Michigan

  • June 12, 2025

    Detroit Can't Block Sidewalk Hazard Suit, Mich. Justices Say

    Detroit cannot claim immunity in a lawsuit over a man's injuries from tripping on a metal post embedded in a sidewalk, the Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday, ruling that the protrusion constitutes a dangerous defect under state law.

  • June 11, 2025

    AGs Press Meta To Do More To Stop Pump-And-Dump Scams

    Attorneys general from states and territories around the country, as well as the District of Columbia, sent an open letter to Meta Platforms Inc. Wednesday urging the social media giant to help stem the tide of widespread investment scams across Facebook and WhatsApp that they said have caused people to lose "life-changing" amounts of money.

  • June 11, 2025

    Developer Of Historic Detroit Hospital Campus Files Ch. 11

    The developer of a historic hospital campus in Detroit has launched Chapter 11 proceedings in New York bankruptcy court, listing up to $10 million both in assets and liabilities and disclosing that it fell behind last year on commitments in its agreement with the city.

  • June 11, 2025

    Assembly Line Co.'s Dispute Predated Policy, 6th Circ. Affirms

    The Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision denying an assembly line technology designer's bid for insurance coverage of an underlying multimillion-dollar dispute with a customer, finding coverage was excluded because the conflict originated before the professional liability policy was purchased.

  • June 11, 2025

    DC Attys Say They Had Small Role In 2020 Mich. Election Suit

    A pair of Washington, D.C., attorneys on Wednesday urged a disciplinary panel to dismiss ethics claims against them, telling the panel that they had no control over the filing of a complaint challenging the 2020 presidential election results that was later found to be frivolous.

  • June 11, 2025

    Atty Wants 6th Circ. To Vacate Tenn. 'Gag Order' Rule Decision

    If the Sixth Circuit does not undo a decision that a Nashville attorney didn't have standing to challenge a since-rescinded Middle District of Tennessee rule concerning lawyers' "extrajudicial statements," it could "be all but impossible" for lawyers to challenge similar court rules in the future, the attorney said Wednesday.

  • June 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Probes Ambiguity Of Flagstar Overdraft Contract

    A panel of Sixth Circuit appellate judges on Tuesday zeroed in on whether a Flagstar Bank customer had to read and understand an agreement to support claims a contract was ambiguous in her case alleging the bank charged surprise, repeated overdraft fees, noting that there is little benefit to reading an agreement if it's unclear. 

  • June 10, 2025

    GM To Drop 'Cockamamie' Fiat Foreign Account Claims

    A Michigan judge indicated Tuesday that he would let General Motors withdraw allegations that Fiat Chrysler held foreign bank accounts in a union bribery scheme suit, and said he'd leave the determination of whether the automaker should be sanctioned for not sharing its evidence supporting those claims for another day. 

  • June 10, 2025

    Trump Wind Farm Pause Has Stalled Projects, Judge Hears

    A coalition of blue states and industry advocates told a federal judge on Tuesday that the recent mothballing of a New Jersey offshore wind project exemplifies the damage being inflicted by the Trump administration's unlawful decision to pause wind farm permitting.

  • June 10, 2025

    Pandemic Law Doesn't Protect Mich. Hospital In Bedsore Case

    A Michigan appellate court has revived a lawsuit filed by the estate of an 88-year-old woman who died after developing a bedsore during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that a state law shielding hospitals from pandemic liability didn't apply because the woman wasn't treated for the virus.

  • June 10, 2025

    Ex-GC Accused Of Stealing IP Amid Ownership Stake Dispute

    E-commerce company Storehouse In A Box sued its former general counsel and chief operating officer in Michigan federal court Monday, alleging he misappropriated trade secrets and confidential information, while also engaging in outside ventures that conflicted with his duties, after a dispute arose over his ownership claim in the business.

  • June 10, 2025

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware's Court of Chancery showed new resistance to suits alleging corporate weaponizing of advance notice bylaws, and a new report highlighted the high fees that attorneys are cashing in on in Delaware courts compared to the federal court system. Several new suits were also filed concerning allegedly under- or overvalued sales and acquisitions being pushed through.

  • June 10, 2025

    Blue States Back Harvard In $2.2B Funding Freeze Fight

    A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief supporting Harvard University's bid for a pretrial win in its challenge to the Trump administration's move to freeze $2.2 billion in funds, telling a Massachusetts federal judge that the president's attacks on universities are "an attack on the states themselves."

  • June 09, 2025

    6th Circ. Urged To Revive Suit Over Student Loan Freeze

    A Michigan think tank has urged the Sixth Circuit to revive its challenge to a Biden-era student loan forgiveness program during the COVID-19 pandemic, telling the appellate court that a district judge was wrong to find it didn't have standing.  

  • June 09, 2025

    Chinese Student Accused Of Smuggling Roundworms To US

    A Chinese student pursuing a doctoral degree in Wuhan has been charged with smuggling roundworms to recipients associated with a University of Michigan laboratory and lying to federal agents about it, according to an announcement Monday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. 

  • June 09, 2025

    Parker-Hannifin Urges Justices To Turn 6th Circ. ERISA Ruling

    Parker-Hannifin Corp. urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reverse the Sixth Circuit's decision to revive investment mismanagement allegations against the company from employee 401(k) participants, arguing a circuit split had deepened since the company first petitioned for review of the case.

  • June 09, 2025

    Mich. Justices To Weigh Liability In Senior's Parking Lot Fall

    The Michigan Supreme Court will consider an appeal application from a woman who argues that a property management company and a concrete contractor are liable for her injuries from tripping over a trench in the parking lot of her senior living facility.

  • June 09, 2025

    15 States, DC Sue ATF Over Machine Gun Trigger Turnaround

    Fifteen states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi on Monday, alleging the Trump administration "suddenly reversed course" on regulations of machine gun conversion devices called forced reset triggers, switching from banning the triggers to returning them to their owners.

  • June 06, 2025

    Mich. Farm Labor Contractor Trafficked Workers, Jury Finds

    A Michigan federal jury on Friday ruled that a migrant farmworker contractor engaged in forced labor, finding in favor of five farmworkers who said they were coerced into working long hours without pay.

  • June 06, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: Hotels, Healthcare REITs, Secondaries

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including where the hotel sector stands at the midyear, which states are trying to curb healthcare investment models and what is fueling the surge in the real estate secondaries market.

  • June 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Sends GM Emissions Fraud Claims Back To Michigan

    The Sixth Circuit on Friday partly revived drivers' claims alleging General Motors deceptively marketed Chevrolet Cruze vehicles as clean vehicles when they were actually outfitted with emissions-cheating software, punting a question of preemption back to Michigan federal court.

  • June 06, 2025

    Judge Allows New Plaintiffs In 'Good Time' Sentencing Suit

    A Michigan federal judge said Friday that a proposed class alleging they were denied timely release from jail because the sheriff refused to provide so-called good-time credit to their criminal contempt sentences can add new plaintiffs to the case, rejecting the sheriff's arguments that the proposed new parties were improperly solicited.

  • June 06, 2025

    Mich. Judge OKs $200K Deal In Pot Co. Tip-Theft Action

    A Michigan federal judge on Friday granted initial approval of a $205,000 settlement to end a collective action alleging the owner of a chain of Michigan dispensaries withheld portions of tips meant to go to retail workers.

  • June 06, 2025

    Trump Seeks High Court's OK On Education Dept. Job Cuts

    The Trump administration has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Massachusetts federal judge's order halting massive job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, arguing that the judge's finding that almost 1,400 employees must be reinstated to ensure the department's continued operation "has no basis in reality."

  • June 06, 2025

    Judge Questions Trump's Ability To Change Voting Law

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday questioned assertions by the government that President Donald Trump is authorized by the Constitution's "take care" clause to impose sweeping changes to federal election procedures despite existing statutes.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice

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    A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.

  • In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege

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    Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.

  • CFPB's Message To States Takes On New Weight Under Trump

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January guidance to state enforcers has fresh significance as the Trump administration moves to freeze the bureau's work, and industry should expect states to use this series of recommendations as an enforcement road map, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

  • Series

    Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Likely Doomed CFPB Contract Rule Still Has Industry Pointers

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    While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's January proposal on consumer financial contract provisions is unlikely to be finalized under the new administration, its provisions are important for industry to recognize, particularly if state attorneys general decide to take up the enforcement mantle, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • The Implications Of E-Cigarette Cos. Taking Suits To 5th Circ.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds over the definition of an "adversely affected" person under the Tobacco Control Act, and the justices' ruling will have important and potentially wide-ranging implications for forum shopping claims, says Trillium Chang at Zuckerman Spaeder.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

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