U.S. Supreme Court Upholds the Health Care Act as a Tax and Places a Cap on the Commerce Clause The United States Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare” as a tax, but not as a permissible federal power under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. This means the federal government may use the Commerce Clause to regulate activity that affects interstate commerce, but not inactivity, […]

U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Pharmaceutical Representatives are Not Entitled to Receive Overtime Pay At first glance, the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court seems to be fairly obvious and straight-forward: Pharmaceutical representatives have been restored to their previous classification as “outside sales employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), meaning they are exempt from the statute’s requirements regarding minimum wages and overtime pay. However, this case […]

Haider Kazim, a Partner in our Traverse City office, has been named to Michigan Super Lawyers Rising Stars list as one of the top up-and-coming attorneys in Michigan for 2012. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state receive this honor. Congratulations Haider!

We are pleased to announce that Ronald G. Acho, a Co-founder and Partner of the Firm, is the recipient of the Community Service and Dedication Award by the Chaldean-American Bar Association (CABA). He was selected and unanimously approved by the Board to receive this award for his many years of legal service to the Chaldean community and to the members of CABA.  His litigation and mediation talents are well known to […]

Our Firm has a long track record of representing those in the sports world. Among the current athletes for whom CMDA serves as legal counsel is recent NFL draft pick Mike Martin. (CMDA is not in the agency business, but serves as legal counsel.) Jim Acho, a Senior Attorney in our Livonia office, oversees the review of all of Mr. Martin’s contracts and appearances. Chris Schultz, a Partner in our Livonia office, […]

The Michigan Supreme Court has discarded the 36-year-old doctrine that once prevented insurance companies from denying claims based on fraudulent statements made in an insured’s application.  Previously, the law stated that an insurer could not deny liability in the event of fraud found on an insured’s application if the fraud would have been “easily ascertainable” by the insurer.  Now, fraud, if proven, can serve as a complete bar to recovery.  Insurance […]

We have all heard the probate horror stories. A Will took five years to be probated, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees. All of the assets from someone else’s estate were stolen by the personal representative (executor), leaving the family with nothing. The probate judge was unfair. Such stories instill fear about probate administration, which can lead to estate planning decisions with unintended consequences. The following is a listof the top ten […]

Community college employees may be entitled to immunity from liability in the event their actions result in injury to an employee or student. However, immunity does not apply in all circumstances. Community college employees, as public employees, may be held individually liable in some circumstances where private sector employees are not. Accordingly, it is important that employees take steps to avoid being held individually liable. A community college employee’s first step in avoiding […]

Tim Young, a partner in our Livonia office, won another outstanding victory for his client last month. A 13-year-old boy sustained horrific injuries, losing all of the fingers and the functional use of his dominant hand. Mr. Young received a judgment in favor of his client that a different party was responsible for the injury, saving his client in excess of $2,000,000. In addition, the Court awarded all costs and […]

Jim Acho, a senior attorney in our Livonia office and adjunct professor at MadonnaUniversity, has been added to the University’s faculty committee for their Sports Management program. He teaches Sports Law at the University. Additionally, Mr. Acho has been added to the University Lecture Series where he will speak at colleges throughout theMidwest on the subject of Sports Law.