In Bailey v Schaaf, released July 30, 2013, Michigan’s Supreme Court considered the liability of a landlord who hired a security guard company whose guards busied themselves handling an intoxicated person and allegedly ignored a report about someone brandishing a gun and threatening to kill. Bailey was shot and seriously injured. The trial court granted…

Smitter v Thornapple Township (June 19, 2013) is, in most respects, a typical opinion from the Michigan Supreme Court. The Court was presented with a question of statutory construction that affected the allocation of liability between Thornapple Township—the employer of the plaintiff/part-time firefighter—and the Second Injury Fund under the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act. The Court…

Distinguishing employees from independent contractors is a perennial issue for employers and courts alike. The Michigan Court of Appeals’ opinion in Elde v Castles Brothers, Inc, provides additional guidance on what makes a worker an “employee” under Michigan’s Worker’s Disability Compensation Act—even when that worker is listed as self-employed on 1099 tax forms. The panel…

The Michigan Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Whitman v City of Burton holds that the elements of a statutory cause of action must be discerned from the statute itself, not from dicta in judicial opinions. Thus, the Court of Appeals erred in Whitman by requiring an altruistic motive for a whistleblower’s claim even though the…