Michigan Lawyers Weekly articles from September 2006

Michigan Lawyers Weekly archives from September 2006

Looking backat Michigan Supreme Court's 2005-06 term.(cases of medical malpractice, criminal law, taxation)
September 4, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. The Michigan Supreme Court's 2005-06 term was about more than just expounding the law. It was about pursuing change, occasionally breaking with time-tested alliances and catching a glimpse of issues that may...

Michigan Supreme Court's new order reforming asbestos litigation bans bundling.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D. Although it was issued to ensure each asbestos plaintiff has his day in court, the Michigan Supreme Court's new order reforming asbestos litigation by prohibiting case consolidation may not be welcomed as the...

Order issued on heels of 'Rory' put into effect by Saginaw County Circuit Court.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D. As it turns out, public policy may be the key to getting around Rory v. Continental Insurance Company. When the Michigan Supreme Court decided Rory (Lawyers Weekly No. 06-56330), Justice Robert P. Young...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Appointments Carl E. Ver Beek has been appointed to serve on the American Bar Association's Council for the Dispute Resolution Section. Ver Beek is of counsel in the labor and employment...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Whistleblower Claim - Public Body Michigan's Whistleblower Protection Act does not provide plaintiff, a nuclear power plant worker, with a cause of action after he was discharged...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Default Judgment - Statute Of Limitations The trial court should not have dismissed plaintiff's claim based on the statute of limitations. The court erroneously construed...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Assault With A Dangerous Weapon; Retail Fraud, Third Degree; Habitual Offender, Fourth Offense. Right To Counsel. "[I]t was error for the trial court to resume the preliminary...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 13 BAPCPA - 'Applicable Commitment Period' In Chapter 13 cases, the phrase "applicable commitment period" contained in Sect. 1325(b)(4) "defines the minimum length of a Chapter 13...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 4, 2006.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Amount In Controversy - No Jurisdiction Where each individual claim against defendant-cellular companies falls below the $75,000 amount-in-controversy requirement, and where...

Commentary: Effective mediation preparation.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Lee Hornberger This article reviews effective mediation preparation techniques. This includes suggestions on how the attorney can most effectively use mediation for the best interests of the client. Moreover, strategies and...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: $938K verdict rendered for trespass nuisance.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff On July 29, 2000, and Sept. 23, 2000, the plaintiffs experienced sewage backups in their basements, ranging from six inches to several feet deep. The sewage water contained toilet paper and human...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Birth trauma med-mal suit nets $4.8M settlement.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The minor plaintiff was delivered by nurses. His airway, which was obstructed by meconium, was not cleared for 15 - 17 minutes resulting in severe brain bleeding, seizures and permanent neurologic...

Verdicts & Settlements September 4, 2006: Wrongful termination suit nets $470K.
September 4, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff The plaintiff was hired as a new car sales manager and promised commissions based on the number of cars he sold per month. The plaintiff was also promised a payment, which he characterized as a...

Are justices' personal attacks meritless or well-founded?(Column)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: Decades ago, Americans were warned of the potential for abuse of power. The warning involved the foreseeable dangers of the rising influence of the military industrial complex: ...

"Matching" requirement for standard of care expert witnesses leads to confusion.(Case overview)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Todd C. Berg, Esq. 'Woodard' Update The "matching" requirement for standard of care expert witnesses in medical-malpractice cases has long been a source of consternation for practitioners. Accordingly, the Michigan Supreme...

Michigan Supreme Court aims to enhance the jury experience.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D. Jury duty is rarely welcomed with a smile. The Michigan Supreme Court is trying to change that. On July 11, 2006, the high court released an order proposing amendments targeted at reforming certain jury...

Recent case clarifies standard for determining "reasonably convenient forum".
September 18, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D. Identifying a "reasonably convenient" forum is not always as "convenient" as one might like. Although contractual "forum selection" clauses have long been upheld by Michigan courts, their enforcement...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 18, 2006.(Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C. appoints David Williams )(Joseph Ernst joins Canady Law Offices)(William H. Franks joins Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt and Howlett)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Lawrence V. Stawiarski, an associate principal with Foley, Baron & Metzger PLLC, has been named president of the Livingston C1ounty chapter of the Great Lakes Interactive Marketing...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(Kloian v. Schwartz, et al.)(Ewin v. Burnham)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Deposition - Out-Of-State Proceeding Respondent was properly ordered to appear for a deposition in Michigan concerning matters arising from a pre-suit discovery proceeding...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Procedure Res Judicata - No Prior Decision On Merits Where a relief order in prior litigation set aside all pleadings, stipulated orders (including a "disbursement order" that satisfied...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Oral Argument Ordered Huntsman, et al. v. Gerrish Twp. SC: 130068; COA: 262216; Roscommon CC: 04-724629-CZ. On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the October 6, 2005 order of...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(Signature Developments Inc.)(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 7 Property Sale - Builder Restrictions This court approves the Chapter 7 trustee's sale of real property, which permits a trustee to sell property free and clear of creditor-Rood's...

U.S. Magistrate Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(Koorndyk v. Midway Motor Sales, Inc.)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Consumer Law Federal Odometer Act - No Reckless Disregard Where plaintiff sued defendant-General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) and others under the Federal Odometer Act (49 U.S.C. Sect....

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(Kidwell et al. v. City of Union et al.)(United States v. Lloyd)(United States v. Vicol)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Law Ballot Initiative - Advertising Where plaintiffs challenge the expenditure of tax dollars by a governmental entity (City of Union, Ohio) for advertising and otherwise...

U.S. District Court Eastern District Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.(Employee Retirement Income Security Act)(Monroe v. CNA Ins. Co.)(Bordeau v. Saginaw Control & Engineering, Inc.)(Dunn v. United States Postal Service)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff ERISA Disability Benefits - Termination Upheld An insurance company's decision to terminate plaintiff's ERISA disability benefits is upheld where "an individual with plaintiff's diagnosis...

U.S. District Court Western District Case Summaries: September 18, 2006.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Probationary Status - Award Affirmed An arbitrator properly rejected FiveCAP's interpretation of the parties' collective bargaining agreement -- that the CBA entitled FiveCAP to...

Commentary: Decisions in personal injury cases seem out of touch with reality.(Column)
September 18, 2006... Byline: Mike Butler On Aug. 8, 2006, the Michigan Court of Appeals decided the case of Sharp v. Art Van Furniture, Inc., affirming a trial court decision to dismiss the plaintiff's negligence claim on the ground that a wet condition on the...

We must demand more from judiciary.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: I have been in practice for more years than I care to admit, and I have never seen so many judges and justices disregard justice and fairness in the service of special interests...

'Woodard' decision convoluted, illogical.(Letter to the editor)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: The recent decision in Woodard v. Custer is a necessarily convoluted attempt to accommodate the square peg that is our expert witness statute into the round hole that is logic and...

Time to judge the justices.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: Your recent editorial calling for the reestablishment of congeniality among the justices of the Michigan Supreme Court entirely misses the point. (See, "More than robust," Sept. 11,...

Justices' bias in 'Fieger' can't be denied.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff To The Editor: The Editorial Board of Michigan Lawyers Weekly made a commendable contribution to the public debate over the current construct of the Michigan Supreme Court, when it pointed out that...

Changes likely for Michigan's struggling indigent defense system.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D. Indigent defense funding update "How long? Not long!" Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic speech from the 1965 March on Montgomery, Barry C. Scheck took to the podium at the State Bar of...

Tech roundup: Helpful products for lawyers.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl (This article was originally published in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media Company publication.) In an effort to keep lawyers up-to-date on the ever-changing world of legal technology, Lawyers USA...

Settlement talks entitled to absolute privilege against defamation claims, rules MI Court of Appeals.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D. Are allegedly defamatory statements made during settlement discussions entitled to absolute privilege? Absolutely. Joining a number of courts across the country, the Michigan Court of Appeals has...

Michigan Lawyers in the News: September 25, 2006.(American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers elects Harvey I. Hauer, Kimberly M. Cahill )
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Elections Harvey I. Hauer has been elected president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Hauer is managing partner of Hauer & Snover, in Bingham Farms. ...

Michigan Court of Appeals Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.(Netter v. Bowman)(Miller v. Allstate Ins. Co.)
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff No-Fault Serious Impairment Claim - Objectively Manifested Injury A traffic-accident victim cannot sue for noneconomic damages for her soft-tissue injuries but not for the reason stated by the...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Civil Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Notice - Due Process Defendant was not denied due process for an alleged lack of notice that plaintiffs were seeking arbitration to resolve problems with a home defendant built...

Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Criminal Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Affirmed Convictions Assault With Intent To Commit Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder. Sufficient Evidence. "Jones [the victim] was steadfast in his identification of defendant as one of the...

Michigan Supreme Court Orders: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Court Rule Amendments ADM File No. 2004-42 Amendment of Rule 8.110 of the Michigan Court Rules On order of the Court, the need for immediate action having been found, the notice...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Chapter 13 Surrender Of Vehicle - Satisfaction Of Debt A Chapter 13 debtor may surrender a vehicle in full satisfaction of the debt owed on it, and the creditor is not entitled to an unsecured...

U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit Case Summaries: September 25, 2006.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Michigan Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Section 1983 - Ejection From Baseball Game A heckling baseball fan who was ejected from a game by a uniformed but off-duty police officer can go forward with his claims for a First...

Commentary: The bankruptcy paralegal.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Linda S. Jevahirian The Lawyer's Paralegal Bankruptcy represents an area of paralegal utilization that has some interesting potential in terms of specialization and responsibility. The job varies depending on whether the work...

Commentary: Part I: Oral advocacy: Thinking about the 'art of conversation'.
September 25, 2006... Byline: Patrick L. Rose Appellate Law There are many ways to conceive of what is a good oral argument to a judge. When making legal arguments to a judge on a motion, or on appeal, it is surely not like talking to a jury. Most commonly,...