Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from March 2005

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from March 2005

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 7, 2005.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Law Express And Implied Warranties - Claims For Breach A business owner who leased a Hummer vehicle cannot sue the manufacturer for breach of an express warranty based on an argument...

Commentary: A Practical Guide To Drafting Marital Deduction Trusts by Sebastian V. Grassi Jr.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Howard M. Zaritsky Every estate planner is confident that he fully understands the estate and gift tax marital deduction. In reality, most of us thoroughly understand those types of marital gifts that we regularly prepare, but we...

Commentary: Band together and decline court-appointed cases.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: You probably will be swamped with letters regarding the "Indigent Criminal Services Strained By 'Underfunding'" story in the Feb. 25, 2005, issue. I practice in Lapeer County....

Michigan Lawyers in the News: March 7, 2005.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Elections Beverly Hall Burns has been elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Detroit Athletic Club. Burns, a principal and deputy CEO of Miller, Canfield,...

Commentary: New way to reduce costs with foreign trade zones.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Andrew P. Doornaert Originally designed to reduce the cost of doing business in the United States by reducing import duty costs, Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) are now beginning to be used to reduce the cost of other countries' import...

Verdicts & Settlements March 7, 2005: No-fault claimant awarded $294K.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff pedestrian sustained a severe traumatic brain injury and orthopedic injuries when struck by a hit-and-run vehicle on Aug. 31, 1999. An assigned claim was filed on his behalf, which was...

Verdicts & Settlements March 7, 2005: Securities fraud matter nets $122K.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This case involved allegations of securities violations, common law fraud, and breach over unsuitable recommendations of viatical settlement contracts in a company whose license had been revoked in...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 7, 2005.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Transfer - Avoidance Where the debtors obtained a mortgage on their home, filed a Chapter 7 petition, and the lender recorded the mortgage post-petition, the trustee may avoid the...

Verdicts & Settlements March 7, 2005: 'No cause' for perforated bowel claim.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff's bowel was perforated by a two-inch piece of wood consistent with a toothpick. The plaintiff claimed the piece of wood had come from a sandwich she had purchased from the defendant. ...

Verdicts & Settlements March 7, 2005: 77-year-old plaintiff gets no-cause for med-mal.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a 77-year-old woman, had a sudden onset of severe pain in her right leg and was brought to the emergency department in the late evening. The ER physician charted a sudden onset, three...

U.S. District Court Western Case Summaries: March 7, 2005.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment FLSA - Claim For Overtime Wages Where plaintiffs claim they are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week, material disputes whether plaintiffs fall within...

U.S. Magistrate Case Summaries: March 7, 2005.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Discovery - Ex Parte Meetings With Doctors The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 does not permit ex parte meetings between defense counsel and...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: March 7, 2005.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Discipline Matters Dietrich v. Attorney Discipline Board, et al. SC: 126680. On the order of the Court, the complaint for superintending control is considered, and relief is DENIED,...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: March 14, 2005.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2004-37 Amendment of Rule 7.217 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, the amendment of Rule 7.217 of the Michigan Court Rules adopted...

Chief Justice Clifford Taylor of Michigan Supreme Court to carry on court's textualist tradition.(Interview)
March 14, 2005... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. Judicial Profile Name: Clifford W. Taylor, Lansing Admitted To Bar: 1968 Education: George Washington University, J.D. (1967); University of Michigan, B.A. (1964) Experience: Chief justice,...

Michigan Court of Appeals rules claim for slip & fall on snow-covered ice can go to jury.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff An invitee who slipped and fell on ice in a snow-covered parking lot can get his claim to the jury, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided in an unpublished opinion. The trial court had found...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: March 14, 2005.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Appointments Kurt D. Dykstra has been appointed to the Holland City Council. Dykstra, with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, concentrates his practice on litigation, including...

Michigan attorney Frederick Reid Keydel, 76, dies after 15-year struggle with Parkinson's.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Frederick Reid Keydel died recently after a 15-year struggle with Parkinson's disease. He was 76. Keydel grew up in Indian Village, in Detroit. He attended Cranbrook School, Yale University (B.A....

Commentary: Data forensic investigations: What you don't know can hurt you.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Carole Longendyke A hundred years ago, most law enforcement agencies had not yet heard of fingerprint analysis. Today, few crime scenes are left "undusted." The value of fingerprint analysis to criminal investigations has become so...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 14, 2005: Chiropractor wins 'no cause' verdict.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff, a 41-year-old massage therapist, was offered an adjustment by the defendant chiropractor. The adjustment was to take place on a Zenith Hi-Lo table that hydraulically lowers from vertical...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 14, 2005: Medical malpractice claim results in 'no cause'.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was diagnosed with bradycardia (slow hear rate) and hypothyroidism at the same time. Initially, defendant Dr. Larry Sayed deferred recommendation for a permanent pacemaker until thyroid...

Verdicts & Settlements-March 14, 2005: Reverse discrimination suit nets $150K.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff John Linker, a white, male firefighter in Flint, was denied promotions to the position of assistant chief in the years of 2000 and 2001. Even though he was eventually promoted to the position,...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 14, 2005.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Tort Claim Settlements - Contribution Action The 1995 tort reform legislation preserved the right of a severally liable tortfeasor to bring an action for contribution, and as a...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 14, 2005.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Construction Lien Act For purposes of assessing attorney fees under the Construction Lien Act, a "prevailing party" is one who prevails in a CLA claim or a claim brought in...

Michigan Supreme Court says customary charge not necessarily reasonable.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram, Esq. Even though a medical provider's charge may be "customary," the question of whether it is "reasonable" under the No-Fault Act is for the trier of fact, the Michigan Supreme Court has decided in a...

Commentary: Nothing textualist about Justice Taylor's philosophy.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Letter to the Editor To The Editor: It is impossible to read the interview with Justice Clifford Taylor without responding, and I suspect I will be one of many. (See, "Chief justice to carry on court's textualist tradition,"...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: March 21, 2005.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff NewsMakers Appointments Richard D. Grauer has been appointed to the American Arbitration Association Patent Advisory Council and to the Academy of Court-Appointed Masters. Grauer, of...

Commentary: A review of promissory estoppel law in Michigan.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Lee Hornberger This article reviews Michigan promissory estoppel law, including the development of promissory estoppel, the present law and specific applications. The elements of promissory estoppel are: (1) a clear and...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 21, 2005.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Declaratory Judgment - Prevailing Wage Act The Court of Appeals erred by ruling that a building trade organization, which challenged the prevailing wage act's...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: March 21, 2005.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Replacement Of Judge During Trial - No Prejudice Where a visiting judge presided over defendant's trial and was replaced by the assigned judge mid-trial, it was plain error for the...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: March 21, 2005.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Proposed Court Rule Amendments Judicial Tenure Commission ADM File No. 2004-53 Proposed Amendment of Rules 9.124 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, this is to advise...

Michigan lawyers await word on fate of nonrefundable attorney fees.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Karen M. Poole, Esq. Practitioners may soon receive official endorsement of nonrefundable fee agreements, according to proposed changes to Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5. In its 129-page order in ADM File No....

Verdicts & Settlements: March 21, 2005: Dental malpractice suit nets $476K.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On Dec. 28, 2000, the defendant dentist attempted to inject the plaintiff with temporary anesthesia. The plaintiff needed a filling on tooth #17. The injection called an intraligamentar injection...

Verdicts & Settlements: March 21, 2005: 'No cause' for closed-head injury.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff and her then husband were watching one of the plaintiff's three children participate in league basketball. After the game, the plaintiff and her husband went to the defendant's...

Verdicts & Settlements: March 21, 2005: $4M settlement for police shooting.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant Officers Todd Wood and Arnold Terrell shot and killed plaintiff's decedent Christopher Drypen inside the lower level of his home on June 22, 2003, while Drypen's father, mother and sister...

6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals says disgorgement decision may jeopardize Chapter 11.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Practitioners tell Lawyers Weekly that bankruptcy attorneys may end up working for free if their clients' reorganization cases convert to liquidations and the estates' assets cannot cover the unpaid...

Verdicts & Settlements: March 28, 2005: $1.75M for med-mal resulting in death.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The decedent, a 32-year-old male, presented to defendant hospital's emergency room after having sustained a fracture of his tibia/fibula which occurred while he was assisting a neighbor cut down a...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: March 28, 2005.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Kester K. So has been appointed to the Council of Labor and Economic Development by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. So, a member with the Lansing office of Dickinson Wright PLLC, centers...

Verdicts & Settlements: March 28, 2005: Consumer class action settles for $2.6M.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Teresa McClain asserted claims on behalf of a class of Michigan consumers alleging that they were induced to purchase accidental death insurance through a false and deceptive telemarketing...

Verdicts & Settlements: March 28, 2005: Third-party auto matter nets $350K.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was a prisoner of defendant Michigan Department of Corrections and was being transported from one facility to another when the driver of the van lost control, causing it to roll. There...

Verdicts & Settlements: March 28, 2005: Auto neg matter wins 'no cause'.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was proceeding eastbound on Clarkston Road when she alleged the defendant's vehicle pulled out in front of her vehicle. The defendant testified that other vehicles had stopped to let...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: March 28, 2005.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Family Law Adoption - Disclosure Of Child's Medical Records The parents of an adopted child cannot sue an adoption agency for failing to disclose the child's health problems but a negligence...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: March 28, 2005.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Proposed Court Rule Amendments Motion To Recuse ADM File No. 2004-48 Proposed Amendment of Rule 8.108 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, this is to advise that the...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: March 28, 2005.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Law Lemon Law - Vehicle Out Of Service A car lessee was improperly granted summary disposition against the dealership under Michigan's Lemon Law, MCL 257.1401 et seq., solely on the...

Michigan Attorney General Opinions: March 28, 2005.
March 28, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law Domestic Partnerships - Employment Benefits Const 1963, art 1, Sect. 25 operates as a limitation on government conduct and therefore applies to state and local governmental...