Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2003

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2003

Ceremony For Michigan 'Pioneering' Grads.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Ave Maria School of Law will confer law degrees on 66 pioneering graduates when it holds its first commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 18. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) will be the commencement speaker...

Michigan Legal Aid Clinic Gets Funding To Expand Services.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff One of the few legal aid clinics in Michigan, The Salvation Army William Booth Legal Aid Clinic, announced it was awarded a $14,435 grant from the Michigan State Bar Foundation to assist in the hiring...

Slovakian President Visits Michigan Law Firm.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The president of Slovakia, Rudolf Schuster, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia Ronald Weiser, and other trade delegates visited the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. ...

Michigan Court of Appeals Makes Policy Change To Speed Resolution Of Child Custody Appeals Effective.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff May 12, 2003, the Court of Appeals will no longer grant motions to extend time to file briefs in "custody" cases except on good cause shown. A "custody" case is defined in MCR 7.202(6) as "a...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Gov't Water Truck Was Parked In Right Lane.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A driver who rear-ended a city water truck that was parked in the right lane while a city employee inspected a fire hydrant could not sue the city or the employee for negligent operation of a motor...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Bindover Magistrate's Assessment Of Evidence Where defendant was charged with murder after her 7-year-old child died from an overdose of medication, the magistrate abused his...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Fair Housing Act Remanded Where plaintiffs sued defendant-condominium association and others under the Fair Housing Act, alleging that defendant's bylaws discriminated on...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Unregistered Partnership Complaint Dismissed Where plaintiff-creditor seeks to have a debt owed by the debtors discharged based on fraud, his complaint must be dismissed because...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law Random Drug Testing No Infringement Where plaintiff-state employees' union challenges defendant-civil service commissions' random drug and alcohol testing requirements...

Michigan Supreme Court Rules Company Must Pay Double Damages In Sales Case.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth Even though a company claimed it had a good faith belief that one of its independent sales representatives was not entitled to four disputed commissions, it was still liable for double damages when it refused to pay...

Michigan Lawyers In The News: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Daniel P. Dalton has been appointed chair of the Transportation Section of the American Bar Association's State and Local Law, Governmental Operations Subcommittee. Dalton is a...

Michigan civil rights lawyer William Waterman dies at 67.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff William Waterman, a civil rights lawyer who won a lawsuit to end segregation in Pontiac's schools, has died. He was 67. Waterman, who also served as a Pontiac district judge, died recently in New...

Michigan Attorney General Opinion: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Millages Rollbacks A rollback of multi-year, voter-approved millages that create a sinking fund for the construction and repair of school buildings approved after May 31 of the tax...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Murder, First Degree. Premeditation. "[T]here was evidence of tension between the victim and defendant. Defendant contemplated killing the victim the year before she was...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Guardian Can Sue For Divorce On Incompetent Woman's Behalf.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram An incompetent woman's guardian was entitled to file for divorce on the woman's behalf, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled. The woman's husband argued that a guardian may not initiate such proceedings....

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Drunk Driver Was Properly Charged With OUIL 3d.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Karen M. Poole A drunk driving defendant was properly charged with OUIL 3d even though one of his prior convictions was based on a zero tolerance guilty plea, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled. The defendant argued that...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Criminal Sexual Conduct, Third Degree. Prosecutorial Misconduct. "[D]efendant argues that the prosecutor improperly explored the issue of his religious beliefs. However, upon...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: May 5, 2003.
May 5, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Discipline Matters Nance v. Attorney Grievance Comm'n. SC: 122673; AGC: 0318/02. On order of the Court, the complaint for mandamus is considered, and it is DISMISSED, because the Court...

Michigan Child Support Amnesty Bill To Be Introduced.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A state lawmaker is working on a bill that would give parents late on their child support payments a chance to pay part of the money they owe without facing criminal or civil penalties. State Rep....

Michigan Supreme Court To Clarify 'Ski Area Safety Act'.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff 'The Michigan Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case that will clarify the Ski Area Safety Act (SASA) by further defining the act's "assumption of risk" provision. In Anderson, et...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Motion For Sanctions Timely Filed By Defendant.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth Where a plaintiff withdrew its motion for a new trial, the trial court's subsequent disposal of the motion was a "denial" and the defendant had 28 days from that denial to file its motion for case evaluation...

Michigan Court of Appeals Rules Mother Not Required To Repay Child Support Money To Father.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Karen M. Poole Where a child support statute allowing non-modifiable agreements was ruled unconstitutional and a father's support obligation was increased, the mother was not required to repay this amount when the Michigan Supreme...

Commentary: A Few Tech Tips Acquired Over The Years.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Bruce L. Dorner It's the little things that make the most difference. Just ask your spouse. The same holds true for computers. Knowing the little tweaks and adjustments that improve your relationship with the mechanical beast can...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2003: Construction Accident Results In $1.925M Settlement.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was employed to deliver roofing shingles to a new home under construction at a large subdivision. Suit was instituted against the general contractor, landowner (retained control and...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2003: 'Crucial' Medical History Not Relayed, Prompts $1M Settlement.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The decedent suffered an anterior wall infarct, cardiogenic shock, sepsis and death. The defendant cardiologists failed to properly relay the plaintiff's crucial medical history of subclavian...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2003: Salaried Plaintiff Not Entitled To Overtime Compensation.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff sought overtime compensation and liquidated damages for alleged failure to pay the plaintiff, a pharmacist, overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in unspecified work weeks. ...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 12, 2003.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Murder, First Degree, Premeditated; Conspiracy To Commit First-Degree Murder. Right To Confrontation. "The trial court did not err in allowing into evidence statements made by...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: May 12, 2003.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Discipline Matters Miscellaneous Orders Grievance Administrator v. John J. Devers, Jr. SC: 122883; ADB: 99-97-RD. On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal from the...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: May 12, 2003.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Avoidance Action Standing Where the bankruptcy court determined that plaintiff-county board of commissioners had derivative standing to pursue an avoidance action against...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: May 12, 2003.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Credit Card Account Nondischargeable Debt Where a bank seeks to have the debtors' credit card balance declared a nondischargeable debt because the debtors used the credit card...

Practitioners Laud Michigan Lawyers Weekly's Online Forum After One Year.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Michigan Lawyers Weekly's online forum celebrated its one-year anniversary last week, and lawyers say it's been an invaluable resource for keeping on the "pulse" of the legal community in Michigan. ...

Michigan Lawyers In The News: May 12, 2003.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Mark Grobbel has been elected to the board of directors of the Old Newsboys' Goodfellow Fund of Detroit. Grobbel is the national director of sales for Contract Counsel. Mark L....

Commentary: E-Mail, Cellphones Can Be Trap For Unwary.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Emily Eichenhorn Cellphones, personal computers and e-mail are wonderful tools for helping lawyers increase productivity, communicate more frequently and manage their businesses. Unfortunately, technological innovation also has...

Experts Answer Some Common Technology Questions.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Ask the Experts is a regular feature of Lawyers Weekly's Online Forum. The following questions and answers were taken from an installment focusing on technology. The questions came from members of...

Verdicts & Settlements May 12, 2003: Michigan jury awards $5M to obese man's family for his death.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff A jury awarded $5 million to the family of an obese 33-year-old man who died in an ambulance after the hospital he was taken to said it could not help and sent him elsewhere. Kelly Snider-Smith's...

Michigan legal community waits anxiously for new judicial appointments.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff As Gov. Granholm oversees the selection process for judicial appointments, many lawyers stand in line for a shot at becoming a judge. The legal community awaits with nervous anticipation and the rumor...

Motorcycle Rider Settles Claim For $57K Above Policy Limits.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Can a motorcycle rider who was hit by a drunk driver settle his personal injury suit for an amount more than $50,000 above the driver's no-fault policy limits where the insurance company allegedly...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Corporate Shareholder's Standing Motion To Strike Where the contract was between a corporation and the City of Detroit, a corporate shareholder lacked standing to sue where the...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Frivolous Complaint Sanctions Where plaintiffs sued defendant-attorney for alleged misconduct as court-appointed receiver in an underlying case, the trial court properly...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Discharge Revocation Where the debtor failed to disclose his pre-petition interest in a corporation and a mobile home park when he filed his Chapter 7 petition, his bankruptcy...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Misjoinder Party Properly Dismissed Where the federal district court remanded this contract case to state court after granting plaintiffs' motion to dismiss the party who had...

Update On Michigan Attorney Liens For Fees.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Marcia L. Proctor There are several types of liens that may be employed in an appropriate case to secure a lawyer's fee. Some liens arise and attach automatically under Michigan law, while others require the lawyer to bring suit,...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery. Insanity. "There is no evidence that the trial court failed to apply the correct burden of proof to defendant's claim of insanity. The record is replete with...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Differential Benefits 'Commission Of Crime' Where plaintiff-prison guard suffered a work-related injury, received workers' compensation benefits, was later convicted of a...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeal Vacated People v. Gottschalk. People v. Silagy. SC: 121833; COA: 237681; Iosco CC: 01-004203-FH; SC: 121834; COA: 237682; Iosco CC: 01-004204-FH. On order of the Court, leave to appeal...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Rules Jury Award In Dog-Bite Case Won't Be Reduced.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Karen M. Poole A jury award for a child who suffered a dog bite is not subject to reduction even though the child's father could have prevented the attack, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided. The dog's owners argued that...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Rules Emotional Damages Available For Loss Of Non-Viable Fetus.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram A woman who gave birth to a 17 1/2-week-old fetus that did not survive can recover emotional distress damages from the hospital she consulted about her history of miscarriage, the Michigan Court of Appeals has...

Michigan Lawyers In The News: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Hugh H. Makens and Cyril Moscow have been appointed co-chairs of the Uniform Securities Act Subcommittee for the Business Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Makens is a partner with Warner...

Michigan Attorney General Opinion: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Concealed Weapons Eligibility A person convicted of a felony whose conviction has been set aside by order of a Michigan court in accordance with 1965 PA 213, as amended, if...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Discrimination Claims No Constructive Discharge Where plaintiff has sued for sex discrimination under state and federal law, defendant-employer is granted summary judgment because...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Reimbursement Coordination Of Benefits Where plaintiff-no-fault insurance company seeks to recoup from defendant-health plan medical expenses it paid on behalf of its insured party...

Michigan Circuit Court Case Summaries: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Service Of Process Default Where defendant seeks to have her default in this third-party insurance case set aside based on inadequate service of process, we conclude that...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Rules Med-Mal Plaintiff's Claim Was Timely Filed.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth Where a med-mal plaintiff filed her notice of intent approximately 22 months after the claim accrued, the statute of limitations, which began to run at the time of accrual and not when the letters of authority were...

Verdicts and Settlements May 19, 2003: Motorcycle Rider Settles Claim For $57K Above Policy Limits.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Can a motorcycle rider who was hit by a drunk driver settle his personal injury suit for an amount more than $50,000 above the driver's no-fault policy limits where the insurance company allegedly...

Two New Judges Take Seats On The Sixth Circuit Bench.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Denise G. Callahan It took two long years, but the U.S. Senate finally confirmed former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Deborah Cook and Cleveland attorney Jeffrey Sutton as judges on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The delay,...

Michigan Lawyers In The News: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Marie R. Deveney, of the Ann Arbor office of Dykema Gossett PLLC, has been elected to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Deveney focuses her practice on gift, estate and...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Where appellants challenge the bankruptcy court's imposition of a stay on their state-court litigation against the debtor, the bankruptcy court had the jurisdiction to do so under 11 USC Sect. 105(a)....

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan Case Summaries: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Where plaintiff obtained and perfected a security interest in the debtor's assets, an IRS tax lien is superior to plaintiff's and the IRS's failure to use the debtor's exact registered name does not...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2003: Mich. Lumber Co. Nets $1.8M Verdict For Unpaid Work.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On March 14, 2000, suit was filed on behalf of plaintiff Atlas-Filmore Lumber Company against defendant City of Detroit for unpaid construction work and lost profits related to the Charles Terrace...

Bench Conference: Michigan Judge Mary M. Waterstone.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Education: The University of Michigan Law School (1965); Northwestern University (1961) Experience: Judge, Wayne County Circuit Court; judge, 36th District Court; private practice; Michigan Bell;...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery. Evidence Of Guilty Plea. "[A]lthough defendant entered a guilty plea, this plea was never withdrawn. MRE 410, by its own unambiguous terms, applies only to the...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Unarmed Robbery; Habitual Offender, Fourth Offense. Prior Bad Acts. "[D]efendant asserts that the evidence of defendant's prior unarmed robbery offenses was not material...

Michigan Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff ERISA Antialienation Provisions Deposit Of Pension Check In Prisoner's Account Where a trial court ordered that defendant-inmate's pension check be directly deposited into the inmate's prison...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Rules Michigan Bankruptcy Lawyer's Pre-Petition Fees Unrecoverable.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Karen M. Poole A bankruptcy lawyer could not recover pre-petition legal fees owed by his client because the fees were discharged in the client's Chapter 7 proceeding, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Rules Canadian Court Can't Hear Petition For Custody.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Even though a Michigan court issued a couple's divorce decree, it did not have authority to hear a subsequent petition to change custody because the initial custody award was made by a Canadian court,...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Rules Case Evaluation Sanctions Tied To Plaintiff's Theories.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Sonny N. Sheth A plaintiff who rejected a case evaluation award was only liable for case evaluation sanctions in the amount incurred by the defendant in fighting the plaintiff's individual theories of liability and damage claims,...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Where the debtor's attorney seeks pre-petition fees from the debtor, the court finds that they were discharged with the filing of the Chapter 7 petition. "11 U.S.C. Sect. 329(b) requires a...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2003: Motor Vehicle Neg Case Results In $201K Settlement.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This was an action filed by the plaintiff against the defendant for motor vehicle negligence. This matter was mediated by a facilitative mediator on April 18, 2003. A settlement was reached between...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: May 26, 2003.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Reversals And Remands Farm Bureau General Insurance Co. of Michigan v. The Detroit Edison Co. SC: 123296; COA: 244645; Sanilac CC: 02-028555-NZ. On order of the Court, the motion for immediate...

Verdicts & Settlements May 26, 2003: Sex Harassment, Retaliation Matter Settles For $175K.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This was a very unusual case in several ways. The first attorney representing the plaintiff suddenly left the practice of law amidst allegations of wrongdoing. This left the plaintiff representing...