Yesterday, on the basis of Atkins v. SMART, 492 Mich. 707 (2012), which I secured in the Supreme Court in August, after presenting oral argument to the Court on the application in March, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an order reversing the Court of Appeals decision in Smith v. SMART, ___ Mich. ___ (December 14, 2012) (Supreme Court Docket No. 142515). This was the last pending case residing in the Court (on application for leave to appeal by defendant, SMART), which had been filed prior to the opinion in Atkins, supra.
This current case was particularly interesting because the Court of Appeals panel had applied a principle of “judicial estoppel” in finding that plaintiff could pursue the cause of action despite not strictly complying with the 60-day statutory notice provision; MCL 124.419.
As expected, this reversal cites the decision I secured in Atkins v. SMART, 492 Mich. 707 (2012), as authority for the ruling.
See the order here: Smith Order December 14, 2012