Please join us in welcoming Paul Leonidas Lin to the Firm. He has joined CMDA as an attorney in the Firm’s Riverside office where he focuses his practice on defending public entities in civil litigation, including municipal law and insurance defense. He manages all phases of litigation, from initial case assessment and strategic planning through discovery management, substantive motion practice, and preparation for hearings and trials. He draws on over […]

Please join us in welcoming Lanae L. Monera to the Firm. She has joined CMDA as an attorney in the Firm’s Grand Rapids office where she focuses her practice in the areas of civil litigation defense, insurance defense, and municipal law. Prior to joining CMDA, she served as Assistant Corporation Counsel for a Michigan county with emphasis on contract review and formation and statutory compliance. She also focuses her practice […]

Matt Cross, a partner in our Traverse City office, recently obtained summary disposition of a premises liability claim against a northern Michigan municipal client. The case involved a trip and fall at a public library. In granting summary disposition, the court affirmed that the “public building exception” to governmental immunity does not extend to temporary or movable items within a public building. This ruling reinforces that municipalities generally maintain immunity […]

In a recent matter, Attorneys Matt Cross and Greg Grant successfully obtained dismissal of a property dispute that centered on the conveyance of a county-owned park to a neighboring township. The plaintiffs, who resided on property bordering the park, argued that the county violated their right to due process by conveying the property in the manner they did. In their depositions, the plaintiffs acknowledged that their opposition was communicated to […]

Attorneys Gregory Grant and Kristen Rewa recently obtained summary judgment in favor of a small, rural city, its police chief, and a police lieutenant in a hotly contested employment discrimination case alleging violations of the due process clause, equal protection clause, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), a federal statute which protects the rights of active military members and veterans from discrimination in civilian employment. The […]

Last week, a federal jury in Detroit returned a no cause verdict in favor of Jim Acho’s client after a 5-day trial. The case is Jacob Branham v. City of Allen Park PD, et al. The City, PD, police officer and Wayne County prosecutor were all dismissed on motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity. However, the individual private citizen defendant was forced to trial without the availability of that immunity. Trial […]

Governor Gretchen Whitmer previously signed House Bill 5120 (now Public Act 233 of 2023) into law in November 2023. The regulations, which specifically affect municipalities and developers, create a new siting path for utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage facilities with the Michigan Public Service Commission (“MPSC”) and become effective on November 29, 2024. Once effective, it is critical that clean energy developers and municipalities become familiar with this new […]

Kristen Rewa, a partner in our Grand Rapids office, recently obtained dismissal of an employment discrimination lawsuit on behalf of a county and sheriff. The plaintiff, a former deputy, filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging sex discrimination and retaliation against her former employer. She alleged that she experienced a culture of sexism and hostility, incidents of inappropriate behavior from a supervisor, difficulties in receiving backup on calls, reassignment of […]

Matthew Cross, a partner in CMDA’s Traverse City office, recently defended a Southeast Michigan municipality against a lawsuit filed by an applicant who was unsuccessful in obtaining a license to sell marijuana in the municipality. The Court granted summary disposition on Plaintiff’s claims under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act and the Open Meetings Act, dismissing the case in its entirety. Mr. Cross focuses his practice in the […]

Jacklyn Paletta and Joshua Cervantes, both partners in CMDA’s Kansas City office, were presenters at the Midwest Public Risk (MPR) 40th Anniversary Annual Members Meeting & Fall Conference held at the Branson Conference Center in Branson, Missouri. Their presentation, “Significant Developments in Governmental Law during 2022-2023,” provided MPR members with recent updates in the law, insight into legal trends, as well as offering practical tips and best practices for entities […]