Yesterday, I filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the Michigan Townships Association, Oakland County, Macomb County, and Wayne County to challenge the Court of Appeals' decision in Hannay v. Michigan Department of Transportation. There the Court of Appeals ruled that "bodily injury" damages available against the government for injuries arising from the negligent operation of a [...]
Category: Michigan Court of Appeals Unpublished Opinions
In Michigan, Michigan Court Rule (MCR) 7.215(C)(1)currently provides that “[a]n unpublished opinion is not precedentially binding under the rule of stare decisis. A party who cites an unpublished opinion must provide a copy of the opinion to the court and to the opposing parties with the brief or other paper in which the citation appears.”
Michigan Supreme Court Denies Leave in Two of Three Cases Pending to Address Legal Causation Under No-Fault Act for Motorcycle Accidents
Last week I filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the State Farm v. MMRMA case pending on application to the Michigan Supreme Court. Â As I mentioned in my last post, there were two other cases, both pending on applications to the Court, which asked the Court to deal with the same [...]
Supreme Court Amicus Brief Filed in State Farm v. MMRMA Case Considering Whether Police Vehicle Pursuing Speeding Motorcyclist Sufficiently “Involved” In Motor Vehicle Accident to Require Apportionment of Liability Among No-Fault Insurance Carriers
I filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Oakland County, Macomb County and Wayne County in this case, urging the Supreme Court to grant Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority's application or, alternatively, to reverse the Court of Appeals.  My brief is attached here:  Supreme Court Amicus Curiae Brief for Oakland, Wayne and Macomb Counties stamped [...]
Workers’ Compensation Claimants Must Establish “Stokes” Evidence Even for Closed Period of Disability
In an unpublished opinion released yesterday (Tatar v. Ryder.OPN), the Court of Appeals affirmed the Michigan Compensation Appellate Commission’s decision to overturn a closed period award of workers' compensation benefits. The Commission ruled Plaintiff's failure to meet his burden of proof under Stokes, that he was unable to find jobs that remained within his qualifications and [...]
No “Prejudice Requirement” or Other Judicial Constructs Can Nullify Strict Compliance with Statutory Notice Provisions to Perfect Claims Against the Government
On November 7, 2013, in Vega v. Gillette, et al., the Court of Appeals ruled a plaintiff who failed to file a notice of an intent to sue the state under MCL 600.6431(3) was barred from suing the government under the motor vehicle exception, MCL 691.1404 of the Governmental Tort Liability Act (GTLA).  The plaintiff was [...]