COA: Rock-climbing wall injury suit may proceed
Recreational waivers are not an immovable obstacle for plaintiffs — despite the common belief otherwise, according to a lawyer who recently prevailed in such a case.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Statute of limitations runs when plaintiff is harmed
Accrual of a claim, for statute of limitations purposes, occurs when the wrong is done. However, the wrong occurs when the plaintiff is harmed, not when the defendant acted.
View ArticleTax Law – No refund of pre-emptive payments
The statute of limitations only applies to tax assessments; therefore, a petitioner that makes a voluntary pre-emptive payment prior to the assessment is not entitled to a refund.
View ArticleContract Law – Insurance policies subject to contract principles
Insurance policies are contracts and, in the absence of an applicable statute, are subject to the same contract construction principles that apply to any other type of contract.
View ArticleNo-Fault Law – Absence of fraud is irrelevant
There must be contact between the insured’s and the other vehicle, either direct or indirect, in order for the insured to recover uninsured motorist benefits, even when there is no allegation of proof...
View ArticleConstitutional Law – Legislature can impose ‘reasonable procedural...
The Legislature may impose “reasonable procedural requirements” on a plaintiff’s available remedies even when those remedies pertain to alleged constitutional violations.
View ArticleNo-Fault Law –‘Normal life’ is subjective, case-specific inquiry
Whether a plaintiff has suffered a “serious impairment of body function” involves an objective analysis based on his or her ability to lead a “normal life;” however, the inquiry as to what constitutes...
View ArticleConstitutional Law –‘Reasonable opportunity’
Fair notice requires that a statute give a person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is
View ArticleConstitutional Law – Receipt of actual notice not required
Where notice is reasonably calculated to reach its intended recipient, due process does not require that a property owner receive actual notice before the government may take his property.
View ArticleStare Decisis – Lower courts must apply the law, despite reservations
Lower courts are bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court; therefore, despite possible reservations regarding the application of a particular law, it must be applied, if applicable.
View ArticleThe physical contact rule: Is it time for a change?
The debate continues on whether courts should set forth directives on how to determine cases with no element or leave the parties to live in the world that they contractually created.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Dismissal is a ‘severe sanction’
The “severe sanction” of dismissal should be reserved for a party who “flagrantly and wantonly refuses to facilitate discovery, not when the failure to comply with a discovery request is accidental or...
View ArticleCivil Procedure- ‘Repeated and flagrant defiance’ justifies dismissal
Dismissal is justified if the record supports the finding that a lesser sanction would not have better served the interests of justice following plaintiff’s repeated and flagrant defiance of the trial...
View ArticlePremises Liability- Duty to warn or protect has exceptions
A landowner has a duty to warn or protect invitees from dangerous conditions that may exist on their land with the exception of hazards that an average person of ordinary intelligence would have seen...
View ArticleTort Law- Control dictates existence of duty
When a general contractor hires an independent contractor, the independent contractor is responsible for workplace safety; however, a general contractor’s retention of control provides the basis for a...
View Article‘What’s hiding in the deep?’
The implied warranty of merchantability played a central role in a lawsuit over a faulty furnace.
View ArticleNo-Fault Law- More than a ‘but for’ causal relationship is required
In order for a party to recover PIP benefits for injuries associated with a parked car, the injury must have had a causal relationship to the parked motor vehicle that is more than incidental,...
View ArticleTort Law- Reasonableness is a question for the jury
In determining whether a party breached a duty, his or her “conduct should be compared to ‘that care which a reasonably prudent person would exercise in the discharge of official duties of like nature...
View ArticleCivil Procedure- Verdict stands if reasonable minds could differ
In determining whether the trial court correctly denied defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, we construe the record evidence in plaintiffs’ favor, and where reasonable minds...
View ArticleMurray joins Court of Claims; Talbot reappointed as chief judge
The Michigan Supreme Court set the lineup of Court of Claims judges for the next two years.
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