Collins Einhorn attorneys recently prevailed on behalf of client, a Detroit restaurant, who was the defendant in a premises liability case. Plaintiff was attending a private party at the restaurant when a speaker fell and struck plaintiff.
In the trial court, attorneys Melissa E. Graves and Jeffrey R. Hicks argued that plaintiff’s premises-liability claim failed since there was no evidence that the restaurant did anything to cause the speaker to fall. The trial court agreed and granted summary disposition in defendant’s favor. Plaintiff moved for reconsideration, arguing a new legal theory of res ipsa loquitur. The trial court denied the motion, and plaintiff appealed.
In the Court of Appeals, attorney Fawzeih H. Daher successfully obtained affirmance of the trial court’s ruling. The court held that plaintiff improperly raised res ipsa loquitur for the first time in her motion for reconsideration. Under Michigan’s “raise or waive” rule of appellate review, the issue was not preserved and therefore waived on appeal. Daher’s brief also explained that res ipsa did not apply, but the court did not reach that issue. Click here to read the opinion.
