For those of you following Jim Acho’s run for the NFL Players Association Executive Director position, here are a few recent articles to update you. Detroit Free Press: Michigan Attorney: Feedback Positive for NFLPA Role NBC Sports: DeMaurice Smith has Four Challengers for NFLPA Position Boston Globe: NFL Offseason is Off to a Bad Start Bleacher Report: DeMaurice Smith to Run Against Multiple Candidates for NFLPA CBS Sports: DeMaurice Smith […]

CMDA is honored and appreciative for the trust our clients have placed in our Firm since 1965.  As a way to give back to the community as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, every month throughout 2015 the Firm will be donating 50 items to a local charity. In February, we will be donating prepackaged and individual boxes of snacks (granola bars, pretzels, fruit snacks, juice boxes, etc.) to The Guidance Center’s Kids […]

Attorney Kali Lester recently received a dismissal in Federal Court where the plaintiff alleged a local police department had an unconstitutional policy for mental health commitments. The policy permits officers to rely on statements from witnesses to evaluate an individual’s mental condition. The plaintiff argued that Michigan’s Mental Health Code requires officers to personally observe the individual exhibiting dangerous behavior before seizing the individual for the purpose of a mental […]

Attorneys Ethan Vinson, Andrew Brege, and Allan C. Vander Laan are attending the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police Mid-Winter Conference on February 4-5, 2015.  If you are attending the conference, stop by booth #75 to learn more about CMDA’s legal services.  We hope to see you there.

Both private and public employers are subject to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave from their employment if they meet certain statutory requirements (employed for at least 12 months, and worked 1250 hours within the preceding 12 months). The FMLA defines a “covered employer” as being “any person engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity […]

If an accident occurs: Try to remain calm and thoughtful. If you or anyone in your car is injured, stay in the car unless there is danger of fire or another accident. Use your cell phone to get help from the police and medical personnel. Avoid making statements about responsibility to other drivers, witnesses, the police or insurance representatives without talking to your own insurance representative. Assist the police with […]

Whether you use it or not, we all know the impact that social media has had on today’s society. What you may not know is how police have been using social media to perform their job. Police departments across the country have been turning to social media, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to improve their reputation within communities, apprehend fugitives, and even investigate criminal acts. However, some use of social […]

Students with disabilities are entitled to accommodations in school, whether it is K-12 (public) or post-secondary education. The nature and delivery of those services, however, differ greatly between K-12 and college. Laws That Impact All Students: IDEA The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law governing special education service delivery for students aged 3-21 or until high school graduation. An educational team develops the Individualized Education Plan […]

Recently, a Southern California school district settled a case brought in the Federal District Court where a minor plaintiff sought to enjoin the school district from denying his service dog access to the classroom.  The minor plaintiff was not visually or otherwise impaired, but diagnosed with a form of autism.  The school district objected to having the dog in the classroom after learning of several persons who had allergies to dogs.  It also […]

In 2001 the State of Michigan enacted Public Act 222 (MCL 691.1416 seq.) to provide a statutory exception to governmental immunity for sanitary sewer backups onto real property. Prior to Act 222, the legal theory used by plaintiffs to recover for sewer backup events was the Trespass-Nuisance exception. That common law action carried strict liability for property damages upon a simple showing that sewage or water in a basement came […]