Judge Geddis (Livingston County) granted a motion for partial summary disposition on a large-exposure case handled by attorney Carol Smith.  The case arises from an accident that occurred when the driver of a motor coach transporting a 40+ middle-schoolers and chaperones took a highway exit ramp too fast and rolled the bus. Numerous individuals reported injuries, including several broken bones and concussions, as well as a chaperone who suffered burst-type […]

Carol Smith, an attorney in our Livonia office, and her paralegal, Suzanne Fuhrman, recently scored an impressive trial win in federal court. The plaintiff, a family physician from Chicago, was visiting the Silver Lake State Park in west Michigan when he rented a Jeep Wrangler from Carol’s corporate client to drive on the sand dunes. Following a one-hour guided tour by the client through the dunes, the plaintiff crested a […]

We are pleased to announce that Douglas Curlew and Shane Nolan have been elected partners at CMDA. Both attorneys are recognized for their ability to lead, manage, and develop the Firm through their professional skills, client relations, and work effort. “Doug has demonstrated excellence in the area of appellate law and has a very strong work ethic,” said Chris Schultz, managing partner. “With his academic approach, pragmatic writing style, and […]

Access to state and local government meetings has been a hallmark of American democracy for most of our country’s history. All states have enacted open meetings laws that generally require municipalities and local agencies to provide advance notice to the public of meetings held by commissions, boards, tribunals, and councils. This includes a broad spectrum of entities, such as unemployment commissions, tax tribunals, and school boards. These statutes permit any […]

A common query posed to collection attorneys by their small business clients is whether, upon the default of a standard contract agreement, the client will receive the “benefit of the bargain” and be made whole as part of the collection process. Many business agreements have not been drafted in a comprehensive manner, nor with the aid of competent legal counsel. As a result, an often-raised question is whether accrued interest […]

Konschuh v. Turkelson, et al. (Lapeer County Circuit Court No. 17-050850-CL(H); Oakland County Circuit Court No. 17-SC0045-SC; Michigan Court of Appeals No. 349041) is a unique and highly-contentious case that involved a circuit court judge who filed suit against Lapeer County and several of its officials. Judge Byron Konschuh – who remains a sitting judge at the Lapeer County Circuit Court – was charged with embezzlement related charges for depositing […]

Joel Ashton, a partner in our Livonia office, recently had a case dismissed for a Condominium Association on summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(8) in the Oakland County Circuit Court. In this case, a disgruntled condominium owner represented himself in his quest to obtain a preliminary injunction to avoid the imminent March 2020 election of three directors to the Board of Directors or, alternatively, to set aside the results of […]

In the case of Highfield Beach at Lake Michigan v. Sanderson, the Michigan Court of Appeals recently ruled on the issue of enforceability of a condominium Bylaw which affected short-term rentals of units. The ruling effectively negated the plan of a new unit owner to use his condominium for rental to vacationers. As a result, the Association was successful in its efforts to limit the types of rentals allowed, similar […]

Vexatious litigants bother, embarrass and/or cause legal expenses to the defendant and can be a costly problem in today’s legal system. Vexatious litigation is becoming more common in the realm of community associations and quite often these litigants represent themselves when they file lawsuits against their own association or contest decisions made by the Board of Directors. The result is that sometimes frivolous and expensive litigation occurs that must then […]

In Michigan the law is clear as to the duties of condominium associations to provide written statements to purchasers of units located in the condominium regarding unpaid assessments, interest, late charges, fines, costs and attorney fees. However, when it comes to homeowners that own lots in subdivisions governed by a Homeowners’ Association (HOA), the law is not as clear-cut. Therefore, prospective purchasers should be aware of any outstanding items that […]