Even before the pandemic and recent inflationary concerns occurred, there had been a steady rise throughout the country of individuals renting or borrowing goods rather than buying and owning them. This concept has carried over to residential communities whereby homeowners have monetized their homes and condominium units through peer-to-peer online activities involving the shared economy. Of course, short-term rentals through platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo have flourished in the […]

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a new trial in a case won by Attorney Carol Smith in the Western District of Michigan. The plaintiffs’ appeal cited several alleged errors made by the trial court leading up to and during the jury trial. The court of appeals sided with Ms. Smith and her clients, bringing finality to this years-long legal battle. The lawsuit was filed by a Chicago-based […]

We are extremely pleased to announce that Kristen Rewa has been elected a partner at CMDA. Ms. Rewa is a key member of the Grand Rapids office, has won numerous motions for summary judgement, and is a very effective litigator and communicator. She joined CMDA in 2020 and focuses her practice on law enforcement defense and litigation, municipal law, employment and labor law, and insurance defense. Christopher Schultz, managing partner […]

Please join us in welcoming Kenneth M. Gonko to the Firm. He is an Of Counsel attorney in our Livonia office where he focuses his practice on labor law and employment relations in the public and private sector. As a labor and employment law attorney, he regularly appears as an advocate and litigator in disputes before the state and federal courts, the National Labor Relations Board, the United States Equal […]

Noting that no published authority had yet addressed the interplay of the 2019 No-Fault amendments with pre-amendment case law for the “one year back rule,” the Michigan Court of Appeals has concluded that the amendments return the state of law to that provided in the 1986 Michigan Supreme Court ruling in Lewis v. Detroit Auto Inter-Ins. Exch., 426 Mich 93, and its progeny.  Notably, this includes the requirements that for […]

Jim Acho, a partner in our Livonia office, successfully represented the City of Detroit in a lawsuit filed by Detroit Police Commissioner Board Member Willie Burton. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit last month, and yesterday denied the petition for rehearing rendering the case over. Burton was removed from the July 11, 2019 Board of Police Commissioners meeting at the Durfee Information […]

Ryan Miller, a partner in our Riverside, CA office, recently successfully defended a CMDA client against an $8,000,000 Claim. A female Plaintiff worker claimed she was sexually assaulted by her supervisor. Her supervisor denied the Claim, but he was still sued, along with the Company, by the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff hired three law firms to try her case. The Company vigorously defended the Claim, and Mr. Miller conducted a thorough […]

We are pleased to announce that attorney Jim Acho has been named a 2023 Top Lawyer in Labor and Employment Law by DBusiness magazine. The research for the Top Lawyers list was created by Professional Research Services and is based on an online peer-review survey sent out to the certified lawyers within the metro Detroit area. We are delighted to have a CMDA attorney named to their Top Lawyers list. […]

Rapper Cardi B recently defeated a tort and intellectual property lawsuit for misappropriation of likeness and invasion of privacy for using a picture of a heavily tattooed man, without his permission, as the subject of her album cover picture. The creator of the album cover skewed and altered an innocent picture of Plaintiff Kevin Brophy, where he is simply showing off his tattoo, to create an entirely different scenario. Critically, […]

You may notice a familiar face when flipping through the latest issue of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s monthly magazine. Ashley Garrett, an attorney in our Kansas City office, is featured in the Member Connection section of the KC Counselor where she explains how she professionally and personally prepares for the new year. Ms. Garrett shares, “Professionally, I evaluate the status of all my cases and ensure that I […]