Real Property – Foreclosure sale occurred after restraining order expired
Defendants cannot be held in contempt for proceeding with a foreclosure sale because the temporary restraining order that blocked the sale had expired.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Towing company cannot use name similar to established business
In this trademark protection suit, defendant Spartan Towing is enjoined from holding itself out under that name because it dilutes the name value of a long-established towing company in the same town —...
View ArticleCivil Rights – Discriminatory lending practices claims against bank go forward
A bank’s motion for summary disposition of plaintiff’s claims that it engaged in discriminatory lending practices is denied in part. Claims for intentional lending discrimination and disparate-impact...
View ArticleBusiness Law – Corporate operating agreement controls arbitration of claims
Only those claims governed by arbitration clause in the parties’ operating agreement will be sent to arbitration.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Lack of supporting analysis does not flaw arbitration award
Even though the arbitrator did not provide a supporting analysis for the arbitration award, the court finds no basis to vacate it.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – No good cause shown to set aside default judgment in...
Defendant’s motion to set aside a default judgment in the breach-of-contract case is denied because defendant has not established good cause for failing to respond to the complaint.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Injunctive relief denied in clothing manufacturing and...
A clothing manufacturer and seller cannot be enjoined from selling its inventory of clothing produced under a license once the licensing agreement expired.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Competing claims of business competitors dismissed
None of the parties’ allegations in the complaint, the counterclaims and the third-party complaint state viable causes of action in this contest between two competing businesses.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Injunctive relief denied in clothing manufacturing and...
A clothing manufacturer and seller cannot be enjoined from selling its inventory of clothing produced under a license once the licensing agreement expired.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Injunctive relief denied in parking space dispute
On reconsideration, the court again refuses to enjoin demolition activities that plaintiff claims are adversely affecting his business by making the customer parking lot smaller.
View ArticleInsurance – CGL policy applies because insured assumed its own liability
A commercial general liability insurer must defend a power plant servicer in a breach-of-contract action because in the parties’ purchase order agreement, the servicer assumed liability for its own...
View ArticleBusiness Law – Privacy and defamation claims dismissed after bench trial
Plaintiff’s claims for light, intrusion upon seclusion, defamation, and injurious falsehood, arising from defendant’s labeling of plaintiff as a government “snitch,” are dismissed.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Towing company cannot use name similar to established business
In this trademark protection suit, defendant Spartan Towing is enjoined from holding itself out under that name because it dilutes the name value of a long-established towing company in the same town —...
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Amount in controversy established for circuit-court...
Defendants’ argument that the amount of damages pleaded, $16,800, deprives the court of jurisdiction to hear the matter is not well-taken.
View ArticleReal Property – Plaintiff can amend fraud claim regarding release in...
In this foreclosure case, plaintiff’s claim that the sheriff’s sale of her home was unlawful is not subject to the five-year statute of limitations in MCL 600.5801(1), which pertains title claims...
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Most claims in family business dispute are res judicata
In this latest case concerning an intrafamily business dispute, most of the claims raised are res judicata because they could have been raised in prior suits.
View ArticleCivil Procedure – Declaratory action cannot be reopened to obtain money damages
Where plaintiffs obtained the declaratory relief requested and the case was closed, they cannot resurrect the case almost one year later to seek money damages from defendant.
View ArticleProfessional Responsibility – Jury must decide liability issue in legal...
A jury must decide whether defendant law firm’s alleged malpractice was the cause-in-fact of their injuries arising from the purchase of a restaurant and a failed transfer of a liquor license.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Mortgage business partner breached fiduciary duty
Defendant, plaintiff’s business partner in a mortgage originating business, breached his fiduciary duties by taking distributions from the business to which he was not entitled.
View ArticleBusiness Law – Plaintiff lacked capacity to sue for rent payments
Where a bank asserted its right to collect rent from plaintiff’s tenant after plaintiff defaulted on its loan from the bank, the real-party-in-interest rule precludes plaintiff’s suit to collect rent...
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