Posts by BScyzoryk@secrestwardle.com
Open and Obvious Lives? Dismissal of Premises Liability Suit Affirmed Post-Kandil-Elsayed
Earlier this year, in Kandil-Elsayed v F & E Oil, Inc, ___ Mich ___ (2023) (Docket No. 162907), the Michigan Supreme Court overruled Lugo v Ameritech Corp, Inc, 464 Mich 512 (2001). In doing so, the Court held that “the open and obvious danger doctrine” is no longer “part of a land possessor’s duty.” Kandil-Elsayed,___…
Read MoreShow Me the Unemployment Records: If Plaintiff Waives Privilege, UIA Must Produce
The Finch decision shows how to sidestep the statutory excuse claimed by the UIA when refusing to produce Plaintiff’s unemployment records during discovery. This case argued an exception to the statutory provision which UIA relied on. The trial court ordered UIA to produce the records. The UIA appealed and lost. The key is showing claimant…
Read MoreInsurers Not Strapped by Statutory Limit of Reduction of Damages for Unbelted Backseat Passengers
MCL 257.710e(8) cannot be applied to limit the reduction of a backseat passenger plaintiff’s damages based on comparative negligence. Because the plain and unambiguous language of MCL 257.710e(3) requires that only operators and front seat passengers wear safety belts, defendants can introduce, without limitation, evidence of a backseat passenger’s comparative negligence under common law to reduce…
Read MoreDon’t Look Up: Prior Landowner Must Have Actual Knowledge of Defect to Be Liable
Unless narrow exceptions apply, when property is sold, the purchaser takes on all responsibility for the land’s condition. Also, a former property owner must have actual knowledge of dangerous conditions on the property before that former owner has liability or owes a duty to a third-party injured on the property.
Read MoreSelection Integrity: Insurer Pulled Into PIP Suit Despite Limited Policy
On June 11, 2019, the Legislature amended the No-Fault Act and fundamentally changed the no-fault system by eliminating the requirement that all owners and/or registrants of vehicles maintain lifetime, unlimited PIP coverage. Now, MCL 500.3107c allows an insured to select one of the following coverage levels for the payment of PIP benefits under MCL 500.3107(1)(a):…
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