State, Federal, and Appellate Courts

• New Statute Precludes Plaintiffs in Medical Malpractice Actions from Recovering Windfall in Economic Damages

  January 17, 2017

  (January 18, 2017) Under certain contractual agreements between health insurers and medical providers, many medical providers agree to accept a reduced amount for medical services provided to the patient as payment in full.  The difference between the amount billed and the amount actually accepted as payment in full by the provider is commonly referred to […]

• Recent Ruling Reinforces the Importance of Understanding Contract Terms

  December 2, 2016

  (December 2, 2016) An opinion issued recently by the Michigan Court of Appeals highlights the need for business organizations to pay special attention to not only the language of contracting documents, but also to understand the meaning and consequences of any documents incorporated into those contracts “by reference.” In Naturipe Foods, LLC v Siegel Egg […]

• Federal Court Throws New Overtime Rules Into Limbo

  November 23, 2016

  (November 23, 2016) Businesses from coast to coast have spent the last several months analyzing and making plans to implement the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules which basically doubled the compensation floor for salaried employees and were to go into effect on December 1, 2016.  That all changed Tuesday, November 22nd, when U.S. Federal […]

• Opinion Highlights Danger of Vicarious Liability based on Teaching Contracts with Non-Employed Physicians

  November 1, 2016

  (November 1, 2016) In a recent unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s decision granting partial summary disposition in favor of defendant Oakwood Healthcare on the plaintiff’s claim of vicarious liability based on the conduct of on-call surgeon Alice Shanaver, DO.  Thomas v Oakwood Healthcare (COA Docket No. 326072).  The plaintiff’s claims […]

• Playground flooring sheds light on implied warranties

  October 13, 2016

  (October 13, 2016) The implied warranty of merchantability requires that goods reasonably conform to an ordinary buyer’s expectations.  However, many contracts disclaim implied warranties in the terms and conditions section. The Kent County Specialized Business Docket (“Business Court”) recently addressed the issue of disclaiming implied warranties in Noble Polymers LLC v Hanover Specialties Inc. In […]

• Recent Ruling May Have Insurance Companies Dusting Off Old Files for New Claims

  September 22, 2016

  (September 22, 2016) Ordinary medical malpractice suits must be commenced within two years of the event at issue or six months after the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the claim.  In Jendrusina v. Mishra, the Court of Appeals defines in 2-1 newly published decision that when a plaintiff “should have discovered a claim” in […]

• Business Court Weighs in on Employee vs. Independent Contractor Dispute Regarding Insurance Coverage

  September 13, 2016

  (September 13, 2016) There are a number of legal issues that can be triggered depending upon whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee. The Kent County Business Court recently addressed this issue in a somewhat unusual setting when it determined that a worker was an independent contractor of defendant, rather than an […]

• Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

  September 6, 2016

  5 Ways to a Messy Business Divorce (September 6, 2016) As business litigators, we routinely review corporate documents such as operating and shareholder agreements. Most times, those documents are signed with the best of intentions and when the owners are simply trying to make sure they are “on the same page.” But when a dispute […]

• Michigan Court of Appeals Affirms Order Striking Plaintiff’s Sole Standard of Care Expert

  August 16, 2016

  (August 16, 2016) In a recent unanimous opinion in Walworth v Metropolitan Hospital, et al (Docket No. 327795), the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Kent Court Circuit Court Judge Mark Trusock’s order striking the plaintiff’s sole standard of care expert and dismissing the plaintiffs’ complaint shortly before trial.  Walworth involved the performance of a canaloplasty […]

• Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Face-off Over Daubert Standards

  August 8, 2016

  (August 8, 2016) A face-off between the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court over Daubert standards leaves the medical malpractice community; practitioners and parties on all sides without a firm foundation as to how or when scientific literature may be used to pursue or fend off challenges to expert testimony. But, it may lead to […]