Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from March 2004

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from March 2004

MI Lawyers in the News: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Judge Nannette Bowler has been appointed to the Ionia County Probate Court. Bowler previously served as the director of the Michigan Family Independence Agency. David W....

Verdicts & Settlements-March 1, 2004: Dram shop matter nets $2.9M verdict.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's counsel stated that defendant Johnson "was a huge, drunken body builder who announced to the bar's employees that he wanted to get into a fight and 'kill someone.'" He knocked the plaintiff...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 1, 2004: $3.25M settlement reached in med-mal matter.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A $3.25 million settlement was reached on behalf of an eight-year-old child whose case had been reviewed and turned down by several law firms. Apparently, these initial evaluations had led some to...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 1, 2004: $85K settlement for third-party no-fault action.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff In this case, the plaintiff was rear-ended by the defendant while a passenger in a vehicle. Liability was not disputed, and the issue was the extent of the plaintiff's injuries, which consisted mainly...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 1, 2004: $67K for tenant who slipped while sweeping snow.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a tenant at the defendant's rental home, fell as he was sweeping snow from the front porch steps. One of the bricks that formed a decorative border around the stairway opening broke...

Fifth generation Michigan practitioner follows family's legal legacy.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Kelly A. McCauley It really wasn't a question if Robert E. Jameson would practice law, or where. Jameson is a fifth-generation attorney in Lenawee County where his father, after almost 30 years of practice, sits on the probate...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy 401(k) Contributions - Disposable Income Where the lower courts have affirmed dismissal of the debtors' Chapter 7 petition for "substantial abuse," we agree that contributions to a...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Judgments Interest - Appraisal Where the parties agreed that appraisers should determine whether plaintiffs were entitled to additional insurance coverage for fire-damaged property, the...

Interview with Brian Sullivan, Presiding Judge of MI's Third Judicial Circuit Court.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge Brian Sullivan recently was named presiding judge of the Third Judicial Circuit Court -- the largest county circuit court in Michigan with 66 judges and three operating divisions. Sullivan,...

Michigan Supreme Court set to decide condemnation dilemma.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole The Michigan Supreme Court is poised to reconsider when municipalities can use eminent domain to create large tracts of land to develop struggling urban areas. At issue is the court's 1981 ruling in Poletown...

Statutory rape victim owes child support, rules Michigan Court of Appeals.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth Even though an adult woman became pregnant after having unlawful sexual relations with a 14-year-old boy, the father is still required to pay child support, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in a case of first...

Realtor had to disclose the seller's tax liability, rules Michigan Court of Appeals.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Even though a successive employer purchased a company's property and the business itself in two separate transactions, the realtor who handled the closing was required to inform the buyer about the...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Driver's License Restriction - Improper Restoration By Trial Court Where petitioner's request to have restrictions removed from his driver's license was administratively...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Possession With Intent To Deliver 50 Grams Or More, But Less Than 225 Grams Of Cocaine. Motion To Suppress. The trial court properly determined, based on the credibility of the...

MI jury awards real estate broker $889K for breach of contract.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Can a real estate brokerage firm successfully sue a building owner for unpaid lease commissions after the firm's client delayed the lease transaction and eventually signed with the building owner on its...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2003-50 Amendment of Rules Rules 3.915, 3.965, 3.975, 3.976, and 3.977 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes...

MI Legislature close to compromise on grandparent visitation bill.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Ever since the Michigan Supreme Court struck down the state's grandparent visitation statute as unconstitutional in DeRose v. DeRose last summer, the Legislature has been working hard to draft a replacement that...

City cannot be held liable for defective traffic device, rules Michigan Court of Appeals.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth The estate of a woman who was killed while crossing a city street could not recover from the city even though the traffic light and pedestrian walk signal malfunctioned, causing the woman to cross the street when the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Photo Lineup - In- Court Identification Even though pretrial identifications of a postal robbery defendant were impermissibly suggestive, this did not taint an in-court...

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished Civil) Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Landlord And Tenant No- Pets Policy - Accommodation Where the claimant presented evidence that she suffered severe chronic depression and anxiety, and also presented evidence from her doctor,...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 8, 2004: $4.2M verdict for med-mal wrongful death.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's counsel said the decedent's family physician and consultants at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital failed to diagnose and treat the decedent's coronary artery disease, resulting in his premature...

Tenant can keep dog despite no pets policy, rules Mich. Civil Rights Commission.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole A landlord violated the Michigan Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA) by failing to make an exception to its no pets policy for a tenant who suffered from depression and anxiety, the Civil Rights...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery; Home Invasion, First Degree; Felony Firearm; Habitual Offender, Third Offense. Eyewitness Identification. "To support his argument that the evidence is...

MI Attorney General Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Family Law Custody - Child's Mental Health Records A parent to whom a court has granted joint legal custody, but not physical custody, of a minor child may consent to the release of, and have...

MI Lawyers in the News: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Judge Laura Redmond Mack has been appointed to the 29th District Court in Wayne, for a term expiring Jan. 1, 2005. Richard S. Victor, of Richard S. Victor, PLLC, in Bloomfield...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 8, 2004: Med-mal case gets no cause verdict.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a 22-year-old single female who worked as a nurse's aide. On Nov. 9, 2001, she underwent an elective cesarean section and bilateral tubal ligation. No complications were noted at...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 8, 2004: $473K settlement for alcohol-related death.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff At the time of his death on March 15, 2000, Stephen Petz was a 19-year-old Ferris State University sophomore. On the evening of March 14, 2000, Stephen was pledging the underground Ferris State...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Environmental Contamination - Coverage Transfer Where plaintiff-insurer seeks a declaration that it is not obligated to defend defendants in an underlying environmental clean up...

MI Court of Appeals rules homeschooled children cannot participate in school sports.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A group of homeschooled children were not entitled to participate in extracurricular athletic activities at their local public schools, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided. The children's...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance No- Fault Coverage - Vehicle Owner Even though MCL 500.3113(b) provides, in part, that a motor vehicle "owner" is a person "having the use" of the vehicle for more than 30 days, the...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 15, 2004: $325K award for land contract foreclosure.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff 4-Star, Inc. commenced a land contract foreclosure against Junior & Junior, the vendee, that had stopped making land contract payments when the contractor during construction discovered...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 15, 2004: Med-mal suit nets $34M verdict.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff After complications from an outpatient angiogram, defendant surgeon Berg failed to perform the appropriate surgery to treat the complication. Further, at conclusion of the surgery, he failed to...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law Home- Schooled Children - No Participation In Public School Athletic Programs Where parents home-school their children on religious grounds, the children have no statutory...

MI Circuit Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Product Liability Non- Party At Fault - Injured Employee's Employer Where employees injured on the job sued defendant-equipment manufacturers or distributors for product liability, those...

MI Attorney General Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Municipal Law Fire Authorities - No Power To Adopt Ordinances Fire authorities incorporated under the Municipal Emergency Services Act are not empowered to adopt ordinances. Opinion No....

Commentary: Risk management for legal secretaries.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Marcia L. Proctor Making the legal secretary a part of the law firm's risk management team can provide a layer of protection and convenience for the lawyers, and increase the secretary's morale as a contributor to the firm's...

Commentary: Letter to the Editor: State Farm not 'Collosus' software user.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: I read the article, "Low-Impact Car Crash Results In $2.5M Verdict," and observed your article contained factual errors regarding State Farm Insurance. (See, Feb. 23, 2004.) ...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Legal Support The Oakland County Probate and Circuit Courts honored several employees recently. They include: Angelina Sharon -- general jurisdiction employee of the year; Sylvie Bourget --...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Resisting And Obstructing A Police Officer. Jury Instruction. "[D]efendant argues that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on the offenses of assault and...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 13 Administrative Expenses - Depreciation Of Collateral Where a creditor objects to confirmation of the Chapter 13 debtors' plan because paying administrative expenses first will delay...

MI Lawyers in the News: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Linda V. Parker has been appointed director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. Elections Douglas A. Donnell has been...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 15, 2004: $427K awarded for lost commissions.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This case centered around Willis Manufacturing, Inc.'s (Willis) failure to pay Adams Dolik & Associates (Dolik) commissions that were due under the parties' manufacturers representation agreement....

Estate cannot collect PIP, UIM benefits under policy, rules Michigan Supreme Court.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram An insurance company was not required to pay personal protection insurance benefits or uninsured motorist benefits to the estate of a driver who was killed in a car accident, even though the driver lived with...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Evidence - Hearsay Where the key issue at trial was whether plaintiff intended to injure himself, which would exclude recovery of no-fault benefits, hearsay statements made by...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Reversals And Remands Thurston v. Escamilla. SC: 125142; COA: 250568; Saginaw CC: 97-020999-DM. On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the September 10, 2003 order of the Court...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law First Amendment - Campaign Speech Where plaintiffs claimed they were deprived of their First Amendment rights when threatened with arrest after they moved to the public...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 15, 2004: Third-party auto case settles for $250K.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a 17-year-old minor, was injured while riding as a passenger when the driver struck a parked vehicle. Liability was established, and the key issues were proximate cause and the...

Michigan Court of Appeals rules volunteer injured on church grounds deemed a 'licensee'.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth A girl who was injured while providing volunteer child-care services at a church's annual bible school was a licensee, not an invitee and, therefore, had to show that the church had knowledge of a hidden danger...

Fault can't be allocated to non-party employer, rules Kent County Circuit Court.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole A manufacturer faced with a product liability lawsuit could not allocate a portion of the fault to the plaintiff's employer, the Kent County Circuit Court has ruled. The manufacturer argued that it could name the...

MI Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: March 29, 2005.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Miscellaneous Orders People v. Wilson. SC: 124509; COA: 232495; Oakland CC: 99-168791-FH. On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the July 1, 2003 judgment of the Court of...

MI Attorney General Ruling: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Business Law Public Health Code - Chiropractors A chiropractor may not organize a professional service corporation with an allopathic or osteopathic physician for the purpose of providing...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 22, 2004: Jones Act matter settles for $140K.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This personal injury case arose out of an accident that occurred in the course of the plaintiff's employment for the Interlake Steamship Company. On or about March 20, 2001, the plaintiff sustained...

George Ryan, former Detroit judge and lawyer, dies at age 75.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff George Ryan, a former Detroit Recorder's Court judge and lawyer, recently died of cancer. He was 75. Ryan practiced law through the 1970s and 1980s, primarily with the Detroit firm of Hand, Kiefer,...

Commentary: Letter to the Editor: Recent ruling Is 'laughable'.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Patrick K. Rocchio To The Editor: Most people think and expect judges to be smart people. We believe that a judge is a person who understands logic, is capable of incorporating common sense into his thinking processes, and is...

Older woman's estate gets $3M in difficult death case.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth Can the estate of an older woman who was killed in a car accident collect significant damages, even though she was widowed, had no minor children and died instantly? A $3 million settlement in Calhoun County...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 22, 2004: $3M settlement for wrongful death.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff's decedent was a 62-year-old retiree who was killed as a result of being rear-ended by the defendant's truck. After extensive discovery and expert depositions, the plaintiff prevailed...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Tax Liability - No Chapter 7 Discharge Where the debtor sought to discharge an income tax liability in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, the lower courts correctly denied the...

MI Circuit Court Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Product Liability Non- Party At Fault - Injured Employee's Employer Where plaintiff sued defendant for product liability, claiming that defects in equipment defendant designed and manufactured...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Criminal Sexual Conduct, Second Degree. Witness Availability. "Because the defense asked the trial court to hold that the complainant was unavailable for purposes of admission...

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Mich. Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Trustee's Motion To Dismiss - Statute Of Limitations Where the bankruptcy trustee moved to dismiss the debtors' petition after determining they had understated their income and...

Lapeer County Circuit Court rules employer can't be 'non-party at fault'.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram The defendants in a product liability lawsuit could not name the plaintiff's employer as a "non-party at fault" because the employer did not breach its duty "not to commit an intentional tort" against the...

Consumer can register site to complain about company, rules 6th Circuit.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Traci R. Gentilozzi A consumer who created a website to air her grievances about a company's landscaping services could not be sued for "cybersquatting" because she did not act in bad faith when registering the Internet domain...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections David K. Page has been elected vice chairman of the board of The Kresge Foundation. Page is a partner with Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn PLLC, in Detroit. Heidi A. Lyon has...

MI Court of Appeals rules father is required to pay child support arrearage.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole Father Required To Pay Child Support Arrearage A father who made partial payments on a child support arrearage could not use the 10-year statute of limitations on arrearages as a defense, even though his youngest...

MI Court of Appeals assigns work group to study just-in-time briefing, group recommends against.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A case management work group ordered by the Michigan Supreme Court to look into "just-in-time" briefing -- a process that would allow appellate lawyers to receive an oral argument date before their...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - IDEA Even though defendants did not timely apply for attorney fees in a case arising under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, fees will be awarded because the...

Older woman's estate gets $3M in difficult death case in Michigan.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Can the estate of an older woman who was killed in a car accident collect significant damages, even though she was widowed, had no minor children and died instantly? A $3 million settlement in...

Verdicts & Settlements March 29, 2004: Jones Act case settles for $310K.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This maritime personal injury action stems from an incident that occurred on April 29, 2000. At approximately 4:20 a.m., the defendant's 730-foot self-unloading freighter ran aground in Lake Huron...

Debtor can't discharge loan by declaration, rules 6th Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Karen M. Poole A student loan creditor's due process rights were violated where a debtor attempted to discharge her loan through a "discharge by declaration" provision in her Chapter 13 plan instead of a separate adversarial...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Untimely Appeal Where defendant-State of Michigan failed to timely appeal an attorney fee award to plaintiff-prisoner's trial attorney, the award is affirmed. However, we...

Verdicts & Settlements March 29, 2004: $3.8M settlement for wrongful death.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The 49-year-old decedent was killed when the defendant allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way, backing his commercial tractor-trailer out of a private driveway and into the path of the decedent's...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Removal - Defendants Residing In Forum State Where defendants were Michigan residents who were sued in a Michigan state court, they could not remove the action to the Eastern...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Breach Of Fiduciary Duty - Nondischargeable Debt Where the debtor breached a fiduciary duty by usurping a business opportunity for the company of which he was president, the debtor's...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Orders ADM File No. 2003-52 Amendment of Rule 2.119 of the Michigan Court Rules and Rescission of AO 1995-2 On order of the Court, Administrative Order 1995-2 is rescinded,...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Assault With A Dangerous Weapon. Sufficient Evidence. "The police officers testified that defendant fired gunshots in their direction whenever they moved and that they believed...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Elections Robert E. L. Wright has been re-elected secretary of the board of directors of the Michigan Council for Family & Divorce Mediation. Wright, senior counsel in the Grand...

Employee can't prove handicap bias claim, rules U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Mich.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff An employee who was fired as part of an alleged workforce reduction could not make a claim of handicap discrimination, even though her employer denied her request for certain accommodations, the U.S....

Worker hurt grabbing lunch box may get workers' comp, rules Michigan Court of Appeals.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth An employee who injured his back reaching for his lunch box as he got out of his car at work was entitled to a presumption that the injury was work related, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled. The employee...

Q&A with Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Jessica R. Cooper.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Jessica R. Cooper Michigan Court of Appeals Education: Wayne State University Law School (1973) Experience: Michigan Court of Appeals judge (2001-present); Michigan State University...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery. Effective Assistance. Defendant argues for the first time, on appeal, that counsel was ineffective because an alibi defense and an insanity defense should have...