Publications for General & Commercial Litigation

A general understanding of the litigation process can help relieve some of that anxiety. This article is a general outline of the litigation process in case you find yourself in a situation where you have been sued or you need to sue someone else.

On Friday, October 2, 2020, the Supreme Court held Governor Whitmer lacked the authority to issue any executive orders after April 30, 2020 to combat the spread of COVID-19. In response, the Director of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued an Emergency Order to place limitations on bars, the size of gatherings, and to require face masks in certain settings. The order is similar to previous executive orders issued by the Governor.

Thanks to increased urbanization, livestock facilities and agribusiness operations are closer than ever to highways and population centers, heightening the risk of accidents.  It is important to understand liabilities under Michigan law if livestock or farm animals escape.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) could require you to follow certain regulations as to your hours-of-service, including the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) rule.

The list of acronyms in the law is long. For employers, some acronyms are more important than others. And in the context of employment litigation, some are crucial. In this and our next two newsletters, we discuss three state statutes that create the potential for expensive lawsuits against employers: The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act; the Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act; and the Whistleblower Protection Act. These statutes are identified by the acronyms ELCRA, PDCRA, and WPA.

A panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals has welcomed a challenge to the availability of the open and obvious defense to self-service retail stores on the theory that merchandise displays intentionally distract shoppers from hazards.  In the first published appellate decision in over a year discussing the open and obvious defense, the court questioned whether the open and obvious defense applies in the retail store setting, and requested that the Court of Appeals convene a special panel of appellate judges to resolve the issue.

Townships have a state constitutional right to "reasonable control" over roads. Townships also have the statutory right to adopt truck route ordinances. What happens if one township’s truck route ordinance effectively pushes commercial traffic into a neighboring township?

This article discusses the unique situation when the purchaser actually benefits from the past seller’s breach - - and the potential legal consequences that might surprise you.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted summary judgment against a no-fault insurer's defense that it needed the taxpayer identification number of the attendant care provider in order to have "reasonable proof" under MCL 500.5142(2).