We received news today of a withdrawal of show cause proceedings and dismissal of administrative separation proceedings (prior to trial) for an Air Force Captain at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. We were asked to come in and present a defense for the Captain serving in an operationally sensitive unit who had a complex case [...]
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Carson J. Tucker and Lex Fori PLLC Discuss Liability of Governmental Entities for County Roads in Michigan in County Road Association of Michigan Quarterly
In this article for the Summer 2020 Edition of Crossroads, the Quarterly Journal of the County Road Association of Michigan, Lex Fori PLLC attorney Carson J. Tucker discusses several legal issues that could potentially expand liability of governmental entities defending suits under the highway exception to governmental immunity. The article addresses an important case being [...]
Advising Counties and Governmental Entities on Potential Civil Rights Claims Arising Out of “Enforcement” Actions of Current Quarantine Orders Due to COVID-19 Epidemic
We have been instructed by several clients over the last week to provide guidance regarding potential liability under state and federal law for alleged civil rights violations for the governmental entity's undertaking of "enforcement" action as against private citizens arising out of the various "orders" and "rules" being promulgated by state governments. The insurers, organizations [...]
The Constitution of the United States Prohibits Legislation Altering the Terms of Insurance Contracts to Force Provision of Coverage or Nullifications of Exclusions Under Commercial Policies – It’s a Two-Way Street – Cannot Impair the Obligation and Cannot Enlarge a Remedy or Create a Contractual Right that Would Not Otherwise Exist Under the State of the Terms of the Contract Before Legislative Alteration
Can a state legislature force an insurer to cover a loss / risk where it is either not covered by the plain terms of the policy’s coverage provisions, or excluded by the policy’s exclusions and/or endorsements without violating the prohibition found in the United States Constitution against impairment of the obligations of contracts? Article I, [...]
Supreme Court of Michigan Grants to Consider Retroactivity of the Statutory “Open and Obvious” Doctrine in Actions Against Governmental Entities
On April 17, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court granted an application for leave to appeal in the case of Buhl v City of Oak Park, Michigan Supreme Court Case No. 160355, to address the relatively new statutory "open and obvious" provision, MCL 691.1402a(5), which is in the municipal "sidewalk" exception to governmental immunity in Michigan's [...]