Joel Ashton, a partner in our Livonia office, was the guest speaker at the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ (NAIFA) Virtual Event held on June 18, 2024. Mr. Ashton spoke to insurance and financial advisors on the current state of the Michigan No-Fault Act following the substantial amendments of 2019 with a focus on helping the advisors best serve their customers. He provided an […]

We are pleased to announce that Carol A. Smith has been elected a partner at CMDA. Chris Schultz, managing partner, explains, “Carol maintains excellent client relations and is an exceptional mentor to our newer associates and law clerks. Further, she has made significant contributions to the overall Firm by participating in On-Campus Interviews and other community events. Lastly, she is dedicated to providing outstanding legal services to our clients. We […]

Please join us in welcoming Kimberly M. Coschino (née Moehle) to the Firm. She has joined CMDA as an attorney in the Firm’s Clinton Township office where she focuses her practice on municipal law, employment and labor law, business law, insurance defense, and law enforcement defense and litigation. Ms. Coschino has significant experience representing clients in various stages of litigation, conducting legal research, drafting pleadings, handling discovery issues, and preparing […]

CMDA congratulates Attorney Carol Smith on another trial victory. Carol represented a trucking company and its driver who admitted negligence for an automobile accident. At issue were the injuries of a 31-year-old plaintiff who underwent two cervical spine fusions and is left with what his Beaumont surgeon testified is likely permanent nerve damage. The plaintiff denied any prior neck pain and, though there was a question of whether that was […]

Please join us in congratulating Carol Smith on her selection to Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s Class of 2024 Up & Coming Lawyers. She is one of only 25 attorneys in Michigan to be selected to this year’s class. Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s “Up & Coming honorees have excelled in the profession and are standouts among their peers — all in their first 10 years of practice. These lawyers are establishing themselves as […]

We are pleased to announce that a familiar face is back in the Firm’s Traverse City office. Please join us in welcoming Matthew W. Cross back to CMDA. Matt Cross is a partner in our Traverse City office where he focuses his practice in the areas of insurance defense litigation, law enforcement defense and litigation, and municipal law. Matt has experience handling employment law, personal injury defense, marijuana licensing litigation, […]

On July 31, 2023, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the new fee schedule and attendant care limitations contained in MCL 500.3157 do not apply retroactively to PIP insureds who sustained accidental bodily injuries prior to the effective date of the 2019 No-Fault amendments.  In Andary et al v USAA Casualty Insurance Company and Citizens Insurance Company of America, the Court reasoned that the No-Fault insurance policy and disputed portions […]

Greg Grant of the Traverse City office recently obtained dismissal on behalf of a large utility company in a case that was litigated for over four years. The plaintiff in the case alleged negligence after she was electrocuted while inside of her vehicle when it came into contact with a low-hanging power line during a severe thunderstorm in Northern Michigan. The evidence demonstrated that a tree branch had fallen on […]

In a recent case handled by Attorney Carol Smith, the claimant was being transported home from dialysis in a non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) vehicle when she fell out of her chair and seemingly suffered a highly comminuted, displaced fracture of her left femur. She underwent surgical repair with hardware placement the following day and, as a result of the surgery, was hospitalized for three weeks and then in-patient at a […]

In an unpublished opinion, the Michigan Court of Appeals found that an exception applied to the parked car exclusion of the No-Fault Act to provide Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage in a case in which a stretcher overturned while attempting to load a patient into an ambulance. In Djeljaj v American Alternative Insurance Corporation, 2023 WL 3556897, while being transferred from one medical facility to another, the Plaintiff was purportedly […]