Opinion MICHAEL F. CAVANAGH, J. This case requires us to determine whether collateral estoppel may be applied to preclude review of a criminal defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel when a prior civil judgment held that defense counsel's performance did not amount to malpractice. We hold that collateral estoppel may not be applied in these circumstances because defendant did not have a full and fair opportunity to litigate his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, contrary...
MARILYN J. KELLY, J. Opinion Plaintiff, Pamela Mattison, gave birth to twins who were conceived by artificial insemination after their father, Jeffery Mattison, had died. She sought social security survivors' benefits for the children based on Jeffery's earnings. The Social Security Administration denied her application, and an administrative law judge affirmed that decision. Plaintiff then filed an action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan challenging...
MARILYN J. KELLY, J. At issue in this case is the manner in which defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Chase), the successor in interest to Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu), acquired plaintiffs' mortgage. Plaintiffs' mortgage was among the assets held by WaMu when it collapsed in 2008 in the largest bank failure in American history. 1 Specifically, we must determine whether defendant acquired plaintiffs' mortgage by "operation of law" and, if so, whether MCL 600.3204(3), which sets forth...
MARKMAN, J. The issue here is whether plaintiff, the disappointed lowest bidder on a public contract, had a valid business expectancy for the purpose of sustaining a claim of tortious interference with a business expectancy. The trial court held that plaintiff did not have such an expectancy, but a divided Court of Appeals panel held that a genuine issue of material fact exists in this regard. Because we agree with the trial court and the Court of Appeals dissent that plaintiff did not have a...
MARY BETH KELLY, J. We granted leave in these cases to consider substantive and procedural aspects of the affirmative defense of medical use of marijuana under 8, MCL 333.26428, of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA). 1 Given the plain language of the statute, we hold that a defendant asserting the 8 affirmative defense is not required to establish the requirements of 4, MCL 333.26424, which pertains to broader immunity granted by the act. The Court of Appeals erred by reaching...
ZAHRA, J. Article 1, 1 of Michigan's Constitution states: "All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal benefit, security and protection." 1 Within our Constitution, the people have allocated certain portions of their inherent powers to the branches of government. But the people have also reserved certain powers to themselves. Among these powers is the right to amend the Constitution by petition and popular vote. 2 This Court has consistently...
YOUNG, C.J. Plaintiff was a passenger on a bus operated by the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) when the bus was involved in an accident. Plaintiff filed an application for no-fault benefits with SMART's insurer soon thereafter, but waited more than seven months to notify SMART that she might pursue liability in tort. SMART moved for partial summary disposition, arguing that the notice provision of the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act, MCL 124.419,...
Opinion of the Court MARY BETH KELLY, J. These cases arise out of an explosion that destroyed plaintiff Marcy Hill's Clinton Township home after she released natural gas through an uncapped gas line, which ignited when her adult daughter attempted to light a candle, after they had both actually smelled the gas in the home throughout the day and evening. Plaintiffs 1 filed suit against the retailers, delivery companies, and installers of plaintiffs' electric dryer, which had been installed...
MARY BETH KELLY, J. This case requires that we determine whether to grant a writ of mandamus in favor of plaintiff, Stand Up For Democracy, to compel the Board of State Canvassers to certify plaintiff's referendum petition for inclusion on the November 2012 ballot. Intervening defendant, Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, challenged the certification of plaintiff's referendum petition, alleging that it failed to comply with the type-size requirement of MCL 168.482(2) and that the doctrine of...
MARILYN KELLY, J. The Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) has recommended that this Court remove 22d District Court Judge Sylvia A. James from office for judicial misconduct. Judge James (respondent) has filed a petition asking this Court to reject that recommendation. We affirm the JTC's findings and its recommendation and conclude that it is necessary and appropriate to remove Judge James from office for the remainder of her term. The evidence establishes that respondent misappropriated public...
ZAHRA, J. We granted leave in these cases to address the question whether a person injured while driving a motor vehicle that the person had taken contrary to the express prohibition of the owner may avail himself or herself of personal protection insurance benefits (commonly known as "PIP benefits") under the no-fault act, 1 notwithstanding the fact that MCL 500.3113(a) bars a person from receiving PIP benefits for injuries suffered while using a vehicle that he or she "had taken unlawfully,...
MARY BETH KELLY, J. These three cases involve the felony of failure to pay court-ordered child support (felony nonsupport) under MCL 750.165 and the rule of People v. Adams, 1 which held that inability to pay is not a defense to this crime. We granted leave to consider the constitutionality of the Court of Appeals' ruling in Adams and now clarify that, while inability to pay is not a defense to felony nonsupport pursuant to MCL 750.165, Adams does not preclude criminal defendants from...
YOUNG, C.J. Under the terms of the no-fault act, 1 a person injured in a motor vehicle accident is entitled to recover personal protection insurance (PIP) benefits for "[a]llowable expenses consisting of all reasonable charges incurred for reasonably necessary products, services and accommodations for an injured person's care, recovery, or rehabilitation." 2 This case requires this Court to consider whether the services provided by plaintiff's wife constituted services "for an injured...
MARY BETH KELLY, J. This case involves the issue of the priority of competing liens between a court-appointed receiver and the holder of a first-recorded mortgage on real property located in DeWitt, Michigan. The receiver, Thomas Woods, seeks to recover receivership expenses before the holder of the first-recorded mortgage, Dart Bank, satisfies its mortgage interest. In affirming the circuit court's order placing a first-priority lien on the property in the amount of the receiver's expenses,...
MARKMAN, J. We granted leave to appeal to consider whether, in a third-party tort action, damages for replacement services are recoverable pursuant to MCL 500.3135(3)(c). 1 Because "replacement services" is not among the categories listed in MCL 500.3135(3)(c), damages for replacement services are not recoverable in such an action. Accordingly, we reverse the Court of Appeals' judgment in part and reinstate the trial court's grant of summary disposition in defendant's favor on plaintiff's...
MARY BETH KELLY, J. This case requires that we determine whether expert witness testimony regarding interrogation techniques and psychological factors claimed to generate false confessions is admissible under MRE 702 and MRE 403 and whether exclusion of this testimony violates the Sixth Amendment right to present a defense. The circuit court excluded the testimony of two experts regarding the occurrence of false confessions and the police interrogation techniques likely to generate them as...
HATHAWAY, J. At issue in this case is whether Michigan State University (MSU) Ordinance, 15.05 is facially unconstitutional. The Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court's conclusion that the ordinance is unconstitutional under City of Houston, Texas v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451 , 107 S.Ct. 2502, 96 L.Ed.2d 398 (1987). 1 Because we agree with the circuit court's analysis and conclude that the language in the ordinance making it an offense to "disrupt the normal activity" of a protected...
MARY BETH KELLY, J. In this joint and several liability medical malpractice case, defendant, Dr. Martin Tuma, seeks a reduction of the final judgment rendered against him by the amount of his codefendants' settlement. This case therefore concerns the interplay between the common-law setoff rule, whereby a jointly and severally liable tortfeasor is entitled to a setoff from any adverse verdict in the amount of the cotortfeasor's settlement, and the noneconomic damages cap of MCL 600.1483, which...
ZAHRA, J. The issue in this case is whether a Michigan Department of State (DOS) 1 certificate of mailing is testimonial in nature and thus that its admission, without accompanying witness testimony, violates the Confrontation Clause of the state and federal constitutions. The DOS generated the certificate of mailing to certify that it had mailed a notice of driver suspension to a group of suspended drivers. The prosecution seeks to introduce this certificate to prove the notice element of...
YOUNG, C.J. We granted defendant's application for leave to appeal to determine whether defendant is entitled to a new trial because the circuit court closed the courtroom during voir dire in violation of defendant's constitutional rights. 1 We hold that a defendant's right to a public trial is subject to the forfeiture rule articulated in People v. Carines 2 and that the Court of Appeals erred by concluding that defendant's failure to assert his public trial right necessarily "forecloses...
