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Posted: Oct 10, 2018, 2:10 PM
An attorney who performed work on a personal injury lawsuit, but then left the law firm before a settlement was reached in the case, was not entitled to an equitable lien on the proceeds of the settlement, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Oct 3, 2018, 1:25 PM
A woman who fell and injured herself while washing her vehicle at a self-serve car wash is entitled to no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) benefits, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in a 2-1 published decision.
Posted: Sep 26, 2018, 2:25 PM
Michigan is on the cutting edge when it comes to probate law, recently becoming the first state in the nation to recognize a note left on a cell phone as a valid “digital will.”
In a published decision, In re Estate of Horton (Docket No. 339737), the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled the decedent’s testamentary wishes, which were digitally stored on his cell phone, satisfied the requirements for a valid will under the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC).
Posted: Sep 20, 2018, 1:45 PM
An Ecuadorian mother’s taking of her minor child from Michigan to Ecuador in 2009 without notifying the father, in violation of the parties’ divorce judgment, did not preclude the possibility that the child had become a “habitual resident” of Ecuador for purposes of a Hague Convention challenge to the father’s 2016 failure to return the child to Ecuador after she visited him in Michigan, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Sep 12, 2018, 11:30 AM
MCL 168.937, which is part of the state’s Election Law, is a penalty provision that does not create a substantive offense, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision.
As a result, §937 could not be used as the basis to prosecute the defendant in People v Pinkney (Docket No. 154374), for alleged election-law forgery, the Supreme Court held.
Posted: Sep 6, 2018, 12:25 PM
A trial court erred in distributing a divorcing couple’s marital property because the parties’ prenuptial agreement was ignored in doing so, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
In Silverman v Silverman (Docket No. 336905, unpublished opinion), the Court of Appeals said the trial court could not “simply disregard the prenuptial agreement and resort to equitable considerations without any analysis as to why it was doing so.”
Posted: Aug 29, 2018, 12:35 PM
Plaintiffs have a right to a jury trial in Circuit Court when bringing actions against the state under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in a published decision.
Posted: Aug 15, 2018, 1:00 PM
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is making headlines for its recent ruling in an employment discrimination case, although probably not for the reason the Court would like: its decision.
Posted: Aug 15, 2018, 9:15 AM
A spousal support award and the division of property in a divorce case must be vacated because the trial court engaged in a “parade of errors” – namely, denying the husband’s constitutional right to counsel, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Aug 8, 2018, 1:15 PM
Michigan family-law attorneys can place a lien on a client’s property to be awarded in a divorce proceeding as payment for legal services – as long as certain requirements are met, according to a State Bar of Michigan ethics opinion.
Posted: Aug 1, 2018, 9:15 AM
The Michigan Court of Appeals has vacated an order denying a divorced father’s request to change the school his children attend, finding the trial court failed to 1) address the children’s established custodial environment, 2) describe the applicable burden of proof and 3) consider the Child Custody Act’s best-interest factors.
In Marik v Marik (Docket No. 333687), the Court of Appeals remanded the case so the trial court could properly handle these issues.
Posted: Jul 25, 2018, 3:30 PM
The Michigan Supreme Court recently issued its highly anticipated decision in Bazzi v Sentinel Ins Co, in which a majority of the justices declared that no-fault’s “innocent third-party rule” no longer exists.
Posted: Jul 13, 2018, 1:00 PM
A trial court judge did not have to disqualify himself from the defendant’s criminal case even though the judge had publicly endorsed the prosecutor in a Circuit Court election campaign, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided.
Posted: Jul 9, 2018, 2:00 PM
A trial judge should not have stricken a plaintiff’s expert witnesses as a sanction for violating discovery orders, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled, finding that the sanction – which ultimately led to the dismissal of the plaintiff’s medical malpractice case – was too harsh.
Posted: Jul 3, 2018, 1:30 PM
An auto accident victim is entitled to no-fault insurance benefits under his parents’ no-fault policy where the victim’s parents committed insurance fraud after the policy was purchased and already in effect, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in a 2-1 published decision.
Posted: Jun 25, 2018, 12:30 PM
A prosecutor’s “grossly improper” remarks during closing argument in a child abuse case, which were not corrected by the trial court, constituted deliberate prosecutorial misconduct and “poisoned the proceedings,” the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled, remanding the case for a new trial.
Posted: Jun 19, 2018, 3:30 PM
Livingston County District Court Judge Theresa Brennan is no longer hearing cases amid the release of an explosive misconduct complaint from the Judicial Tenure Commission.
The Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) is the agency that holds state judges, magistrates and court referees accountable for alleged misconduct.
Posted: Jun 13, 2018, 11:00 AM
A trial court should not have dismissed the plaintiff’s no-fault case with prejudice because of the plaintiff’s “unavailability,” which stemmed from the fact that he was arrested on an outstanding warrant on the first day of trial, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Jun 7, 2018, 10:40 AM
In In re Piland Minors (Docket No. 340754), the mother gave birth to the couple’s third child on February 6, 2017. The couple opted for a home birth, with the assistance of a midwife. The day after the baby was born, the midwife told the parents that the baby was suffering from jaundice. The parents did not take the baby to the doctor, electing to pray for the baby’s good health instead. Three days after she was born, the baby died.
Posted: Jun 1, 2018, 3:30 PM
An appeal involving the entry of a personal protection order (PPO) is not moot just because the PPO expired while the appeal was pending, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled.
In TM v MZ (Docket No. 155398, decided 5/18/18), the Court of Appeals had concluded the appeal on the PPO was moot because the case was argued after the PPO had expired.
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