Court unveils docket for October oral arguments

The Michigan Supreme Court has announced that oral arguments in 11 cases will be heard Oct. 13-15.

The court will convene to hear the first case at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 13 in the old Supreme Court courtroom on the third floor of the State Capitol. The other 10 cases will be argued in the Supreme Court courtroom on the sixth floor of the Hall of Justice, 925 W. Ottawa Street, Lansing.

The order of argument in the cases will be announced on Sept. 15.

One of the cases centers upon two podiatrists whose business relationship ended when one accused the other, as well as the attorney who authored the corporate entity, of fraud. The issues, according to a court new release, are whether the claim for legal malpractice accrued at the time the defendants discontinued the provision of generalized legal services and whether those services were “the matters out of which the claim for malpractice arose” under MCL 600.5838.

In another case, a police officer fired his weapon and wounded another officer during work on an anti-crime task force. The main issues before the trial court were whether the wounded man’s claims against his fellow officer were barred by the exclusive-remedy provision of the worker’s compensation act and whether governmental immunity applies. The high court is being asked to determine whether the defendant’s alleged violation of numerous departmental safety procedures is relevant to determining whether the shooting in this case was one of the normal, inherent and foreseeable risks of the plaintiff’s profession.

Also on the docket is a case that involves injury to both mother and baby during the child’s delivery and whether the full amount of invoiced medical expenses can be recovered even though the insurer paid health care providers a lesser discounted amount. The court is also being asked to determine whether the judgment must be reduced by the entire amount of a settlement between the plaintiffs and the hospital.

At the same time, the court will consider a case involving a lawsuit filed by a bank against a title insurance company and closing agents to recover losses from fraudulent home loans. Among the issues in front of the high court is whether a separate contract between the lender and the closing agent existed outside of the closing protection letters and whether there was a genuine issue of material fact regarding the closing agent’s violation of the terms of the lender’s written closing instructions.

On the docket, as well, is a dispute between the Associated Builders & Contractors and the city of Lansing.  The case involves a prevailing wage ordinance enacted by the city of Lansing and what authority enabled the city to enact the ordinance.