Fired Employee Can Pursue Age Discrimination Claim
A discharged employee’s age discrimination claim was improperly dismissed because there was direct evidence of discriminatory animus in statements allegedly made during the employee’s firing.
Trial Court Wrongly Denied Motion To Set Aside Divorce Judgment
The trial court should not have denied the defendant’s motion to set aside the parties’ divorce judgment based on alleged fraud.
Legal Malpractice Claim Wrongly Dismissed, Fees Improperly Awarded To Lawyer & Firm
The plaintiff, Elizabeth Silverman, filed a breach of contract suit against the defendant, Lawrence Korn, because he refused to pay for legal work that she had performed in his divorce case.
Mother’s Parental Rights Properly Terminated So Stepparent Adoption Could Proceed
A mother’s parental rights were properly terminated in this stepparent adoption case because the termination was supported by clear and convincing evidence.
Michigan Man Spent 40 Years In Prison For Murder He Did Not Commit
Ledura Watkins was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1976. A Detroit jury found him guilty based on a single piece of evidence: a strand of hair allegedly found on the victim’s pants.
Grandmother Improperly Appointed As Guardian Of Her Grandchildren
The Delta County Probate Court improperly exercised jurisdiction in this minor guardianship case and, as a result, erroneously appointed the children’s maternal grandmother as their guardian.
MSC: Unconstitutional For County To Keep Surplus Tax Sale Proceeds
Oakland County’s retention of surplus proceeds from tax-foreclosure sales was an unconstitutional taking without just compensation and violated Article 10, § 2 of the MI Constitution.
Failing To Interview Children In Custody Case Was Not Reversible Error
Even though the trial court did not conduct an interview with the parties’ children regarding their custody preferences, the decision to grant the plaintiff-mother sole legal custody was appropriate.
Court of Appeals: Trial Court Made Correct Schooling Decision
The trial court’s decision regarding the minor child’s schooling was appropriate because the court did not abuse its discretion in changing the child’s established custodial environment.
Dismissal Not A Sanction For Plaintiff’s Untruthful Deposition Testimony
The plaintiff’s civil complaint should not have been dismissed after she allegedly gave false deposition testimony because dismissal was too harsh a sanction.
U.S. Supreme Court: Title VII Protects Gay, Transgender Employees
An employer who fires an employee for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
DHHS Petition For Custody Over Children Was Properly Denied
A trial court applied the correct legal standard when denying the Department of Health and Human Services’ petition for temporary custody over the respondent’s children.
Motion To Designate Child’s School Improperly Treated As Custody Motion
A trial court erroneously treated a father’s motion to designate a school for his child as a motion for change of physical custody.
Interest In Well-Being Of Adult Child ‘Sufficient’ To Not Void Mom’s Auto Policy
An automobile liability policy should not be voided on public policy grounds because the policyholder had a “sufficient” insurable interest, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Trial Court Erroneously Ordered Child’s Surname Be Changed
A trial court improperly held that the surname of a child born out of wedlock should be changed from the mother’s surname to the biological father’s surname.
MSC: Consent Divorce Judgment Preempted By Federal Law
A consent JOD under which the parties agreed that the defendant would pay the plaintiff one-half of his military retirement benefits is preempted by federal law and is unenforceable.
Surviving Spouse Was Not ‘Willfully Absent’ During Divorce Proceedings
A probate judge erroneously applied MCL 700.2801(2)(e)(i) and, as a result, improperly determined that a widow did not qualify as her husband’s surviving spouse for inheritance purposes.
Trial Court Penalized Parent For Working Outside Home: Custody Order Must Be Reassessed
The trial court erroneously discounted the role of the parent who worked outside the home and, improperly ruled that the child only had an ECE with the stay-at-home parent.