Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2006

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2006

Michigan State Medical Society generates Patient Compensation Act of Michigan.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. The 139-page draft "Patient Compensation Act of Michigan" (PCA) -- which outlines a vision for the future of medical-malpractice litigation in Michigan -- gives new meaning to the word "overhaul." Generated...

Round two for legislative 'Apsey' fix.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Legislative Preview Tandem bills in the Michigan Senate are giving practitioners a modicum of hope the affidavit of merit morass may be on the mend. As sponsor of Senate Bills 1149 and 1150 -- which...

Lineups come under fire as DNA evidence exonerates defendants.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson For years, advocates of eyewitness reform have called for new procedures to lessen the dangers of false witness identification. They point to the increasing number of DNA exonerations in rape and murder...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Paul R. Jackson, a partner with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, has been appointed chair of the board of directors of the West Shore Symphony Orchestra in Muskegon for a one-year term. ...

Attorney Discipline Board: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Notice Of Automatic Suspension For Non-Payment Of Costs Case No. 05-144-GA Notice Issued: June 19, 2006 Andrew K. Wilkins, P 56559, East Lansing, Michigan. Effective June 17, 2006. ...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Veterans Preference Act - Nature Of Preference Under the Veterans Preference Act, which gives military veterans a "preference" when applying for public employment, "the veteran's...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Licenses And Permits - Fine Against Builder The Board of Residential Builders and Maintenance Contractors correctly rejected an administrative law judge's recommendation of...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Assault With Intent To Commit Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder. Sufficient Evidence. Defendant's "argument focuses on his claim that, because he abandoned his criminal intent...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Attorney General - Intervenor Where an insurance company and its insured sued a county road commission to recover environmental cleanup costs resulting from contamination that migrated...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2003-04 Amendment of Rules 6.502, 6.503, 6.504, 6.506, and 6.509 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes and an...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Section 1983 - Failure-To-Protect Claim Plaintiffs have no constitutional claims against police officers who responded to a 911 call and allegedly mishandled a situation, which...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination Claim - Failure To Exhaust Remedies Plaintiff's disability discrimination claim under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Sect. 791 et seq. against the U.S....

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: July 3, 2006.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination Claims - No Prima Facie Case Where the Veterans Administration, plaintiff's employer, discharged her after she was convicted of Social Security fraud, plaintiff's...

Commentary: claims of adverse employment actions as unfair conduct against minority shareholders.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Andrew D. Bos In 2004, the Court of Appeals decided Franchino v. Franchino, 263 Mich. App. 172, 687 N.W.2d 620 (2004), which hinged on whether Section 489 (MCLA Sect. 450.1489) of the Michigan Business Corporation Act (MBCA)...

Verdicts & Settlements July 3, 2006: Breach of warranty claim gets $145K verdict.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff purchased a motor home made by defendant Forest River from defendant Kitsmiller RV in June 2002. During the first year, the motor home was in service for approximately 11 months, for a...

Verdicts & Settlements July 3, 2006: 'No cause' verdict for surgical malpractice case.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The 73-year-old plaintiff presented to defendant Alpena Surgical Associates with a large midline abdominal incisional hernia. On Sept. 13, 2002, defendant Dr. Michael D. Paulsell attempted to...

Verdicts & Settlements July 3, 2006: Auto negligence matter results in 'no cause'.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The defendant was at fault for causing a motor vehicle accident in which the plaintiff's vehicle was totaled. The plaintiff sought medical care from her family doctor a couple of days later and he...

Commentary: Michigan Supreme Court making life difficult for personal injury lawyers.
July 3, 2006... Byline: Patrick K. Rocchio In recent months, a dominating feature of my life has been my observation of a startling and alarming drop in my gross income. Not unlike other attorneys in Michigan who have specialized in representing...

U.S. Supreme Court rules Title VII retaliation not limited to workplace conduct.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. U.S. Supreme Court Practitioners tell Lawyers Weekly that dealing with employees who have complained about discrimination may have just gotten a little trickier under a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision...

$7M verdict backs plaintiff's contention that 'a deal is a deal'.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Verdicts & Settlements Plus Can a small, out-of-town Medicare reimbursement consulting firm prevail in a fee dispute with local hospitals where the healthcare facilities claim the sought-after reimbursements...

MI Supreme Court rules on affidavit of meritorious defense requirement.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court Richard Costa thought the paramedics he was suing for medical malpractice should be defaulted for having failed to file affidavits of meritorious defense. He argued neither their...

MI Lawyers in the News: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Joan Lowenstein has been appointed to the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports for a two-year term. Lowenstein, of counsel with the Ann Arbor office of Jaffe...

MI Attorney Discipline Board case summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Final Notice Of Suspension Case No. 05-89-MZ (Ref. 04-154-GA) Notice Issued: June 30, 2006 Eugene Ostrowe, P 24307, Walled Lake, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board Tri-County...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law OUIL Charge - Discovery Improperly Ordered The district court improperly suppressed the results of two Datamaster breath alcohol tests as a discovery sanction in this drunken...

MI Court of Appeals (Unpublished Civil) Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Termination Reversed - Authority Exceeded The circuit court properly vacated an arbitrator's award, which restored a corrections worker to his job, because the arbitrator exceeded...

MI Court of Appeals (Unpublished Criminal) Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Possession Of 50 Or More But Less Than 450 Grams Of Cocaine. Confrontation Rights. "Defendant argues that he was denied the right of confrontation because he was unable to...

MI Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Medical Malpractice Governmental Immunity - Affidavit Of Meritorious Defense A defendant asserting the defense of governmental immunity is not required to file the affidavit of meritorious...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Discipline Matters Davis v. Attorney Grievance Comm'n. SC: 130581; AGC: 1477/05. On the order of the Court, the complaint for superintending control is considered, and relief is DENIED,...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Discharge Of Debt - Res Judicata And Collateral Estoppel A judgment against the debtor based on conversion of funds that should have been paid to his wife as part of a divorce...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Title VII - Retaliation Title VII's "anti-retaliation provision does not confine the actions and harms it forbids to those that are related to employment or occur at the workplace."...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Abstention - Core Proceeding State-law tort claims arising from statements the bankruptcy trustee's counsel made to a reporter concerning alleged bankruptcy fraud by the debtor and...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment FMLA - Summary Judgment An employer is not entitled to summary judgment on a former employee's claim that he was discharged for exercising his rights under the Family and Medical...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: July 17, 2006.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Ski Collision - Ski Safety Act Where defendant-uphill skier observed plaintiff-downhill skier below him but still chose to ski over the jump, where he collided with plaintiff, a...

Commentary: drug screening for the courts: the good, the bad and the ugly.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Mike Grosh and Steve Barber A state caseworker once said, "We watch the levels of cocaine over time, and as long as they generally keep going down for a month or so, we can tell the court that the client is making progress." ...

Verdicts & Settlements July 17, 2006: Medicare consultant wins $7M in contract case.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff McKay Consulting, Inc., a Medicare reimbursement firm, contracted with defendants St. John Health and Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., to try to increase their Medicare reimbursement by applying for...

Verdicts & Settlements July 17, 2006: 'No cause' verdict for drowning in city pool.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The minor decedent drowned in a City of Detroit public pool during a family swim period. Five lifeguards were supposed to be present, but three left the pool deck. The plaintiff sued the lifeguards...

Verdicts & Settlements July 17, 2006: Premises liability matter nets $278K.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a 61-year-old independent maintenance contractor who provided in-house service for defendant Arbor Press. The defendant's business used large copiers and required constant...

Verdicts & Settlements July 17, 2006: Medical-malpractice case results in 'no cause'.
July 17, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff In September 2001, Frank Long, a 51-year-old certified nurse anesthetist from suburban St. Louis, was vacationing with his girlfriend in Michigan. According to the plaintiff, Long was making in excess...

Wrongful-death medical-malpractice update: 'Waltz' applies retroactively.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Anticlimactic is the best way to describe the Michigan Court of Appeals' conflict panel opinion in Mullins v. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. After the stage had been set for a showdown on the merits of Ousley v....

Barris clan creates lasting legal dynasty.(Donald E. Barris)(Biography)
July 24, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan They broke the mold after each generation of Barris barristers in some respects, but the core values flow from one branch of the family tree to the next. Studying three generations of Barris attorneys offers...

Wage and hour suits on the rise.(Reprint)
July 24, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson In a disturbing development for employers, employees are increasingly filing suit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and accompanying state laws. "FLSA actions have almost...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Beverly Hall Burns, Eric J. Pelton and Michael J. Riordan have been appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan for three-year terms. Burns is a principal...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Open Meetings Act In an issue of first impression, an attorney who successfully represented himself in an Open Meetings Act proceeding is entitled to attorney fees despite the...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Release - Scope Where plaintiff-parents sued defendant-respite center after their disabled, unrestrained son fell from a wheelchair, defendants were improperly granted summary...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery. Jury Instruction. In response to a question from the jury -- "Is pretending to have a weapon enough to establish armed robbery?" -- the trial court answered,...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Leave Denied People v. Wilkens. SC: 129706; COA: 254668; Washtenaw CC: 03-000371-FH. On order of the Court, the motion for reconsideration of this Court's order of March 29, 2006 is considered, and...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Eastern District Cell Phone Usage NOTICE REGARDING CELLULAR TELEPHONE USE IN THE LEVIN COURTHOUSE Beginning on July 17, 2006, trials, hearings and conferences in cases and adversary...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Injunction - Cigarette Sales Plaintiff should have been granted a preliminary injunction to block defendant's sales of suspected counterfeits of plaintiff's cigarettes because...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Case Conversion - Interlocutory Appeal Monroe Bank & Trust is granted leave to appeal the Bankruptcy Court's order, which converted the debtor's case from a Chapter 11 to a Chapter...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: July 24, 2006.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Prior Action - Collateral Estoppel Collateral estoppel bars this case because the decedent's estate has another case on appeal that concerns the same issues as the present case...

Commentary: How about a 'slightly used' paralegal?
July 24, 2006... Byline: Linda S. Jevahirian One of the magical things about the paralegal field is how the experience spills over to related positions. Paralegal skills transfer easily to many opportunities in law firms, corporate legal departments, and...

Verdicts & Settlements July 24, 2006: $145K settlement for underinsurance claim.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident on Aug. 19, 2004. The plaintiff was stopped when the defendant's vehicle rear-ended him, pushing him into a large truck in front of him. After...

Verdicts & Settlements July 24, 2006: Premises liability matter settles for $1.5M.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was 42-year-old female emergency room physician for Henry Ford Hospital. On Feb. 2, 2004, she slipped and fell on her way out of the front entrance of her apartment complex. The...

Verdicts & Settlements July 24, 2006: 'No cause' verdict for slip and fall on step.
July 24, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff It was undisputed that the top step leading into the defendant's store had a huge crack in the concrete and the photographs of the accident scene did not portray the defendant's premises in a good...

Michigan Supreme Court rules for higher standard, narrower proofs.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court "Clear and convincing" is now the legal hurdle that plaintiffs must clear in order to rebut the presumption of nonliability under MCL 436.1801(8) of the Dramshop Act (DSA), the Michigan...

Fair warning for product-use risks?
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Michigan Supreme Court After her 11-month-old son died from ingesting and inhaling her hair moisturizer, Cheryce Greene filed a wrongful death product liability lawsuit against the retailer and...

Finding clients, or rather, having someone find them for you.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Sheryl M. Vassallo Managing Your Practice It's 11 p.m. and you're ready to call it a night, but you can't sleep. Your mind is racing and you can't stop wondering if tomorrow will be the day you will find your match, that...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments John D. Miller has been appointed to the Michigan Board of Occupational Therapists to represent the general public for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2007. Miller, an attorney with...

Attorney Discipline Board Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Notice Of Automatic Reinstatement Case No. 05-45-JC Notice Issued: July 18, 2006 Wade D. McCann, P 54449, Livonia, Michigan. Effective July 17, 2006 Respondent was suspended from...

MI Attorney General Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law Michigan Strategic Fund - Investments Const 1963, art 9, Sect. 19 allows the State to invest funds held as permanent funds or endowment funds -- including, but not limited...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - OV9 Under MCL 777.39, which requires the sentencing court to score points for "each person who was placed in danger of injury or loss of life as a victim," points are...

MI Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Accountant Malpractice Auditing Error - No Negligence An accountant who found an error in plaintiff's financial documents that the accountant missed in a previous audit cannot be sued for...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery. Juror Dismissal. "Defendant argues that the trial court erred by dismissing a juror for cause. We disagree.... The prospective juror explained that he was...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Dramshop Rebutting Presumption Of Nonliability - Clear And Convincing Evidence A plaintiff must provide clear and convincing evidence to rebut the statutory presumption of nonliability in the...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2004-26 Amendment of Rule 8.110 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes and an opportunity for comment in...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: July 31, 2006.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - 'Booker' Defendant's claim that at his resentencing, the district court improperly calculated his guideline range for his civil rights, racketeering and drug...

Not complying with 'direct supervision' of billing rule exposes doctors to Federal False Claims Act.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Kenneth R. Marcus In United States ex rel Walker v. R & F Properties of Lake County, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a physician's failure to comply with the "direct supervision" requirement of...

Verdicts & Settlements July 31, 2006: Breach of contract case nets $1.1M verdict.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's counsel said that, over the course of several years, the president/minority shareholder of a closely-held company engaged in a multiplicity of misrepresentations of money and property. ...

Verdicts & Settlements July 31, 2006: 'No cause' verdict for shattered ankle.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a pedestrian crossing Clifford Street at the corner of Woodward in Detroit. The plaintiff walked along the side of Clifford until he reached the intersection, where construction had...

Verdicts & Settlements July 31, 2006: Assault & battery claim results in $622K verdict.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff and defendant, formerly husband and wife, were at their home when a verbal argument began. It escalated to the point where the defendant pushed the plaintiff down the basement stairs,...

Verdicts & Settlements July 31, 2006: Uninsured motorist matter gets $55K.
July 31, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff and his fiancA1/2e were traveling southbound in the center lane of I-75 at about 8 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2004. A full-size pickup truck suddenly pulled up on their right, merging into their lane...