Attorneys Kari L. Melkonian and Lindsey A. Peck won summary disposition in favor of a snow-removal company in a slip-and-fall case. The Court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims against the defendant, holding that the defendant didn’t owe the plaintiff a separate duty. The Court also granted the snow-removal contractor’s motion for summary disposition on a third-party complaint filed against its subcontractor. The Court found that, under the terms of the snow-removal subcontract, the subcontractor owed the contractor and property owner both defense and indemnification.

Collins Einhorn attorneys Kevin P. Moloughney and Patrick J. Walbridge won summary disposition on a third-party auto-negligence claim, based on the plaintiff’s failure to prove that he suffered an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function. The Court agreed that the medical records relied on by the plaintiff only demonstrated subjective complaints, which were insufficient to meet the serious impairment threshold imposed by the Michigan No-Fault Act.

Attorneys Matthew S. LaBeau and Peter J. Tomasek obtained summary disposition in Calhoun County Circuit Court in a lawsuit for first-party, no-fault benefits. A hospital claimed that, under an assignment clause in the hospital’s consent-for-treatment form and the hospital’s fee agreement with Cofinity/PPOM, it had standing to claim over $400,000 in no-fault benefits. The Court rejected this argument, finding that the assignment was invalid and that the Cofinity/PPOM agreement didn’t give the hospital standing. The Court dismissed the case in its entirety.

Attorney Matthew S. LaBeau represented a snow-removal company in a Macomb County slip-and-fall case. He argued that the court should dismiss the plaintiff’s claims because the snow-removal company didn’t owe the plaintiff a legal duty in the first place. This argument drew on a body of Michigan law holding that a plaintiff seeking damages for negligence must establish that the defendant owed a duty independent of its contractual obligations. Here, the Macomb County Circuit Court agreed with LaBeau’s argument that the snow-removal company didn’t owe the plaintiff a separate duty. It therefore entered a judgment in favor of the snow-removal company, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims for significant damages.

Plaintiff brought suit in federal court alleging $9 million in damages due to an alleged product defect. Attorneys David C. Anderson, Trent B. Collier and Eric M. Kociba defended the case, obtained summary judgment in their client’s favor, and persuaded the Court to dismiss the case. The Court’s 18-page opinion may be found at https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/michigan/miedce/2:2016cv12866/313165/66.