A taxpayer is subject to penalties and interest for failing to file a Michigan tax return or pay Michigan tax on time. The penalties are 5% of the amount of the tax properly reportable on the return for the first two months of the failure, and 5% for each succeeding month, up to a total [...]
A recent ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court arose out of the late Craig White’s purchase of a muffler repair kit. Mr. White bought the kit with the intent to repair his car. Unfortunately, he died of asphyxiation from carbon monoxide as a result of running his automobile in a small enclosed garage. The Estate [...]
The City of Detroit (“City”) has become the most recent city to pass an ordinance that forbids the City from asking an applicant for a City job about prior felony convictions on the initial employment application form. This is informally referred to as a “ban the box” law. “Ban the box” gets its name from employment [...]
Patent law in the United States is designed to encourage innovation, yet at the same time it inhibits the dissemination of ideas by giving the inventor a period of exclusivity. A patent is limited to 17 or 20 years. After expiration of the patent anyone may use the ideas for profit without any obligation to [...]
Over the past several months, we have posted updates about the Lake Michigan Asian carp dispute. This week, a federal judge in Chicago is hearing expert testimony regarding the reliability of Asian carp DNA evidence detected in Chicago-area waterways, to determine whether to close the waterways to prevent the spread of Asian carp to Lake [...]
A $14.9 Million verdict was recently overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court. The Supreme Court determined that there was error on part of the trial judge in the jury selection process. The Michigan Supreme Court also inferred in its opinion that the trial judge overseeing the case could be in hot water with the Michigan [...]
Non-compete agreements offer protection to employers after the separation of an employer and employee. This protection is limited, as courts strictly construe the terms of non-compete agreements. In Michigan, non-compete agreements must not be overly broad. To be enforceable, a non-compete agreement must be reasonable in limiting the time a former employee may not compete [...]
A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision, Alberto v. Toyota Motor Corp., held that two high-level executives at Toyota Motor Corporation were not required to give depositions. The dispute in this case arose out of an incident where plaintiff’s decedent died while driving a Toyota vehicle, which suddenly accelerated. During the discovery phase, Plaintiff gave [...]
The Michigan Arbitration Act (MAA) often provides an efficient alternative to traditional civil litigation. Parties arbitrate their claims before either a single arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators. Once a decision is rendered, the parties are bound by the arbitrator’s decision. The tricky part comes in enforcing the decision. If the defendant is unwilling to [...]
Unmarried cohabitants living together need to use caution when spending time or money on improving “shared” property. A recent opinion by the Michigan Court of Appeals, Williams v. Hartley, left one unmarried cohabitant with nothing to show for his efforts to improve the “shared” property of the couple after they separated. Williams and Hartley became [...]
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