by W. Jay Brown | Feb 10, 2011 | Litigation
One of my pet peeves relate to demands for a reply to affirmative defenses. I’ve always considered this to be a pointless and wasteful exercise. I’m annoyed when opposing counsel makes such a demand and causes my client to needlessly incur fees to do the...
by W. Jay Brown | Jan 31, 2011 | Business Law, Commercial Law, Litigation
The statutory money judgment interest rate in Michigan is at a new low – – 2.553% as of January 1, 2011. With this paltry statutory rate, the inquiry of the applicable judgment interest rate takes on added importance. If you are defending a judgment...
by W. Jay Brown | Jan 16, 2011 | Construction Law, Litigation, Real Estate Law
At the very end of the 2010 term of the lame duck Democratic majority, the Michigan Supreme Court issued its 4-3 decision in Anglers of the AuSable v DEQ and provided a significant victory for Michigan environmentalists. The decision has huge implications. Much of...
by W. Jay Brown | Nov 17, 2010 | Commercial Law, Litigation
Like many attorneys, I’ve experienced the uncomfortable feeling of being blindsided by a previously unknown fact that a client should have told me being raised in litigation. The recent opinion issued by the Michigan Court of Appeals in Food Solutions Inc v...
by W. Jay Brown | Sep 28, 2010 | Litigation
In a case that is sure to trap the unwary, the Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a trial court’s bar of expert witness testimony as a discovery sanction for failing to supplement answers to interrogatories. In the case of Lawton & Cates S.C. v International...
by W. Jay Brown | Aug 27, 2010 | Business Law, Commercial Law, Litigation
This week, the Michigan Supreme Court released its opinion in Shay v Aldrich, (# 138908 released August 23, 2010) and held that sometimes, “all” does not mean “all.” The facts in Shay were straight-forward – a plaintiff settled with two parties in a litigation and...
