Author: altiorlaw

Kenneth Neuman Nominated as Candidate for the 2022 Oakland County Bar Association Board of Directors Election  

Altior Law founding attorney and CPA Kenneth Neuman has been selected by the Oakland County Bar Association’s Nominating Committee as a candidate for its 2022 Board of Directors.  Ken has been a member of the OCBA for nearly 30 years, and is a member of the Business Court and Counsel Committee.  Altior Law has been a long-time sponsor of OCBA events and supporter of OCBA’s...

Steve McKenney Prevails in Recent Appellate Ruling on Property Line Dispute

Altior Law attorney Steve McKenney recently obtained a favorable appellate ruling for his clients in a property line dispute: Slater v Cueny, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Michigan Court of Appeals dated Feb. 10, 2022 (Docket No. 355914).  In that opinion, the Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s order establishing a new property line between the parties based on the...

Jennifer Grieco Presents on Arbitration Panel for the State Bar of Michigan Alternative Dispute Resolution Section

Altior Law attorney Jennifer Grieco recently served as a panelist concerning best practices on non-administered arbitrations hosted by the State Bar of Michigan’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section.  Jennifer was selected to present alongside a panel of other notable advocates and arbitrators including, Martin Weisman, Larry Saylor, Samuel McCargo, and moderator Michael Leib. ...

Jennifer Cupples Named March 2022 Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Member of the Month

Altior Law attorney Jennifer Cupples was recently honored as the March 2022 Member of the Month by the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan-Oakland Region, known as WBA-Oakland.  Jennifer has been the president of the Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers since July 2017, the longest-serving president since the society’s organization in 1978. She currently serves as a...

David Mollicone Secures an Early and Complete Win in Oakland County Construction Dispute

Altior Law attorney David Mollicone recently secured an across-the-board win in his defense of a construction dispute in the Oakland County Circuit Court.  The case, Gold, et al v MG Building Company, Inc., et al, Case No. 21-188621-CZ, involved claims of negligence and breach of the implied warranty of habitability arising from the construction of a Bloomfield Hills home.  The home...

The Michigan Court of Appeals Holds “Block Billing” Not Per Se Unreasonable in Assessing a Claim for Attorney Fees

Authored By: Jennifer Cupples and Jennifer Grieco Block billing is a common time-keeping practice in which attorneys use a single billing entry for total daily time spent on multiple tasks.  In various unpublished opinions, the Michigan Court of Appeals has previously rejected arguments that the use of block billing is per se vague or improper – so long as the entries within the blocks are...

The Michigan Court of Appeals Holds it is an Abuse of Discretion to Stay Discovery Relevant to a Pending Motion for Summary Disposition in Which Evidence Outside the Pleadings May be Considered

Authored By: Stephen McKenney and Kenneth Neuman Many Michigan litigators have been met with this roadblock: “Not until the court decides by motion.”  Discovery is ongoing, and your opposing counsel believes their pending motion for summary disposition – in which the court is permitted to consider evidence outside the pleadings – will dispose of the case.   But where...

Case Evaluation Sanctions After the Amendments to MCR 2.403 – Business Court Judge Michael Warren Provides Insight  

Authored By: Matt Smith and Dave Mollicone On January 1, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court’s amendments to the long-standing case evaluation rule, MCR 2.403, took effect.  Most notable among them is the elimination of sanctions against a rejecting party. But unclear is the timing of the amended rule’s application to cases filed, ordered, or evaluated relative to the effective date of...

The Michigan Supreme Court Clarifies the Enforceability of Attorney Referral Fee Agreements

Authored By: Matthew Smith and Jennifer Grieco Referral and fee-sharing agreements between attorneys are nothing new.  When presented with a matter outside of an attorney’s practice, public policy supports referring the client to an attorney with specialized knowledge in that area of law.  In such instances, Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(e) allows the specialist and...

The Michigan Supreme Court Announces a New Standard for the Enforceability of Provisions Requiring Arbitration of Disputes “Related To” Employment – and Potentially Other – Contracts

Authored By: Jennifer Cupples and David Mollicone The threshold question of whether a dispute is subject to arbitration is generally a matter for a court to determine by considering the reach of the parties’ agreement.  In a recent opinion by Justice Cavanagh, joined by Chief Justice McCormack and Justices Bernstein and Clement, the Michigan Supreme Court in Lichon v Michael Morse, et...