Case Studies

• Second Marriage Leads to Family Discord

  April 17, 2017

  All names have been given fictional replacements to protect the identity of our client. The legal facts and resolution of the probate litigation case have not been altered. John and Mary had children from previous marriages, but none together. Prior to their marriage, John and Mary signed a Prenuptial Agreement giving up any right to […]

• A husband’s mistake disinherits wife

  April 17, 2017

  All names have been given fictional replacements to protect the identity of our client. The legal facts and resolution of the probate litigation case have not been altered. Susan approached Rhoades McKee afraid and uncertain about her future. Susan’s husband, Greg, had recently passed and made a few key mistakes in preparing his estate plan. […]

• Unauthorized Stock Sale

  March 12, 2016

  Without our client’s authorization, Unclaimed Property Recovery & Reporting, LLC and UPRR Securities, LLC (“UPRR”) exchanged 247,000 shares of our client’s stock in a company called JDS Uniphase, Corp., for 30,850 new shares. They also, again without the client’s authorization, sold 5,326 of those new shares for $64,391.34, pocketing $55,991.81 of the proceeds and purchasing […]

• Sales Commission Dispute Victory

  March 6, 2016

  Our client, a West Michigan business, hired the plaintiff as its sales manager and orally agreed to pay him commissions on sales to customers he “went out and got” for the company. After his hiring, numerous customers called into the company to do business with them, and plaintiff, as the sales manager, assisted those customers. […]

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  Reversing the Burden of Proof

  March 3, 2016

  We represented the plaintiff, who was hired to grow the defendant company.  In exchange, he was paid a salary plus 20% of the company’s profits.  The problem was that the owner of the company depressed the company profits by improperly expensing items for various other companies and also for personal expenses, which cheated plaintiff out […]

• Client awarded judgment of $500,000

  December 22, 2015

  Mr. Jackson provided his retirement funds to the defendants for purposes of purchasing and rehabilitating specific properties in Grand Rapids. Through a series of complicated transactions, however, Mr. Spencer transferred the money to his solely owned side company and thereafter spent Mr. Jackson’s money on himself. Six months after the lawsuit was filed, Mr. Spencer […]

• Complex Condemnation Case

  December 10, 2015

  The state offered $144k as “just compensation” for 10-acres of vacant land owned by a highly specialized West Michigan nursery business. The property taken by the state was needed by the nursery for its continued expansion, as it was contiguous to its core facility. The state refused to recognize any impact on the nursery beyond the […]

• Property Tax Exemptions Recovered

  November 2, 2015

  A principal residence exemption (PRE) exempts a residence from the tax levied by a local school district for school operating purposes up to 18 mills. To qualify for a PRE, a person must be a Michigan resident who owns and occupies the property as a “principal residence.” This “principal residence” issue becomes very significant for […]