State, Federal, and Appellate Courts

• Michigan Supreme Court Addresses Pandora and Privacy

  July 18, 2016

  (July 18, 2016) Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act, or “PPPA,” is a relatively obscure law aimed at protecting individuals’ privacy with respect to the purchase, rental, or borrowing of books and recordings.1 The law was enacted in 1988, but with the subsequent explosion of the internet its application is now being tested to more […]

• Michigan Supreme Court Vacates Prior Order Granting Leave to Appeal and Leaves the Issue of Damages for Negotiated Insurance Discounts to the Legislature

  July 14, 2016

  (July 14, 2016) Michigan Supreme Court vacates prior order granting leave to appeal in case involving the impact of negotiated insurance discounts on a plaintiff’s recovery of damages. Unless the Legislature takes action, plaintiffs will be permitted to admit and recover the entire billed amount of medical expenses even if the medical providers accepted a lower […]

• Michigan Supreme Court Addresses Admissibility of Expert Standard of Care Opinions and Qualification of Expert Witness in Medical Malpractice Action

  June 14, 2016

  On June 6, 2016, the Michigan Supreme Court released its unanimous opinion in Rock v Crocker (Docket No. 150719).  In this opinion authored by Justice Bernstein, the Supreme Court addressed two issues in the context of a medical malpractice action:  (1) the admissibility of testimony by the plaintiff’s expert witness that the defendant physician breached […]

• Jury Awards Damages and Sends a Message to an Unclaimed Property Firm

  May 19, 2016

  (May 19, 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 […]

• Michigan Supreme Court Recognizes Municipalities’ Right to Adopt Local Prevailing Wage Ordinances

  May 18, 2016

  On May 17, 2016, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in Associated Builders and Contractors v City of Lansing that local municipalities have the right to adopt local ordinances that govern the wages paid to third-party employees working on municipal construction contracts. The Court’s ruling overturned a nearly 100 year old case which had been used […]

• Jury Protects West Michigan Business With “No Cause” Verdict in Sales Commission Dispute

  May 6, 2016

  (May 11, 2016) Doing business “on your word” and with a hand shake is nothing new. Many businesses trust that those they do business with will treat them fairly and live up to their end of the deal. Unfortunately, that does not always happen and, when a dispute arises, it often comes down to a […]

• Are Your Arbitration Provisions Enforceable?

  February 8, 2016

  (February 8, 2016) Arbitration is a form of alternative-dispute resolution where an arbitrator, as opposed to a court, decides the dispute between the parties.  Many businesses include arbitration provisions in their contracts, hoping to avoid the time and expense associated with litigating disputes in court. And, time and again, the Michigan Court of Appeals has […]

• Obtaining Injunctive Relief in the Michigan Business Court: When Your Business Needs Immediate Court Action

  December 14, 2015

  (December 15, 2015) As the saying goes, “the wheels of justice grind slowly.” That often holds true in litigated matters, where cases sometimes take years to resolve. One purpose of creating Business Courts in Michigan is to provide those in the business community with a more flexible and efficient forum to resolve disputes. So far, […]

• Piercing the Corporate Veil: Can You Be Held Individually Liable for Your Business’ Obligations?

  November 2, 2015

  (November 10, 2015) There are numerous reasons to operate a business in the form of a legal entity, such as a corporation or limited-liability company (“LLC”). Perhaps the most common reason is liability protection. By operating a business in the form of a corporation or LLC, the owners avoid personal liability, instead placing only the […]

• Equipment Lessors Not Covered by Builders Trust Fund Act

  November 1, 2015

  Lamar Construction’s abrupt closure in July 2014 left many people to whom Lamar owed money (including employees, subcontractors and those who provided materials used on Lamar’s jobs) scrambling to try to get paid. Many of those creditors brought claims under Michigan’s Builder Trust Fund Act (“MBTFA”), which imposes a constructive trust on funds held or […]