Appellate
Appellate
Our appellate specialists have the expertise to handle complex and significant appeals.
We are a dedicated appellate practice group. We take a practical, results-focused approach to every appeal. With a depth of experience in Michigan appellate courts and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, we combine our institutional expertise with an intimate knowledge of our clients’ industries to provide top-notch written and oral advocacy.
Our attorneys handle appellate matters on a daily basis, have clerked for appellate judges, and have worked behind the scenes at various courts, all of which informs our practice. From defending and prosecuting appeals in cases that have been with the firm since their inception, to providing appellate counsel on matters previously handled by other firms, our team provides elite advocacy at every level of appellate proceedings.
Our full-service appellate practice includes:
- Prosecuting and defending interlocutory appeals, appeals of right, and administrative appeals.
- Appellate motion practice.
- Developing appellate strategy with trial counsel to ensure issues are properly preserved for appellate review.
- Complex pretrial, trial, and post-trial motion practice.
- Serving as embedded appellate counsel in trial proceedings.
- Amicus curiae representation.
Our ability to think creatively and write persuasively has resulted in numerous successes at the appellate level.
A small sampling of published cases in which we obtained significant relief for our clients shows the breadth of our appellate practice.
Wallace v Suburban Mobility Auth for Regional Transp, 347 Mich App 380; 15 NW3d 306 (2023); Farrar v Suburban Mobility Auth for Regional Transp, 345 Mich App 472; 7 NW3d 80 (2023); Robinson v Szczotka, unpublished opinion of the Michigan Court of Appeals, issued April 6, 2023 (Docket No. 359646)
In this string of cases, our appellate team obtained a significant victory and, in so doing, materially aided in developing the law of assignments, particularly as they relate to Michigan’s one-year-back rule.
Mapp v Progressive, 346 Mich App 575; 13 NW3d 643 (2023)
One of the most cited no-fault cases since its publication in 2023, our team assisted in defining the scope of Michigan insurance contracts and their interaction with Michigan’s no-fault act. This case was also foundational in construing “residence” and “domicile” as distinct legal concepts.
Kandil-Elsayed v F & E Oil, Inc, 512 Mich 95; 1 NW3d 44 (2023)
Represented Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, Inc., as amicus curiae in this foundational premises-liability case that altered the scope of the open-and-obvious doctrine.
Consumers Energy Co v Storm, 509 Mich 195; 983 NW2d 397 (2022)
Undeterred by a series of unfortunate decisions, we provided amicus support resulting in a groundbreaking opinion that helped to define the appellate rights of condemning agencies and public utilities.
Johnson v Mich Minority Purchasing Council, 341 Mich App 1; 988 NW2d 800 (2022)
In this significant victory, the Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction that preserved the minority-business-enterprise status of our client.
Nowell v Titan Insurance Company
We successfully obtained a Michigan Supreme Court reversal of Court of Appeals and trial court rulings against our client in a case involving the standards for insurance policy cancellation. The Supreme Court overturned a prior appellate interpretation of the applicable statute on the basis that, under the plain language of the statute, actual notice of cancellation was not required so long as the cancellation notice was mailed in a manner that was reasonably calculated to reach the insured in a timely fashion.
Knight Enterprises v RPF Oil Company
The Michigan Court of Appeals, overturning a lower court bench trial verdict, ruled that the evidence was not sufficient to allow a finding that our client, a supplier of petroleum products, had committed misconduct as necessary to prove it had tortiously interfered with the supply contracts between the plaintiff and a third-party gas station owner.
Hamed v Wayne County
Overturning its own prior precedent, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision and ruled that employers, including public-service providers like our client, are not vicariously liable for quid pro quo sexual harassment on the basis of the unforeseeable criminal acts of their employees.
Atkins v Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation
The Michigan Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeals decision against our client, ruling that the 60-day notice provision of the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act controlled with regard to ordinary personal injury and property damage claims, such as third-party automobile injury claims. The Court also ruled that the notice requirement was not met by the plaintiff’s filing of a first-party no-fault (PIP) claim against the defendant arising from her injury as a bus passenger in a bus-automobile collision.
