Expert need not be challenged at time affidavit of merit filed
The Michigan Court of Appeals refuted the argument that the defendant's motion for summary disposition should have been treated as a motion to strike the plaintiff's expert's affidavit, so the case...
View ArticleMedical Malpractice – Case dismissed because expert not certified in relevant...
The trial court correctly dismissed plaintiff’s medical malpractice suit because her expert witness was not certified in the subspecialty defendant was practicing when the alleged malpractice occurred.
View ArticleEmployment – Noncompete agreement was too restrictive to be enforced
The trial court correctly ruled that plaintiff could not enforce a noncompete agreement because defendant, a former employee, did not go to work for a competitor.
View ArticleEmployment – Statute bars insurance executives’ claims for severance benefits
Plaintiffs, who are former officers of an insurance company that was subject to a rehabilitation order, are barred from collecting contractual severance benefits by a statute that limits contractual...
View ArticleNo-Fault – Exclusion regarding work-related injury laws does not include...
The trial court incorrectly resolved this no-fault priority dispute by applying an exclusion in an occupational accident policy that provided no benefits were payable for losses “for which the insured...
View ArticlePrenup didn’t keep assets from ex-wife
In order to "strike an equitable balance," the ex-wife was entitled to a share of the ex-husband's separate property, says the Michigan Court of Appeals.
View ArticleFamily Law – Separate assets properly awarded despite prenuptial agreement
Even though the parties made an enforceable prenuptial agreement, the trial court correctly invaded defendant’s separate assets to achieve an equitable property division upon their divorce.
View ArticleFamily Law – Fraud claims involving child’s paternity correctly dismissed
Where plaintiff married defendant after she falsely represented that he was the father of her child, the trial court correctly dismissed plaintiff’s silent fraud and emotional distress claims against...
View ArticleNo-Fault – Insurer liable for hospital bill concealed during discovery
The trial court correctly concluded that defendant’s insureds owned the vehicle that was involved in an accident and that defendant was liable for a $38,000 hospital bill that it did not produce during...
View ArticleProbate – No evidence of agreement to remain mutual insurance beneficiaries
Where appellant claimed that she and the decedent agreed to remain as beneficiaries on each other’s life insurance policies despite a consent judgment of separate maintenance, in which they agreed to...
View ArticleReal Property – Challenges to foreclosure by advertisement properly rejected
The trial court correctly dismissed plaintiff’s foreclosure challenges because he cannot show any prejudice resulting from the complained-of acts.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Constitutional tort claim against state subject to notice...
The six-month notice requirement for personal injury suits against the state applies to a constitutional tort claim by a former inmate arising from the Department of Correction’s failure to treat his...
View ArticleWorkers’ Compensation – No prima facie case for retaliatory discharge claim
The trial court correctly dismissed plaintiff’s claim that she was discharged in retaliation for pursuing workers’ compensation benefits because the one-month period between her workers’ compensation...
View ArticleCivil Rights – No claim against state and school district for inadequate...
There is no cause of action for eight students who claim that the allegedly inadequate instruction received from a school district resulted in their failure to obtain basic literacy skills and reading...
View ArticleCriminal Law – Evidence from warrantless computer search correctly suppressed
Where the police, without a warrant, directed a computer repair technician to open suspicious files on defendant’s computer, files containing child pornography found on the computer’s hard dive were...
View ArticleNo retaliation claim for fired workers’ comp claimant
An employee who was injured on the job, filed for workers’ compensation and was then fired about a month later cannot bring a retaliatory discharge claim against her former employer, the Michigan Court...
View ArticleAttorneys – Work-product privilege case remanded for further proceedings
The trial court correctly determined that a report defendants prepared concerning a sewer system project was prepared in anticipation of litigation, however, further proceedings are required on remand...
View ArticleCriminal Law – Cadaver dog evidence reliable and admissible at murder trial
Evidence that trained dogs alerted to the scent of decomposing human remains in a car’s trunk was properly admitted under MRE 702 at defendant’s trial for first-degree murder and child abuse. Further,...
View ArticleReport’s disclosure doesn’t mean work-product privilege was waived
A trial court should have reviewed a report prepared in anticipation of litigation before ruling that the report’s disclosure to a party waived the work-product privilege, the Michigan Court of Appeals...
View ArticleAttorney did not ‘take’ client after leaving firm
A law firm cannot sue its former attorney for breach of contract, claiming she took a client with her when she left, because the client is the one who ended the relationship with the law firm and who...
View Article