A divided Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed the termination of a mother’s parental rights, with one appellate judge saying the termination order should be reversed because the trial court “clearly erred” in finding that termination was in the children’s best interests.

A violation of the law for the purposes of the Michigan Whistleblower Protection Act is not limited to statutory enactments but may also include violations of common law.

The Michigan Court of Appeals, in a custody case on remand from the Michigan Supreme Court, has ruled that a portion of its original opinion “erroneously instructed the trial court to apply MCL 722.31 to determine the child’s domicile.”

The trial court’s finding that the termination of the respondents’ parental rights was in the child’s best interests must be “conditionally reverse[d],” the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled, because the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) failed to comply with its statutory duty to investigate relative placements.

The trial court “committed clear legal error” in this custody case by not applying the “parental presumption” or making the required best-interest determination before ordering that the plaintiff-mother’s child remain with the defendant, a putative father who had no legal rights to the child.

The trial court properly entered a default judgment of divorce in this case because the defendant failed to show “good cause” for setting aside the default, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The probate court failed to abide by the requirements in the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC) when it removed a husband as the guardian of his incapacitated wife, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

A utility company’s “franchise fee” was an “unauthorized tax” that violated the Michigan Constitution and, as a result, the utility company could not collect the fee from its customers and then remit the collected fees to the City of East Lansing, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled.

The trial court erroneously referred this custody case to the Friend of the Court without first determining whether there was proper cause or a change in circumstances that necessitated a review of custody and parenting time, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Michigan Supreme Court has remanded a probate dispute to the Court of Appeals, ordering the three-judge appellate panel to explain why it awarded a party vexatious appeal sanctions under the Michigan Court Rules.

The Michigan Supreme Court has vacated part of the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in In re JMG/JGG/JMG, Minors, remanding the termination of parental rights case and ordering the trial court to “make an individualized best-interests determination as to each child.”

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that requiring a social worker who abuses a child to report that abuse under the Child Protection Law violates the social worker’s right against self-incrimination.

The trial court properly dismissed the plaintiffs’ contractual claims against Michigan State University over the school’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

An order terminating the respondent-mother’s parental rights at the initial dispositional hearing must be reversed because the trial court’s analysis was “flawed,” the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

A probate court’s order awarding an attorney his fees from a decedent’s estate must be reversed because the Department of Health and Human Services’ claim for fees under the Michigan Medicaid Estate Recovery Program has higher priority.

The trial court erred in denying the respondent’s motion to terminate a personal protection order (PPO) that was issued against him because the court proceedings “lacked the due process needed for continuation of the PPO,” the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.