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Michigan Supreme Court Bars Remand in Summary Contempt Case Due to Insufficient Record and Finality of Proceedings

The Court held that remanding for nonsummary contempt proceedings after vacating a summary conviction for insufficient findings is improper when the original contempt was appropriately handled summarily (because it occurred in the judge’s presence) however, the record was too insufficient to support a conviction and the original proceeding has long concluded.

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Michigan Supreme Court: Online Gambling Law Doesn’t Eliminate Right To Sue

In an unanimous opinion, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that there is no clear evidence that the Legislature intended the Lawful Internet Gaming Act (LIGA) to eliminate common-law claims such as fraud, conversion, and breach of contract arising from a gambling dispute between a patron and an online gaming licensee.

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Appeals Court Rejects Broad Application Of COVID Lawsuit Regulations: Medical Negligence Claims Revived

The trial court wrongly dismissed the plaintiff’s medical malpractice and negligence claims that arose during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic because the decedent’s injuries were not sustained “by reason of” healthcare services provided “in support of [the] state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

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Michigan Supreme Court To Hear Case Involving Cap On Real Property Taxes

The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case where the lower courts ruled that, because the installation of a replacement roof on a commercial building constituted “new construction” and an “addition,” the property’s taxable value was properly increased beyond the statutory cap.

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Michigan Court of Appeals Finds Trial Court Violated Language Access Rules, Delayed Minor's Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

The trial court violated MCR 1.111(B)(1) by 1) requiring Appellant to make multiple interpreter requests and 2) not allowing the present interpreter who qualified under MCR 1.111(F)(2) to be used. Furthermore, the Court of Appeals found that the record supports that it is not in DRRR’s best interests to return to Guatemala and should instead remain in Appellant’s custody in the United States.

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Court Of Appeals Finds Potential Environmental Hazards Require Disclosure On Seller’s Disclosure Statement

Contaminated groundwater is an "environmental hazard" under the seller disclosure act, even if there is no known contamination of the soil or vapor intrusion in the home. The court reversed the trial court's decision, which had granted summary disposition in favor of the Defendant-Appellees, on the basis that there was no "environmental hazard" to disclose.  

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Michigan Supreme Court Finds Credibility Disputes Over Vehicle Signal Use Preclude Summary Judgment And Clarifies Spoliation Standard

Summary disposition was not warranted where there were factual disputes about whether a truck’s turn signals were operating at the time of the accident. Further, sanctions for spoliation of evidence must be supported by findings at the trial court that the evidence at issue was material and that the party had a duty to preserve the evidence before a lawsuit was filed.

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Michigan Supreme Court Says Sidewalk Metal Hazard Not Subject To Governmental Immunity

The city of Detroit was not entitled to summary disposition on the basis of governmental immunity after the Court determined that a metal stub protruding out of a paved sidewalk constituted a “sidewalk defect” and created “a dangerous condition”. . The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision and remanded to the trial court.

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Release Signed By Volunteer Ski Patroller Not ‘Ambiguous’

The Michigan Supreme Court has reversed a ruling that allowed a negligence suit to proceed against a ski resort because, contrary to the Michigan Court of Appeals decision in the case, the release signed by the injured party was not ambiguous.

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