Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from June 2006

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from June 2006

Defendants will need 'good cause' to discover booking video under MCR 6.201.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Criminal Law Analysis Practitioners tell Lawyers Weekly that discovery practice in felony OUIL cases may undergo a significant change under a recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision that reversed the...

Tips for how lawyers can manage time more effectively.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Sheryl M. Vassallo Managing Your Practice Nothing is more precious than time. Especially for attorneys. Everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day, so why is it that some people find it more difficult than others to fit in...

New bankruptcy law raises liability risks for lawyers.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (This story was originally published in LawyersUSA, another Dolan Media Company publication.) Marc Stern, a solo practitioner in Seattle, Wash., recently had to give a client the debt relief agency...

Michigan Attorneys in the News: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Robert E.L. Wright has been appointed to a three-year term on the ADR Oversight Committee of the Kent County Circuit Court. Wright is an attorney-mediator in the Grand Rapids...

MI Attorney Discipline Board Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Notice Of Automatic Reinstatement Case No. 05-68-GA Case No. 05-86-GA Notice Issued: May 22, 2006 Harry R. Boffman, III, P 55052, Detroit, Michigan Effective May 22, 2006 ...

Circuit Court Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law OUIL - Breath Test Results Suppressed The district court's decision to admit the Data Master Breathalyzer results from a drunken driving suspect is reversed because the machine...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Law Michigan Franchise Investment Law - Contract Claims Plaintiff cannot state claims under the Michigan Franchise Investment Law concerning his disputes about a Sunoco gasoline...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Evidence - Arbitrator's Discretion An arbitrator acted within the scope of his discretion by declining to consider certain evidence that a party deemed material to the dispute. ...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Arson Of A Dwelling; Arson Of Insured Property. Evidence. "Because defendant contributed to the admission of testimony regarding extradition and the possibility of flight,...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Orders ADM File No. 2006-01 Appointment of Chief Judge of the Montmorency County Probate Court Pursuant to MCR 8.110, it is ordered that the Honorable John E. Fitzgerald is...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 13 Attorney Fees - Clerical Costs After applying the lodestar approach to the applicant's requested attorney fees and subtracting for the specific line items that are not compensable...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.(Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Felon In Possession Of Firearm Defendant's 77-month sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm is upheld. "In our view, the court demonstrated a model...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Forum Non Conveniens - FELA Action An injured railroad worker's choice of venue in which to bring a Federal Employers Liability Act suit is a "substantial right," and the...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: June 5, 2006.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Law Goods Damaged In Transit - Transit Broker Liability The 1906 Carmack Amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, 49 U.S.C. Sect. 14706, does not preclude transportation...

Commentary: ambush marketing - what is 'up for grabs'?
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michael A. Lisi "Ambush marketing," a term coined by Jerry Wexler, manager of global marketing for American Express in the 1980s, refers to the marketing tactics of companies that manage to associate their products or services with...

Verdicts & Settlements June 5, 2006: Water damage suit results in 'no cause'.(State Farm v. Biernacki)(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The defendant, Kenneth Biernacki, d/b/a Woody's Tree Service, was hired to remove trees from a development in the City of Troy. Prior to Woody's arriving at the scene, the fire hydrant within the...

Verdicts & Settlements June 5, 2006: 'No cause' verdict for premises liability suit.(Johnson v. Sports Forum, Inc.)(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The minor plaintiff, Tyler Johnson, alleged that he collided with the barrier because he "forgot" he didn't have brakes on his in-lines. The defendant had a policy that no brakes would be allowed...

Verdicts & Settlements June 5, 2006: Auto negligence case nets $200K verdict.(Wolff v.Serlin)(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was struck by an SUV when it crashed through a window of an Oakland County bookstore and hit him in the leg. The defendant originally filed a notice of nonparty at fault against the...

Verdicts & Settlements June 5, 2006: $2.4M awarded for ELCRA violation.(Michigan. Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act)
June 5, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On June 15, 2002, the plaintiff, a 37-year-old high school mathematics teacher, was terminated from her employment in the Troy School District, at the end of her third year of probation (out of four)....

Constructive discharge claim accrued on date of employer's alleged wrongful act.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Michigan Supreme Court A civil rights plaintiff's constructive discharge lawsuit was time-barred because it was not filed within three years of her employer's alleged wrongful conduct, the Michigan...

Michigan Supreme Court rules highway exception covers 'travel lanes,' not shoulder.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Michigan Supreme Court A motorist who was allegedly injured due to an improperly maintained roadway shoulder could not sue the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) under the highway exception to...

Measures to control asbestos litigation proposed by Michigan Legislature, Supreme Court.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Legislative Preview Asbestos litigation in Michigan is under attack from all fronts with twin bills in the House and Senate and a proposed inactive docket rule under consideration in the Michigan Supreme...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: June 12, 2006.(John W. Allen joins American Bar Association committees)(Joan Lowenstein joins University of Michigan Medical Center Institutional Review Board)(Bill Burdett joins Founders Junior Council)
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Aleksandra A. Miziolek has been appointed to the board of directors of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. Miziolek, a member in Dykema's corporate finance practice group,...

Michigan Attorney Discipline Board Decisions: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Final Notice Of Suspension And Restitution Case No. 00-107-GA Notice Issued: May 30, 2006 William D. Hunter, P 30911, Detroit, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board, modifying in part...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act - Joinder Of Transferor Although the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (UFTA), MCL 566.31 et seq. does not require the transferor's joinder in a...

Michigan Court Of Appeals (Unpublished Civil) Case Summaries: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks And Banking Negligence Claim - Employer Identification Number Plaintiffs' claim that defendant-bank negligently failed to detect that other defendants [the Abrahams] opened an account...

Michigan Court Of Appeals (Unpublished Criminal) Case Summaries: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Criminal Sexual Conduct. Expert Testimony. The victim in this case ran away from a psychiatric facility, and encountered defendant, who eventually admitted that he had sex with...

Michigan Supreme Court Decisions: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Double Jeopardy - Underlying Felony Where a defendant was convicted of murder on the alternate basis of premeditation and felony murder (the underlying felony being larceny) "if...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Orders ADM File No. 2005-44 Administrative Order No. 2006-5 Adoption of the Michigan Child Support Formula as Juvenile Court Reimbursement Guideline On order of the...

U.S. Magistrate Judge Case Summaries: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Termination Of Disability Benefits - Video Surveillance An insurance company properly terminated plaintiff's disability insurance benefits after obtaining a surveillance videotape...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction - Claim Preclusion The bankruptcy court correctly concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to determine the preclusive effect in state-court proceedings...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Malicious Prosecution - Seizure Of Weapon A scrap metal dealer survives a defense motion for summary judgment on claims that a Detroit police officer illegally seized a shotgun...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: June 12, 2006.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Securities Rule 10b-5 - Adequate Pleadings Defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiff's securities fraud claim brought under Rule 10b-5 is denied because the relevant portions of the complaint,...

LLCs make a move on the exchange.(Limited Liability Company)
June 12, 2006... Byline: Bill Bower The growing trend for the formation of new business entities in recent years has been the Limited Liability Company (LLC). It is easy to understand the attraction to this form of business as it encompasses the best...

Verdicts & Settlements June 12, 2006: Auto negligence matter ends in 'no cause'.(Michael W. LaBeau)
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff's claim was the result of a Nov. 3, 2003, two-car accident. The plaintiff was struck by a vehicle driven by defendant Nielson and owned by defendant Lajiness. The plaintiff waited two...

Verdicts & Settlements June 12, 2006: 'No cause' rendered in auto negligence suit.(Flucker v. Parker)(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff alleged that the significant rear-end impact aggravated her pre-existing degenerative arthritis in left hip and low back, necessitating left hip arthroplasty (18 months post accident) and...

Verdicts & Settlements June 12, 2006: Defense verdict for quiet title/partition action.(Makridakis v. Makridakis)
June 12, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff and the defendant are father and son, and have had a rocky relationship. The plaintiff is a Greek immigrant, who has been in the U.S. and Canada for approximately 50 years. In 1996,...

Bill urges 'gross negligence' standard for 'emergency medical care' providers.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Legislative Preview Emergency room personnel might get a shot in the arm if the Michigan House operates on a new immunity bill. Modeled after a Georgia tort measure, House Bill 6038 bars lawsuits against...

Michigan Court of Appeals refines rules on admitting 'accessory after the fact' confessions.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Criminal Law Update Prosecuting someone as an "accessory after the fact" may have just gotten a little easier under a Michigan Court of Appeals decision applying for the first time the corpus delicti rule to...

Lessons for new attorneys.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Sheryl M. Vassallo Managing Your Practice You've read text book upon text book on just about everything relating to the law. You've devoted countless hours to studying for exams. You've deservedly earned the degree. You're...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments George H. Lennon III has been reappointed and Andrea Solak has been appointed to the Attorney Discipline Board for terms ending Sept. 30, 2009. Additionally, William Hampton has...

Attorney Discipline Board Decisions: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Notice Of Reprimand With Condition (By Consent) Case No. 05-153-GA Notice Issued: June 6, 2006 Luther W. Glenn, Jr., P 38683, Plymouth, Michigan, by Attorney Discipline Board...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Jury Instructions - Necessarily Lesser Included Offense The underlying predicate offenses of a racketeering charge are not necessarily included offenses of the charge. The...

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished Civil) Case Summaries: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Security Bond - Properly Required Even though the trial court found the indigent plaintiff's negligence claim was viable, the court properly required her to post a $5,000...

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished Criminal) Case Summaries: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions False Pretenses Over $20,000. Effective Assistance. "We cannot conclude that defendant's counsel was ineffective such that defendant is entitled to a new trial. Defendant...

Michigan Supreme Court Decisions: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Indeterminate Sentencing - Sixth Amendment Michigan's indeterminate sentencing scheme, which allows a trial court to impose a minimum sentence based on factors determined by a...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments ADM File No. 2006-01 Supreme Court Appointments to the Attorney Grievance Commission On order of the Court, pursuant to Rule 9.108 of the Michigan Court Rules, Richard B....

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Order Bankruptcy Court Eastern District In re: Administrative Order Amending ECF Administrative Procedures No. 06-13 The Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Jurisdiction - Maritime Shipping Dispute Where a Belgian insurer sued defendants, two Norwegian companies, to recover amounts paid when cargo shipped from Poland and bound for...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights School Student's Arrest - Excessive Force Claim A student who refused to surrender contraband (an electronic game) to a school police liaison officer, struggled with and hit the...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: June 19, 2006.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Chapter 11 Plan - Executory Contracts Defendant-debtor's Chapter 11 plan expressly rejects all executory contracts, and plaintiff cannot circumvent this provision by arguing that...

Defining 'knowledge management': what you need to know.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Chad McAllister "Knowledge has become the key economic resource and the dominant — and perhaps even the only — source of comparative advantage." — Peter Drucker, father of modern management Drucker's...

Verdicts & Settlements June 19, 2006: 'No cause' verdict for Dram Shop action.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Roy Johnson, a uniformed Pontiac police officer, was injured while attempting to arrest co-defendant Christopher Quinn on the sidewalk outside defendant Romp's establishment on Nov. 1, 2003....

Verdicts & Settlements June 19, 2006: Jones Act claim settles for $490K.
June 19, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Lucien DeRoque is 55 years old and has one dependent daughter of high school age. The plaintiff commenced employment with the defendant June 5, 1969, and has maintained employment with the...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Prior Proceeding - Res Judicata Where defendant leased a pole barn to plaintiff but had him evicted when he violated local zoning ordinances by storing cars in the barn,...

Michigan's sentencing scheme unaffected by 'Blakely'.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. The world of criminal sentencing got turned upside down when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Blakely v. Washington in June 2004. Indeed, the pressure had been building with decisions such as Jones v. U.S.,...

MI Supreme Court rules 'aided in accomplishing' not exception to employer non-liability.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. A medical center whose nursing assistant sexually assaulted a patient was not liable for damages under the "aided in accomplishing" exception to the respondeat superior doctrine because said exception was not the...

U.S. Supreme Court rules whistleblowers lose First Amendment protection.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson (This article originally ran in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision makes clear that public employees are not protected by the First Amendment...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Richard B. Poling Jr. has been reappointed as a lawyer member and Martha D. Moore has been appointed as a lawyer member of the Attorney Grievance Commission for terms ending Sept. 30,...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Case Evaluation Sanctions - Improperly Denied The trial court's order denying State Farm case evaluation sanctions "for good cause" is reversed; the trial court was required to...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Criminal Contempt - No Appointed Counsel Respondent was not entitled to appointed counsel after she fired her attorney during contempt proceedings. We affirm the trial...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery. Assistance Of Counsel. Counsel's failure to file notice of an alibi defense, even if deemed to be deficient representation, did not affect the case's outcome,...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Evidence - Codefendant's Statements The admission of a codefendant's statements against a codefendant who does not testify is constitutional error under Bruton v. United States,...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2006-02 Amendment of Rule 3.602 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, the following amendment of Rule 3.602 of the Michigan Court Rules is...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Nondischargeability Determination - Jurisdiction The court lacks "related to" jurisdiction over non-debtor parties who a creditor-bank claims helped the debtors defraud the bank by...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Jurisdiction - 'Rooker-Feldman' Doctrine The federal district court incorrectly applied the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, which precludes federal review of state-court judgments, to...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Homestead Exemption - Codebtor's Interest Michigan's homestead exemption for bankruptcy cases, MCL 600. 5451(1)(n), properly interpreted, allows a single $30,000 exemption to be...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: June 26, 2006.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Section 1983 - Medical Treatment Plaintiff, who was arrested while police executed a search warrant and treated by defendant-medical care providers for suspected cocaine...

Verdicts & Settlements June 26, 2006: Breach of warranty nets $344K verdict.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This was a breach of warranty action involving the plaintiff's purchase of an industrial four-inch bandsaw from defendant Webster Manufacturing, d/b/a Morgan Saw, for approximately $33,000, excluding...

Verdicts & Settlements June 26, 2006: $750K sanctions awarded in favor of defendants.
June 26, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Material Technologies, Inc. (MTI) sued defendants Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) and Concept Industries, Inc. (Concept), seeking damages of approximately $3 million. The plaintiff sought unpaid...

Commentary: A doctor's view of opportunity to survive.(Column)
June 26, 2006... Byline: Roy W. Waddell, M.D. Fulton v. Pontiac General Hospital, et al., is the law in Michigan and construes MCL 600.2912a(2), which says in "an action alleging medical malpractice, the plaintiff has the burden of proving that he or she...