Taylor and Saylor author brief in real estate dispute
Miller Canfield lawyers Clifford W. Taylor and Larry J. Saylor were presented the Distinguished Brief Award by the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review. The pair of attorneys were feted along with the year’s other honorees at an awards dinner hosted by the law school at the Country Club of Lansing on June 25, 2014.
Taylor and Saylor were honored for their authorship of the appellant’s brief to the Michigan Supreme Court in Majestic Golf, LLC v. Lake Walden Country Club, Inc., a real estate dispute over whether the country club breached its lease with the land owner by refusing to sign an easement to allow road construction across the course. The Miller Canfield attorneys successfully argued that the Court of Appeals failed to apply all of the lease terms when it ruled that the country club had defaulted on the lease.
Taylor is a member of Miller Canfield’s appellate section and is based in the firm’s Lansing office. A former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, he had a long, illustrious career as a judge with both the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court before joining Miller Canfield in 2010. He is also an adjunct professor for the Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida, where he teaches courses about statutory interpretation and professional responsibility.
Saylor is a litigator based in Miller Canfield’s downtown Detroit headquarters. He handles antitrust, trade secret, consumer protection, franchising, and dealer law matters, including class actions, injunctions, and appeals. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Law School, where he teaches about franchising and dealer law. He was an article editor of Michigan Law Review while attending the University of Michigan Law School.
A copy of the award-winning brief can be downloaded from the Michigan Supreme Court’s website: http://courts.mi.gov/Courts/MichiganSupremeCourt/briefs/Documents/10-13/145988/145988dfat.ocr.pdf.
Cardelli Lanfear attorneys win brief award
Anthony F. Caffrey III, a partner with the law firm Cardelli Lanfear, PC, has been recognized with a 2014 Distinguished Brief Award from the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review. The co-authors of the article, R. Carl Lanfear, Jr., and Paul Kittinger, were also recognized.
Caffrey received this year’s award for his authorship of an application for leave to appeal in Sholberg v Truman, a case submitted in the 2013-14 term to the Michigan Supreme Court. The plaintiff, Terri Sholberg, suffered fatal injuries when her car automobile struck a horse owned by Daniel Truman. Although Daniel Truman had owned and operated a farm for decades, his brother and sister-in-law — Robert and Marilyn Truman — had title ownership to the farm. At issue was whether the decedent’s estate could sue the Trumans for a nuisance that was created solely by Daniel Truman and on property that was exclusively possessed and controlled by Daniel Truman. Cardelli Lanfear persuaded the trial court to grant summary disposition, but the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed on the basis that ownership of real property alone justified potential liability for any nuisance arising therefrom. The issue briefed to the Michigan Supreme Court was whether a mere owner of property could be liable for a nuisance that was created by another that was in exclusive possession and control of the property. The Supreme Court ordered oral argument on the application and ultimately reversed the Michigan Court of Appeals, reinstating summary disposition on the nuisance cause of action. (Sholberg v Truman, Mich; NW2d /No. 146725).
Caffrey is Cardelli Lanfear’s partner focusing on appellate and major writing projects for litigation at all levels. He has participated in more than 100 appeals. Before joining the firm, Caffrey clerked for Judge Owens in the Michigan Court of Appeals and was a prehearing attorney in Grand Rapids. He has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers for his appellate and litigation work.
Lanfear is a partner and trial attorney for Cardelli Lanfear. Lanfear has had successful defense verdicts in more than 30 jury trials. Kittinger is a senior associate for Cardelli Lanfear, specializing in all aspects of litigation.
The 2014 edition of the Distinguished Brief Award is the 29th installment of the award. The award is given in recognition of the most scholarly briefs filed before the Michigan Supreme Court as determined by a panel of jurists. The briefs are evaluated on the basis of seven criteria: (1) Question presented; (2) Point headings; (3) Statement of the case; (4) Argument and analysis; (5) Style; (6) Mechanics; and (7) Best overall brief.
The award recognizes not only substantive arguments, but presentation.
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