Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2005

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2005

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished Civil) Case Summaries: September 5, 2005.(Cooper v. Mourer-Foster Inc.)(Michigan State Univ. Federal Credit Union v. Lexus of Ann Arbor)(Tara Homes, Inc. v. Nash)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Contract Dispute - No Prejudgment Relief In this interlocutory appeal, the trial court erred by requiring defendant-employer to pay plaintiff-employee $50,000 and to put...

MI Lawyers in the News: September 5, 2005.(Zoning Board of Appeals and Sign Board of Appeals)(Grand Traverse Leelanau Antrim County Bar Association)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments William B. Dunn has been appointed chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Dunn, a member in Clark Hill PLC's Detroit...

MI Supreme Court to decide future of common law arbitration.
September 5, 2005... Byline: Julia K. Sutherland This fall, the Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that will decide the future of common law arbitration in the state of Michigan. Specifically, the court will address, among other issues,...

Verdicts & Settlements September 5, 2005: Judge approves $34K in attorney fees.(Durham v. Bristol West Insurance Company)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff Darlene Durham sued her insurance carrier, defendant Bristol West Insurance Company, after it refused to pay her personal injury protection (PIP) benefits following her involvement in a car...

Verdicts & Settlements September 5, 2005: Auto negligence case facilitates for $115K.(Bennett v. Visteon Corporation)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff In this complicated automobile negligence case, the plaintiff sustained a serious back injury requiring surgery while working at a Ford Motor Company plant when, while in the course of his employment,...

Verdicts & Settlements September 5, 2005: Doctor's charges for PIP patient not reasonable.(Ruben M.D., P.C. v. Allstate Insurance Company)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff John Doe, who is currently 36 years old, was injured in a motor vehicle accident in 1990, and was entitled to no-fault benefits under a policy issued by Allstate to his mother. A severe fracture of...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 5, 2005.(Village of Grafton, et al. v. Rural Lorain County Water Authority)(Sutton v. St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc.)(United States ex rel. Schell v. Battle Creek Health System)(Abdus-Samad v. Bell)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Law Water Services - Right To Provide The district court properly granted summary judgment to Rural Lorain County Water Authority (RLCWA) of Ohio regarding RLCWA's right to...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: September 5, 2005.(United States v. Popham)(Wysong Corp. v. M.I. Industries)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Search Warrant - Probable Cause The search warrant in this drug and firearm case was supported by probable cause, and defendant's motion to suppress the evidence is denied. ...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 5, 2005.(re: Karpinsky)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Satellite Piracy - Damages Not Dischargeable DirectTV has provided sufficient evidence that the debtor is liable for violations of various federal piracy acts and under the theory of...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: September 5, 2005.(Grievance Administrator v. Dorsey)(Kosmal v. Ameritech)(People v. William)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorney Discipline Matters Grievance Administrator v. Dorsey. SC: 129177; ADB: 02-121-JC. On order of the Court, the motion for immediate consideration is GRANTED. The application for leave to...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 5, 2005.(People v. Wilkens)(Royal Property Group v. Prime Ins. Syndicate.)(re Estate of Cummin)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Guidelines Scoring The trial court's scoring of OV 4 (10 points for serious psychological injury that may require professional treatment) following defendant's...

Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished Criminal) Case Summaries: September 5, 2005.(People v. Grandberry)(People v. Williams)(People v. Honsinger)
September 5, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery; Felon In Possession Of A Firearm; Habitual Offender, Fourth Offense; Felony Firearm. Sufficient Evidence. "Given the overwhelming weight of evidence presented at...

Verdicts & Settlements September 12, 2005: Slip & fall on ice results in 'no cause'.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff alleged she slipped and fell on ice at the back porch of her apartment. The defendant claimed she fell in a public alley behind the premises. The jury awarded a "no cause" verdict in...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 12, 2005.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Fraudulent Transfer - Avoidable Where the appellant has failed to demonstrate that the transfer of his stepfather's [the debtor's] life insurance policy to a trust benefiting...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: September 12, 2005.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Injunction - Abstention Under the Younger abstention doctrine, this court will stay this case and abstain from plaintiff's request to enjoin the City of Southfield from...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: September 12, 2005.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Teachers Insurance and Annuity Ass'n Annuity - Excluded From Bankruptcy Estate A debtor-teacher's interest in an annuity issued by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 12, 2005.(cases of payment)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 13 Attorney Fees - Modification Of Confirmed Plan Where the debtor's ex-wife had a pre-petition priority claim for unpaid spousal support, the payment of which she says will be unduly...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 12, 2005.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Departure From Guidelines Defendant's conviction for delivery of less than 50 grams of heroin to a minor by injection is affirmed but the case is remanded for...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 12, 2005.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Default Judgment - Properly Set Aside The trial court did not err by setting aside the default judgment and dismissing with prejudice plaintiff's quiet title action against...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 12, 2005.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Assaulting, Resisting Or Obstructing A Police Officer. Legal Arrest. "The trial court required the prosecutor to establish that Officer Wilder was attempting to effectuate a...

MI Court of Appeals rules police officer can sue under dramshop act.(Michigan)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Lynn Patrick Ingram, Esq. A police officer who was repeatedly kicked in the knee while trying to restrain an intoxicated bar patron may sue the bar under the dramshop act, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided, addressing an...

Practitioners turn to old websites for evidence.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Reni Gertner (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) Like deleted e-mail and computer files, old websites never die. Using an online database called the Wayback...

MI Lawyers in the News: September 12, 2005.(Michigan, appointments)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Steven E. Goren has been appointed national chair of the American Trial Lawyers' Litigation Group on RSD/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Goren, of Goren, Goren & Harris, P.C., in...

Commentary: Security checkpoint violations at the airport.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Mark Berke Ever since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, security has been heightened throughout the country. Security checkpoints and metal detectors at the borders and airports are much more focused. In addition to added...

Verdicts & Settlements September 12, 2005: $738K settlement for med-mal claim.(medical malpractice)
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This is a medical-malpractice action brought by Jane Doe and her husband for permanent disability and deformities she sustained to her left leg because of the failure of the defendant physicians to...

Verdicts & Settlements September 12, 2005: Whistleblower claim nets $300K settlement.
September 12, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Plaintiff's counsel said several attorneys turned the matter down, and the plaintiff was initially required to file the claim in pro per. Plaintiff's counsel took the case after reviewing the case and...

MI Court of Appeals rules employer not limited to nominal damages in at-will contract suit.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff An employer who was suing a competitor as well as former employees for bringing about the termination of an at-will contract between the employer and one of its customers was not limited to recovering...

Trial consultants' role challenged as their influence expands.(American Society of Trial Consultants)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher In the decade since the O.J. Simpson trial brought trial consultants to national prominence, their role has continued to expand to the point where the profession is now fending off challenges to its growing...

Commentary: The firm left behind.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Marcia L. Proctor One or more of the firm's lawyers has just advised that he or she is leaving the law firm, and taking a position with another firm in private practice. What steps should the law firm take to ensure a smooth...

Commentary: Minimizing the effects of litigation delays on brain-injured clients.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Arthur Y. Liss Lawyers are accustomed to delays. Complex cases can drag on for years, and lawyers learn to be patient. But a delay of even a few months can seem like an eternity for catastrophically injured clients and their...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 19, 2005.(bankruptcy, liability for traffic accidents, civil rights)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Auto Accident Claim - Chapter 7 Estate Improperly Reopened A U.S. trustee should not have been allowed to re-open a debtors' case to pursue a purportedly unscheduled personal injury...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: September 19, 2005.(bankruptcy cases)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Foreclosure Sale - Debtor's Right To Cure Where a contractor, who was building a house that was not the debtor's principal residence, filed a lien against the property after he was...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: September 19, 2005.(arbitration agreement)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Valid Agreement - Claims Dismissed Because the arbitration agreement at issue is binding on plaintiff-home purchaser, the retailer and its employees and "any entity providing...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 19, 2005.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 11 Consolidation - Granted This court grants the Chapter 11 trustee summary disposition on the motion to consolidate the debtor-Brentwood Golf Course with the defendant-Brentwood...

MI Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: September 19, 2005.(commercial law)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Law Collections - Garnishment Of Property Tax Credit Defendant's Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit may be garnished to satisfy a debt resulting from a default on credit card...

MI Court Of Appeals (Unpublished Civil) Case Summaries: September 19, 2005.
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Business Law Partnership - Arbitration Where an arbitrator found that defendants lacked standing to seek relief from general partners for an alleged breach of a partnership agreement, the...

MI Court Of Appeals (Unpublished Criminal)Case Summaries: September 19, 2005.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Felonious Assault. Jury Instructions. We agree that the trial court's instruction to the jury on an essential element of use of a dangerous weapon to commit the assault...

MI Attorney General Summaries: September 19, 2005.(Constitutional Law)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law Appropriations - Supplemental Appropriations Laws enacting appropriations, whether general or supplemental appropriation acts, are subject to the provisions of the...

Employee's age discrimination suit time-barred by contract terms.(Clark v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., Lawyers Weekly No. 07-56712)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. An employee's lawsuit for age discrimination under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) was time-barred by the six-month filing limitation contained in his employment application, even though the...

Med-mal practitioner weathers tort reform storm for clients, profession.(an interview with lawyer Norman D. Tucker)(Interview)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Practice Profile When asked to expound upon the motivations behind becoming a lawyer, attorney Norman D. Tucker responded simply, "I was an idealist." "Was?" With long and easy laughter,...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 26, 2005.(appointment and awards)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Albert J. Dib has been reappointed as a member of the Grievance Committee of the State Bar of Michigan. Dib, of Dib and Fagan, P.C., in Royal Oak, focuses his practice on...

Commentary: Naming a trust as beneficiary of an IRA.(Individual Retirement Arrangement)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Stephen L. Elkins There remains some degree of confusion among many estate planning attorneys whether they can or should name a revocable trust as a beneficiary of an individual retirement account. The confusion is certainly...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: September 26, 2005.(rehearings)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Rehearing Denied Oral Argument Ordered Rehearing No. 522 Ayar v. Foodland Distributors. SC: 126870; COA: 246349; CC: 93-328590-CK. In this cause, a motion for rehearing is considered and...

Doctor's 'no cause' verdict is reversed by Michigan Court of Appeals.(Barnett v. Hidalgo)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The estate of a man who allegedly died as a result of medical malpractice was entitled to a new trial where the fairness of his first trial was compromised by improperly admitted evidence regarding a...

Commentary: Making the most of your company retirement plan.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Robert K. Steinberg and Daniel E. Seder In the past, it was common for an individual to have earned a pension that would pay him a fixed monthly benefit for life with a reduced benefit being paid for the life of his surviving...

Verdicts & Settlements September 26, 2005: Med-mal claim settles for $930K.(Brief Article)
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The 48-year-old plaintiff underwent a cervical fusion at two levels in 2002. The neurosurgeon misplaced a screw through the top of the vertebral body 60 percent of the screw ended up in the healthy...

Verdicts & Settlements September 26, 2005: 'No cause' for auto negligence claim.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff This lawsuit arises out of an accident where the 71-year-old defendant, Frank McCarter, rear-ended plaintiff Colleen O'Connell. The defendant admitted negligence at the time of trial, but he disputed...

Verdicts & Settlements September 26, 2005: Med-mal claim results in 'no cause'.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff At the time of her surgery, the plaintiff was 30 years old and married with three biological children. Two of her children were from a previous marriage and were adopted by her second husband. The...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 26, 2005.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Municipality - Attorney- Client Privilege Applies A municipality can hold the attorney-client privilege, and the city's former police director cannot waive the city's privilege by...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: September 26, 2005.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Motions In Limine - Summary Judgment Defense motions styled as "motions in limine" actually seek summary judgment on the issues raised, and therefore will not be considered as...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: September 26, 2005.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Railroad Worker's FELA Claim - Disputes About New Injuries Material disputes whether a railroad worker's injuries are separate and distinct injuries from injuries previously...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 26, 2005.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing Guidelines - OV 7 Defendant was properly assessed 50 points for Offense Variable 7 (victim was treated with sadism, torture, or excessive brutality or conduct designed...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 26, 2005.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Board Member - No Entitlement To Attorney Fees Plaintiff, a former association board member of a recreational vehicle condominium park, is not entitled to attorney fees and costs in...

Michigan Court Of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 26, 2005.
September 26, 2005... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Armed Robbery; Felonious Assault; Felon In Possession Of A Firearm; Felony Firearm; Obstructing A Police Officer. Shackles During Trial. "Based on the evidence presented, the...