26 results for 'court:"Michigan Supreme Court"'.
J. Zahra finds that a township did not violate plaintiffs' fourth amendment rights by taking aerial photographs and video of their property with an unmanned drone because the aerial surveillance was not sufficiently intrusive to constitute an illegal search. Affirmed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Zahra, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 164948, Categories: Property, Negligence
J. Welch finds that the lower court properly held that a union unfairly charged a member for legal representation in a labor dispute because the fee policy deprived the member of access to the administrative grievance process. Affirmed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Welch, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 162601, Categories: Labor / Unions
J. Zahra finds that the airport zoning board was improperly required to grant variances for the construction of eight wind turbines near the airport because the variances were contrary to the public good by creating a risk for planes. Reversed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Zahra, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 164261, Categories: Transportation, Zoning
Per curiam, the Michigan Supreme Court finds that a landowner was not liable for the death of a 12-year-old girl who had been riding an off-road vehicle on his property because the mother's owner liability claim was precluded by the Michigan Recreational Land Use Act, and the record did not support a finding that the landowner was grossly negligent with regard to the death. Affirmed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 164190, Categories: Negligence, Premises Liability
J. Welch finds that the lower court improperly held that an automotive supplier was bound to a contract after the supplier refused to continue providing parts at a price set forth in a blanket purchase order because the parties' release-by-release contract allowed the supplier to stop selling parts after the cost of business substantially increased. Reversed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Welch, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: 163523, Categories: Contract
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J. Bolden finds the Michigan Supreme Court improperly found no due process violation in the trial court’s conviction of defendant for murder, assault and various weapons charges. The witness who identified defendant at trial did not identify him before trial and in fact identified different individuals as possible assailants before trial. The admissibility of in-court identification is premised on reliability, but the identification was not reliable. Reversed in part. Vacated in part and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 162373, Categories: Murder, Due Process, Witnesses
J. Welch finds the Court of Appeals properly affirmed the circuit court’s ruling that the insurance policies of the individuals who suffered traumatic injuries in car accidents bind the providers to personal injury protection under the law that existed at the time of injury. Later no-fault amendments do not clearly convey an intent to retroactively modify these vested contractual rights. The parties no longer have standing to move forward with due process and equal protection challenges to prospective application of the amendments. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Welch, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 164772, Categories: Insurance, Due Process, Contract
J. Welch finds the Court of Appeals improperly reversed the Court of Claims’ grant of summary judgment to the Treasury in this tax dispute, determining that business income was properly subject to taxation under the Michigan Business Tax Act as to the sale of a Minnesotan business to one in Michigan. The Act’s formula, as applied, did not impermissibly tax income outside the scope of Michigan’s taxing powers and did not violate due process or commerce clauses of the Constitution. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Welch, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 163742, Categories: Commerce, Constitution, Tax
J. Clement finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for aiding and abetting a pair of armed robberies as the getaway driver. Two victims and two perpetrators were shot, and defendant drove a perpetrator to the hospital and was arrested when the vehicle was found to be stolen. Coercive interrogation techniques yielded involuntary statements and the court improperly overruled counsel’s objection to their being admitted. Defendant’s association with the shooters’ vehicle at the hospital is probative of guilt, but not sufficient to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a jury would have found him guilty absent the error. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Clement, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 162497, Categories: Murder, Robbery, Accomplice Liability
Per curium, the Michigan Supreme Court rejects a number of the Judicial Tenure Commission’s findings of misconduct allegedly committed by the judge, as well as its recommendation that she be removed from office. The judge’s son’s parental rights were terminated pursuant to a child abuse conviction, and technically false statements she made as to times and dates of certain conversations are appropriately characterized as “careless” and “inaccurate information” and not as actionable misconduct. The court finds that a six-month suspension without pay, along with a public censure, is the appropriate sanction.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: July 30, 2023, Case #: 162260, Categories: Judiciary, Sanctions
J. Bolden finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for breaking and entering as a fourth-offense habitual offender. Defendant moved to terminate his appointed attorney, asserting multiple claims of ineffective assistance. Though defendant requested to defend himself, the court entered no formal waiver of counsel, invalidating the effective waiver. Defendant was not required to affirmatively invoke his Sixth Amendment right to counsel in order to preserve the right and was not required to object to the invalid waiver. The cited forfeiture doctrine does not apply. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 162327, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Trespass, Due Process
J. Clement finds that a preexisting condition is not a bar to the receipt of workers’ compensation benefits in this suit brought by the nursing facility employee who fell off a ladder after being electrocuted while wiping off a light fixture with a damp rag. She returned to work after the hospital found no injury and her family doctor later diagnosed her with a concussion. Her condition has degenerated, resulting in seizures, mental health issues and an inability to work. She has admitted to repeated physical and emotional abuse by her first husband, and to being disowned by her mother, church community and friends who were unsupportive of the divorce. She also lost custody of her children. There is no evidence in the record that she had experienced seizures or took any time off work between her divorce and the workplace fall as a result of these past experiences. Cited legal tests conflict with the principle that a preexisting condition is not a bar to eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits. The magistrate’s findings are vacated. The Court of Appeals’ judgment is reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Clement, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 163559, Categories: Employment, Health Care, Workers' Compensation
[Consolidated.] J. Clement finds the Court of Appeals improperly affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the oil company in this premises liability suit brought by the customer who slipped and injured herself on the gas station’s snow-covered parking lot. Though the station owed the injured party a duty of care, genuine issues of material fact remain as to whether they breached that duty and, if so, whether there was comparative fault such that the damages must be reduced. Existing case law cited by the oil company regarding comparative fault is overruled. A determination of comparative fault may require consideration of the open and obvious nature of the hazard and the party’s choice to confront it. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Clement, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 162907, Categories: Tort, Premises Liability
J. Bernstein finds the Court of Appeals improperly found that there was no prejudice to defendant, convicted of the murder of her boyfriend, by counsel’s failure to request a voluntary manslaughter instruction. After the couple broke up, the boyfriend reacted violently, and tried to run her over with her own van. Another individual drove defendant to a gas station to retrieve her van, where a second altercation with the boyfriend took place, resulting in defendant’s shooting and killing him. Though conflicting testimony existed at trial as to the sequence of events leading up to the shooting, there is a reasonable probability that counsel’s failure to instruct on manslaughter affected the outcome. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bernstein, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: 164055, Categories: Murder, Manslaughter, Jury Instructions
J. Bolden finds the Court of Appeals improperly found journalists, who were denied Department of Corrections recordings of a prisoner altercation resulting in an inmate’s death, prevailed only in part and are not entitled to attorney fees. Pro bono representation is not an appropriate consideration in determining the reasonableness of attorney fees. The Court of Claims correctly found that the journalists were entitled to fees, though it improperly reduced the fees. The Court of Appeals judgment is reversed. The Court of Claims’ judgment is vacated and remanded to reassess the reasonableness of the attorney fees.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 163382, Categories: Public Record, Attorney Fees, Prisoners' Rights
J. Cavanagh finds the Court of Appeals improperly affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the mother’s action seeking custody of a child with whom she has no biological relationship. The same-sex couple had a child together through in vitro fertilization before the Supreme Court ruled that states must recognize and license same-sex marriages. Because Michigan unconstitutionally prohibited same-sex marriage before the relevant SCOTUS decision, the Michigan Supreme Court extends the equitable parent doctrine, which provides standing to nonbiological fathers as parents, so that the mother is entitled to seek custody by demonstrating that the parties would have married before the child’s birth but for the marriage ban. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Cavanagh, Filed On: July 24, 2023, Case #: 164046, Categories: Family Law, Guardianship, Lgbtq
J. Clement finds the Court of Appeals improperly reversed the trial court’s dismissal of claims arising from the commission’s modification of a storm water drainage system, allegedly causing flooding onto the resort’s property. Though the sewage-disposal-system-event claim, which seeks relief only in connection with flooding that occurred within the three-year window, was timely, the commission is immune with respect to common law trespass-nuisance claims. This claim was properly dismissed at trial and injunctive relief for this sought by the resort is invalid. The trial court is affirmed in part and reversed in part and remanded. The Court of Appeals’ holding that the trespass-nuisance claim was timely is vacated as unnecessary.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Clement, Filed On: July 24, 2023, Case #: 163949, Categories: Municipal Law, Tort, Water
J. Zahra finds the circuit court improperly reversed the Parole Board’s granting of parole three times to the individual convicted for criminal sexual conduct with his adolescent stepdaughter. The court of appeals has also improperly affirmed the circuit court. Both courts’ finding that there were substantial and compelling reasons for departure from parole guidelines impermissibly substituted their judgment for that of the Parole Board. The judgments are reversed, and the Board’s grant of parole is reinstated.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Zahra , Filed On: July 24, 2023, Case #: 164311, Categories: Parole, Sex Offender, Due Process
J. Welch finds the Court of Appeals improperly affirmed the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea to robbery charges arising from an attempted robbery, with an accomplice who brandished a toy gun, of a Popeye’s restaurant. The prosecution agreed to dismiss information charging defendant as a third-offense habitual offender in exchange for her plea. Defendant was only eligible to be charged as a second-offense habitual offender at the time of the plea offer, with the charging information double counting a prior conviction. Neither the prosecutor nor the trial court corrected this or informed defendant, rendering her plea involuntary and unknowing. The Court of Appeals’ opinion is reversed in part, vacated in part and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Welch, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 163700, Categories: Robbery, Plea, Due Process
J. Viviano finds that filing an affidavit of merit is not required to commence a medical malpractice action and toll the statutory limitations period, and that normal tolling rules apply, occurring upon the filing of a timely served complaint. This case stems from two thumb surgeries, with the complaint focusing on the first surgery. No relevant statutory provision suggests that the tolling of the medical malpractice period of limitations requires something more than the filing and timely service of a complaint. The cited affidavit of merit requirement does not explicitly or implicitly involve the tolling of the statutory limitations period. Remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Viviano, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 163216, Categories: Due Process, Medical Malpractice
J. Bernstein finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for kidnapping, assault and criminal sexual conduct. The court imposed a restriction on peremptory challenges to jurors during selection, and defendant’s counsel objected to this. The Court of Appeals held that the objection was subject to review for harmless error and that defendant had not established the prejudice necessary for relief. The erroneous denial of a peremptory challenge is subject to automatic reversal when the error is preserved, and no curative action is taken. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bernstein, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 161513, Categories: Sex Offender, Assault, Kidnapping
J. Viviano finds that defendants did not breach the parties' contract upon selling a condo unit that had been in violation of building code requiring firewalls between condominium units because code violations at the time of sales not yet subject to official enforcement actions do not constitute an encumbrance.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Viviano, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 163741, Categories: Real Estate, Contract
J. Welch finds that an automotive supplier was not bound to provide parts at prices set forth in a blanket purchase order since the parties' release-by-release contract allowed the supplier to stop selling parts at the previously agreed upon price. Reversed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Welch, Filed On: July 11, 2023, Case #: 163523, Categories: Contract
J. Cavanagh finds that the appeals court improperly upheld the circuit court's ruling partially in favor of the borrower in a breach of contract and fraud action brought by the investment group after the borrower stopped making loan payments. The circuit court incorrectly found that the investment group violated the criminal usury statute prohibiting excessive interest rates for certain loans and that the usury savings clause in the mortgage note is enforceable. Both courts applied an incorrect standard in determining whether the note was usurious. Neither court addressed whether the investment group committed any other act that violated the statute, so the case is remanded to the circuit court for reconsideration. Reversed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Cavanagh, Filed On: June 23, 2023, Case #: 163320, Categories: Fraud, Banking / Lending, Contract
J. Cavanagh finds that the trial court improperly granted a driver summary judgment after he hit and injured two people in another car because his insurer’s decision to rescind the policy post-accident did not allow the driver to avoid liability for non-economic damages. Affirmed.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Cavanagh, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 163116, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Negligence