Real Property – Restaurant buyer did not acquire easement to seller’s parking...
Where a city agreed to authorize a restaurant expansion based on the owner’s assurance that a parking lot he owned across from the restaurant would accommodate the increased need for parking, the...
View ArticleBusiness Law – Liquidated damages clause in parties’ contract unenforceable
A liquidated damages clause in the contract is unenforceable “because it constitutes a penalty provision.”
View ArticleBusiness Law – No-fault act did not end contractual liability for collision...
Where plaintiff’s equipment was damaged while being hauled to a different location, defendant’s argument that plaintiff has no remedy due to the no-fault act’s elimination of tort remedies is not...
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Insufficient business conducted to establish venue in Kent...
A bail bond agency’s motion to change venue from Kent County to Macomb County, where the agency is headquartered, will be granted because the agency does not conduct business in Kent County.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Appointment of receiver does not bar judicial foreclosure
The appointment of a receiver to wind down the business affairs of a lumberyard does not preclude a creditor from seeking judicial foreclosure of the lumberyard’s real property.
View ArticleReal Property – Defendant denied summary judgment on personal guaranty claim
The court will deny defendant’s motion for summary disposition of plaintiff’s claim that he is personally liable on a lease his professional corporation signed with plaintiff.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Failure to get easement blocks seller’s claim to escrowed funds
A shopping mall purchaser who closed on the sale did not waive a claim for escrowed funds when the seller failed to obtain a permanent easement to the property. The purchaser had a contractual right to...
View ArticleInsurance – Agent can take Medicare prescription drug clients to new agency
There is no impediment in law or equity to prevent an insurance agent from taking his clients who have Medicare prescription drug coverage with him to his new insurance agency.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Failure to timely obtain counsel is not reason for relief...
A motion to set aside defendant’s default in this equipment lease case is denied. Defendant’s failure to timely obtain Michigan counsel is “pure negligence,” rather than good cause that would justify...
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Summary disposition motion too early in sales employment...
Defendant’s motion for summary disposition is premature, given that there is some evidence to counter its claim that plaintiff and defendant lacked a business relationship, and no discovery has taken...
View ArticleContract – Shipment of leaking soy milk containers was breach of contract
A soy milk distributor is entitled to damages arising from the supplier’s shipment of soy milk in leaking containers and the supplier’s subsequent failure to ship any soy milk to the distributor.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Untimely claims not saved by ‘relation-back’ doctrine
Plaintiff’s claims in an amended complaint against a recently added party will be dismissed as untimely. The asserted claims relate back to when the amended complaint was filed, and not to the original...
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Loan default not subject to business court jurisdiction
A credit union’s suit against borrowers who failed to make payments on their home equity line of credit is not subject to the business court’s jurisdiction.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Breach of guaranty suit not subject to business court...
The business court lacks jurisdiction to hear plaintiff’s suit for breach of a personal guaranty for a loan.
View ArticleArbitration – Arbitrator had jurisdiction to determine applicable procedure
Where the parties’ letter agreement set the governing procedures for arbitration of some of their disputes, the arbitrator had jurisdiction to determine whether those procedures would apply to claims...
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Lead counsel appointed in consolidated shareholder...
On plaintiff’s motion and defendant’s concurrence, two similar shareholder derivative suit will be consolidated. On plaintiff’s motion, plaintiff will be designated the lead plaintiff, and his...
View ArticleContract – Bylaws prevent advance litigation expenses to corporate officers
Two corporate officers are not entitled to advancement of litigation expenses because the corporation bylaws provide for reimbursement only if the officers are found not liable for negligence or...
View ArticleEmployment – Neither party entitled to relief regarding covenant not to compete
Where plaintiff doctor and defendant employer dispute the meaning of the parties’ covenant to compete, further factual development is required before the court can determine whether the agreement is...
View ArticleReal Property – School district can be sued for sewage backup claim
A township is the real party in interest in a suit against a school district arising from a sewage backup into a residential home, caused when a water filtration system failed in a nearby school.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Company can enforce noncompete contract against former employee
Plaintiff can enforce a noncompetition agreement against a former employee because the agreement is reasonable in scope and duration but enforcement cannot be had against the former employee’s company...
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