Collins, Einhorn, Farrell PC
Collins, Einhorn, Farrell PC is proud to announce that Kari L. Melkonian has received the Oakland County Bar Association Distinguished Service Award. This award recognizes a member of the Oakland County Bar Association who provides exceptional voluntary services to benefit the organization.
Melkonian's passion for inspiring positive change is displayed through the magnitude of her involvement. Melkonian has been an active member of the Oakland County Bar Association for 12 years.
Currently, she sits on the OCBA Board of Directors and is an active member of the Circuit Court Committee and Inns of Court Committee. She volunteers as a discovery mediator and serves as a case evaluator in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Previously, Melkonian was a member of the Board of Directors Nominating Committee, New Lawyers Committee, and Mentor Program. As a board member, Melkonian has co-chaired the Circuit Court Bench-Bar Conference, Holiday Gala and serves on various board sub-committees. She regularly attends OCBA events, where she greets and makes new lawyers feel welcome.
Melkonian has also held chair and vice-chair positions on the Circuit Court and Criminal Law Committees. As chair of the Criminal Law Committee, Melkonian was responsible for organizing the Brown Bag Lecture Series for criminal defense attorneys. She served as chair of the Circuit Court Committee for two consecutive years; under Melkonian's leadership, the committee expanded and improved the discovery mediator program.
Melkonian is a sustaining member of the OCBA and a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. She has also written articles for LACHES and spoken on many topics at various OCBA CLE seminars.
The values of the Oakland County Bar Association are an ever-present element of Melkonian's service. Her commitment to improving the broader legal community is evident through her involvement in other bar and legal activities. Melkonian is a member of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, Claims Litigation Management, and the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, where she currently serves as a Social Media Committee co-chair. Melkonian has also has made multiple appearances on "Practical Law."
Melkonian is passionate about her community and volunteers her time in many activities and charities, including various animal rescue organizations, and as a speaker to volunteers of a women's shelter regarding the Personal Protection Order process. Every year, Melkonian participates as a volunteer for the University of Detroit High School Mock Trial Team program and has volunteered as a judge in various high school, college, and law school mock trial competitions. Melkonian was also an adjunct faculty instructor at Baker College of Auburn Hills, where she taught research and writing, and family law courses to students in the paralegal program.
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Plunkett Cooney
Plunkett Cooney appellate attorney Mary Massaron recently authored a successful amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Sixth Circuit, urging the grant of a writ of mandamus to correct three district court rulings not in conformance with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP).
Written earlier this year on behalf of the Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ) In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, the amicus brief asked the appellate court to issue a writ of mandamus to correct the lower court's rulings because they were inconsistent with the federal rules and, therefore, violated the fundamental principles required for a court operating under the rule of law.
In its mandamus opinion, the three-judge panel held that the "rule of law applies in multidistrict litigation under 28 U.S.C. Section 1407 just as it does in any individual case." The appellate court went on to state that its "decision to grant leave to amend was plainly incorrect as a matter of law ..." because the ruling was inconsistent with the FRCP."
The panel ordered that the counties' November 2019 amendments to their complaints, which added dispensing claims against the defendant pharmacies roughly 17 months after the deadline for such amendments, be stricken.
In addition, the appellate court opined that "[w]hat an MDL court may not do, however, is distort or disregard the rules of law applicable to each of those cases. The rules at issue here are the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which have the same force of law that any statute does."
According to Massaron, who is a partner and co-leader of the Class Action & Mass Tort Practice Group of Plunkett Cooney, this ruling should be helpful in other MDLs because the appellate court predicated its decision on the importance of the rule of law in MDLs as in all cases
Massaron is one of the firm's most accomplished appellate attorneys with over 400 appeals to her credit, approximately 50 of which are published decisions. She is a past president of DRI The Voice of the Defense Bar, and she has the distinction of being inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Attorneys. Massaron is a past chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Amicus Briefs, and she is perennially identified as a top appellate attorney in Michigan by Martindale-Hubbell, Best Lawyers in America and other leading peer review organizations.
Published: Mon, Apr 27, 2020
