the victims of a car accident, even though the victims filed their claims 16 months after the accident and the policy required such claims to be...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 19, 2004.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Ohio Attorney's Lien - No Preferential Transfer Where the bankruptcy court misapplied Ohio law when finding that defendant-law firm failed to establish that it held a valid,...

Verdicts & Settlements July 19, 2004: $170K settlement for collision, death.
July 19, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Nineteen-year-old plaintiff Justin Pound was drinking at PapaChino's bar with his friend, 35-year-old defendant Paul Gordon Compo. After an argument in the bar, both individuals left the bar in...

Med-mal expert lacking 'exact' specialty is barred, rules Michigan Supreme Court.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Paul J. Martinek A physician certified in anesthesiology with a critical care subspecialty was not qualified to serve as a standard-of-care expert witness in a medical malpractice suit against a doctor certified in internal...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Lawrence R. Jordan has been re-appointed to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education Technology Law and Training Advisory Board for a three-year term. Jordan, a partner with...

U.S. District Court Western District of Mich. Case Summaries: July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Arbitration - Plant Closing Where defendant-union claimed that plaintiff's decision to close a plant breached a collective bargaining agreement, an arbitrator exceeded his authority by...

Verdicts & Settlements July 26, 2004: $500K settlement for unpaid commissions.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff sales representative entered into a sales representation agreement with defendant principal to solicit business opportunities for the defendant. The defendant manufacturers machined parts...

Michigan Court of Appeals rules coaches not liable in suit over student-athlete's death.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Todd C. Berg Three high school football coaches who oversaw the school's pre-season conditioning camp had governmental immunity from liability in a suit filed by the estate of a teenage student varsity football player who suffered...

Verdicts & Settlements July 26, 2004: Tuscola County jury awards $600K.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, 28-year-old Jeremy Lotter, was a passenger in his own truck. The registered owner of Lotter's truck was his employer, Davidson Hoof Trimming. The accident occurred when the...

Verdicts & Settlements July 26, 2004: $400K settlement for auto neg case.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff An 88-year-old man came off the highway and ran a red light and struck the plaintiff, a young mother in her 20s. Her injuries included an 8-inch scar on the side of her face, closed-head injury,...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Possession With Intent To Deliver Less Than 50 Grams Of Cocaine. No Judicial Misconduct. "[T]he court did not direct the prosecution on how to argue its case. Instead, the...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Waiver Of Counsel - Compliance With Waiver Requirements Where defendant appeared to condition his initial waiver of counsel on the trial court permitting him to recall witnesses...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Leave Granted Barnes v. Vettraino, et al. SC: 123661; COA: 235357; Oakland CC: 00-022089-NH. On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 25, 2003 judgment of the Court of...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Secondhand Smoke - No Duty Where plaintiff, who leased space and operated a food establishment in defendants' bowling alley, claims he developed throat cancer from being exposed to...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law First Amendment - Ten Commandments Where defendant-Ohio judge appeals the federal district court's order granting plaintiff-American Civil Liberties Union partial summary...

Suit over off-road injury is precluded, rules Michigan Supreme Court.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A plaintiff injured while riding an all-terrain vehicle on the mowed portion of a defendant's back yard was barred from suing by the Recreational Land Use Act, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled. ...

Non-smoker with cancer can't sue workplace, rules Oakland County Circuit Court judge.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole A non-smoker who developed throat cancer can't sue the bowling alley where he worked claiming that smoking by others there made him ill, an Oakland County Circuit Court judge has ruled. The plaintiff argued that...

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Mich. Case Summaries:July 26, 2004.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Jurisdiction - Limited Personal Jurisdiction Where defendant, a Tennessee corporation, has moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction because plaintiff, a Michigan corporation,...

Verdicts & Settlements July 26, 2004: Brachial plexis injury gets no cause.
July 26, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff alleged that the known, large-for-gestational-age infant with small-statured mother, who was 12 days past her due date, and the protracted and/or arrested labor and arrested descent...