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Court Of Appeals Affirms Fraud Ruling In Used Car Sale Over Hidden Odometer Discrepancy; Vacates Attorney Fee Award

The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s findings of liability, fraudulent intent, and treble damages with regard to claims based on failure to disclose accurate mileage, but vacated its attorney fee award and remanded for reconsideration under the proper legal framework as articulated in Pirgu v United Serv Auto Ass’n, 499 Mich 269 (2016).

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Court Of Appeals Holds Judge’s Strategic Coaching Outside Jury’s Presence Can Pierce Impartiality But Still Not Be Plain Error

The COA held that a judge can pierce the veil of impartiality outside of the presence of a jury, and the judge did so here by suggesting questions that the prosecutor could ask on cross-examination, which amounted to the judge engaging in litigation strategy. However, this conduct did not amount to plain error affecting defendant’s substantial rights. The COA, thus, affirmed the conviction and sentence.

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Court Of Appeals Affirms Insurer’s Priority In DART Bus Injury Case Under No-Fault Act Exception

MCL 500.3114(2)(c) prioritizes vehicles “operated in the business of transporting passengers” and contains a related carveout for “a bus operating under a government sponsored transportation program.” In this case, the Court of Appeals ruled that this subsection applies in this case, and it affirms the trial court’s grant of summary disposition in favor of the defendant.

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Court Of Appeals Reverses Trial Court’s Denial Of Summary Disposition in Detroit Bus Collision Case

The Court of Appeals emphasized an important corollary; a trial court is obligated to grant summary disposition when there is no genuine issue of material facts. In this case, there is no such issue, given the amount of photographic and video footage of the incident, no reasonable juror could find that the bus driver was more at fault than the plaintiff. 

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Consent Judgment Of Separate Maintenance Held Binding In Later Divorce

In a divorce action filed almost ten years after a Consent Judgment of Separate Maintenance was entered including an order to sell the marital home and non-modifiable alimony payments, the Court of Appeals held that the parties’ agreements in the separate maintenance action were binding on the Trial Court in entering a subsequent Judgment of Divorce, except on issues where the parties both requested modification.

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Federal Appeals Court Revives Faxed ‘Advertisement’ Claim

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, finding it should not have been dismissed because the unsolicited faxes sent to the plaintiff’s dental office were indeed “advertisements” that violated the law.

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Court Of Appeals Reverses Trial Court’s Finding Of Aggravated Circumstances Based On Anticipatory Child Abuse

The Court reversed the trial court’s finding of aggravated circumstances because under MCL 722.638(1)(a), a court may bypass reunification and consider termination of parental rights at the outset only when a parent has already abused the child or the child’s sibling, not when there is anticipatory abuse or where the sibling is not biological.

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Court Of Appeals Affirms Receiver’s Power To Reject Leases And Strike Cross-Default Clauses Under The Michigan Receivership Act; Reverses And Remands “Stalking Horse Bidder” Issue

The Court of Appeals affirmed the Trial Court’s decision to allow the receiver to reject a lease because the plain language of the Michigan Receiver Act allows a receiver to do so. The COA also affirmed the Trial Court’s decision to strike cross-default language from the contracts with Skymint.

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