Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2005

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2005

Michigan Supreme Court throws out 'Kenny v. Kaatz Funeral Home' appellate ruling.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. The plaintiff in Kenny v. Kaatz Funeral Home, Inc., won't be getting her day in court after all. Despite having convinced the Michigan Court of Appeals she deserved a trial on her premises liability claim,...

Debtor-in-possession wins $1.5M legal-mal verdict in U.S. District Court, E. District of MI.(legal malpractice)
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Can a debtor-in-possession succeed in a legal malpractice lawsuit against the law firm retained by the former trustee, where the trustee's reliance on the law firm's allegedly negligent due diligence...

Commentary: Letter to the Editor: Alternative available to Attorney General's 'Cops on Street' plan.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To the editor: There is an alternative to the "Cops on Street" plan to eliminate preliminary examinations for defendants charged with less serious felonies. The attorney general's proposal is...

MI Lawyers in the News: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Robert E. L. Wright has been appointed vice chairman of the Practice Development Committee of the American Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Section for a one-year term. ...

Commentary: Do companies understand the importance of computer forensics?
July 4, 2005... Byline: Duane Hopkins Much of the corporate tech department's time is spent trying to fend off threats from outside and inside the computer network. Because technology is changing so fast, these attacks are becoming more complex. The...

Commentary: Keep it simple: Let's not reform jury trials.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Frederick W. Lauck Michigan Supreme Court Justice Clifford W. Taylor has published a most interesting, and well written, article on the history and significance of jury trials in the June 2005 Michigan Bar Journal. As Justice...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 4, 2005: $1.5M verdict for legal malpractice.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's counsel argued that the defendant law firm which was hired by bankruptcy estate's trustee negligently performed a "due diligence" assessment of the estate's assets. Consequently, when...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 4, 2005: $250K damages for securities arbitration.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This case involved claimants who were both retirees living on a fixed income. When their broker retired, they switched their account to Merrill Lynch because of its reputation. Once the claimants...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 4, 2005: Sales commission dispute settles for $258K.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a retired U.S. Marine, had been involved in the development of the U.S. military's HMMWV (Humvee) vehicle. After retiring from the Marines, the plaintiff formed a sales agency and...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 4, 2005: Man awarded $300K in no-fault benefits.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was rear-ended by the defendant who was traveling at an excessive rate of speed on I-75 in November 2002. The defendant was ticketed for following too closely. The plaintiff's vehicle...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Certificate Of Cooperation - Standards Under the standards announced in this opinion, defendant is not entitled to a certificate of cooperation, which would make him eligible for...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Reversals And Remands Attorney Grievance Commission People v. Zarembski. SC: 127632; COA: 257406 ; Livingston CC: 03-013702-FC; 03-013703-FC; 03-013704-FC; 03-013705-FH; 03-013706-FH. On order...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Juvenile Code - Restitution By Juvenile's Parents The parents of a juvenile convicted of burning property inside his school may be properly ordered, under the Juvenile Code, to pay...

MI Circuit Court Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Unemployment Compensation - Good Cause For Quitting A truck driver who voluntarily quit her job did so with good cause attributable to her employer, which entitled her to...

MI Attorney General Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Firefighters - Civil Service Act In the absence of a collective bargaining agreement providing otherwise, the Police and Fire Civil Service Act, 1935 PA 78, as amended by 1986 PA...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dismissal With Prejudice - Subsequent Filing Barred Where a bankruptcy judge dismissed a debtor's Chapter 7 petition "with prejudice to her right to file a petition under any...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Prisons And Prisoners Conditions Of Confinement - Failure To Exhaust Remedies Plaintiff-prisoner's complaint concerning the conditions of his confinement will be dismissed without prejudice...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 11 Voided Insurance Policy - Intent An insurance company is not entitled to void an entire fire policy based on misrepresentations the debtor made in the proof of loss because there is...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Mediation Sanctions - Interest Calculation Under the clear and unambiguous language of MCL 600.6013(8), judgment interest is applied to attorney fees and costs ordered as...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Discipline Matters Reibel v. Attorney Grievance Comm'n. SC: 127345; AGC: 3536/02. On the order of the Court, the complaint for superintending control is considered, and relief is DENIED,...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Transfer Of Union Funds - Breach Of Contract Where officers of AFSCME Local 2259 withdrew funds from the local's account and deposited them in another account in the name of the...

Attorney Discipline Board Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Level Of Discipline Consent For Stipulation - Reprimand An attorney who placed opposing counsel's name on a stipulation to reschedule a pretrial conference without actually speaking to...

Michigan Supreme Court bars 'toxic tort' plaintiffs' claim for medical monitoring.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Almost 200 "toxic tort" class-action plaintiffs who suffered no actual, physical injuries were barred from suing a chemical company which had allegedly released dioxin into a flood plain to establish a...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Donald E. McGinnis Jr., of the Law Offices of Donald E. McGinnis Jr., in Troy, has been elected president of the Oakland County Bar Association. Others elected include: John F....

Commentary: The future of domestic partner employee benefits v. Proposal 2.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Thomas P. Hustoles, et. al For at least the past decade, there has existed an escalating national trend toward employers providing some kind of employee benefits for domestic partners. Examples of this trend can be found at:...

Verdicts & Settlements: July 18, 2005: No-fault, PIP matter nets $689K verdict.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was struck by a motor vehicle and suffered a cervical fracture and closed-head injury. Eventually, the plaintiff was diagnosed with major depression with psychotic features. All...

Verdicts & Settlements: July 18, 2005: Defective bike path matter settles for $3M.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a 35-year-old executive at Ford with a wife and two young children, and the defendant was the developer of a new subdivision. On the day of the accident, the plaintiff was riding...

Verdicts & Settlements: July 18, 2005: Jury awards $413K in legal-malpractice suit.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was represented by defendant-attorney who owed him duties as his personal counsel, estate planning counsel, and as the lawyer for a professional corporation in which the plaintiff was a 50...

'Kreiner': Back in the Legislature's crosshairs.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Legislative Preview The Kreiner "fix" is in, but will it do the trick? Last summer, the Michigan Supreme Court rocked the no-fault insurance world with its ruling in Kreiner v. Fischer and in its...

Healing-jurisprudence a way of life for this Michigan judge.(Interview)
July 25, 2005... Byline: Amanda L. Aranowski In an article entitled, "The Elephant in the Courtroom," 61st District Court Judge Patrick C. Bowler stated that lawyers are healers of human conflict, resolving community disputes, and bringing peace to the...

Michigan enacts new exemption statute.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michelle M. Wezner On Jan. 3, 2005, Michigan's new exemption statute, MCL 600.5451, went into effect. Exemption statutes are laws which protect certain items of a debtor's property from the reach of creditors, including judgment...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Gerald Marcinkoski has been appointed to the State Board of Law Examiners. Marcinkoski, a partner with Lacey & Jones, LLP, in Birmingham, specializes in workers' compensation. ...

Commentary: Marketing your practice with paralegals.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Linda S. Jevahirian Once thought of as being outside the conservative field of law, marketing of legal services is now an accepted and necessary practice. One often overlooked asset is the paralegal. Rounding out the full service...

Verdicts & Settlements July 25, 2005: Breach of warranty nets $3.7M verdict.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's counsel represented plaintiff trucking companies Stone Transport, Inc. (Stone) and Amazon Transportation, Inc. (Amazon), as well as truck leasing agent Lady Hawk, Inc., in a suit brought...

Verdicts & Settlements July 25, 2005: $3.8M award for brain injured passenger.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Jeff Beaudrie was a passenger in a vehicle driven by defendant Tracy Dalton and owned by defendant Enterprise Leasing Company of Detroit, Inc., which was involved in a single-vehicle accident...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Arbitrator's Authority - Award Affirmed The labor arbitrator acted within his authority when he determined that certain conduct committed by a television station employee [use of...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law False Pretenses - Sufficient Evidence There was sufficient evidence to sustain defendant's false pretenses convictions arising from the operation of political action committees...

Kalamazoo County Circuit Court rules estate can't sue paramedics for medical malpractice.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Circuit Court Report The estate of a man who allegedly died as a result of negligent pre-hospital medical care was barred from suing because the paramedics who treated him enjoyed governmental immunity under...

Verdicts & Settlements July 25, 2005: Arbitration nets investor $75K.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A National Association of Securities Dealers arbitration panel awarded a woman and her husband $75,000 in damages for investment losses suffered at the hands of a stockbroker. Plaintiff Roxanne...

Verdicts & Settlements July 25, 2005: Fraudulent transfers yield $800K verdict.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's counsel said the defendants were the recipients of money fraudulently transferred to them by their husbands. They hid the money in their houses. The key to winning, plaintiff's counsel...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 25, 20205.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Race Discrimination - Retaliation We affirm the jury's verdict and $100,000 punitive-damages award for plaintiff-employee based on the jury's conclusion that defendant-employer,...

Michigan Supreme Court Decisions: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Assault With Intent To Commit CSC Involving Penetration - Sufficient Evidence The prosecution presented sufficient evidence to bind over defendant on a charge of assault with...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Orders ADM File No. 2003-04 Amendment of Administrative Order No. 2000-3 On order of the Court, Administrative Order No. 2000-3 is amended as follows, effective January 1,...

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished Civil) Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Telephone Repair Charges - Restitution The Public Service Commission properly determined that SBC Michigan was liable for fines and restitution for violating sections of the...

Michigan Court Of Appeals (Unpublished Criminal) Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery; Habitual Offender, Third Offense. Effective Assistance. "Woodfork argues that trial counsel was ineffective, where counsel failed to assert spousal privilege...

Circuit Court Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Medical Malpractice Emergency Medical Services Act - Immunity Defendant-paramedics are entitled to immunity under the Emergency Medical Services Act (EMSA) because none of the complained-of...