OPINION and ORDER "Michigan Chamber 2" PAUL L. MALONEY, Chief Judge. Rejecting Defendant's Ripeness, Administrative Exhaustion, Abstention, and Laches Arguments; Granting in Part and Denying in Part the Application for Preliminary Injunctive Relief: Preliminarily Enjoining the Defendant from Enforcing MICH. COMP. LAWS 169.254 against Corporations/Unions' Paying Money to a PAC or Other Conduit for the Purpose of the PAC Making Expenditures Which Are Not in Any Degree Coordinated with a...
SENTENCING MEMORANDUM JANET T. NEFF, District Judge. This case, where defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced after the effective date of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, Pub.L. No. 111-220, 124 Stat. 2372, presents unique facts on which to determine whether to apply the penalty provisions of 21 U.S.C. 841, as amended by 2 of the Fair Sentencing Act. This Court, persuaded that the Fair Sentencing Act permits no further federal crack cocaine sentencings that are not "fair," rendered...
CONSENT JUDGMENT PAUL L. MALONEY, Chief Judge. The plaintiff, United States of America, having sought (1) judgment for the unpaid federal employment and unemployment tax liabilities assessed against the defendant, Mr. Michael R. Brown, Sr. d/b/a Residential Construction & Roofing, for the following tax periods: Form Tax Period Ending Date of Total Due as of Assessment October 28, 2010 941 03/31/2003 06/05/2006 $195.84 941 12/31/2004...
OPINION ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge. Before the Court is Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint (Dkt. No. 1) pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Dkt. No. 11.) For the reasons given herein, the motion will be granted. I. Background Andrew Cove was injured in an automobile accident on July 28, 2003. At the time of the accident, Mr. Cove was an employee of Edward D. Jones & Co. and a participant in the Edward Jones & Co. Employee Health and...
OPINION AND ORDER JANET T. NEFF, District Judge. Invoking this Court's jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1331 ("Federal question") and 1362 ("Indian tribes"), plaintiff Little River Band of Ottawa Indians filed this case for declaratory and injunctive relief against defendant, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), to prevent the NLRB from proceeding on the charge that plaintiff is engaged in an unfair labor practice prohibited by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), 29 U.S.C. 151...
ORDER APPROVING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ROBERT J. JONKER, District Judge. The Court has reviewed Magistrate Judge Brenneman's Report and Recommendation (docket # 48) concerning Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction (docket # 40), and Plaintiffs' Objections to the Report and Recommendation (docket # 51). Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, where, as here, a party has objected to portions of a Report and Recommendation, "[t]he district judge . . . has a duty to reject the...
OPINION ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge. This action alleging the use of excessive force during a police encounter is before the Court on a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendants City of Lansing and Lansing police officer Donald Porter. (Dkt. No. 11.) For the reasons that follow, Defendants' motion will be granted in part and denied in part. I. Plaintiff Danielle Bell is a 29-year-old double amputee with two prosthetic legs. On October 27, 2007, Plaintiff and her sister Laura...
OPINION and ORDER Granting in Part & Denying Without Prejudice in Part Fish's Motion for Summary Judgment: Granting Summary Judgment to Jim A. Fish under Mid-Century Insurance Company's "Yacht Secure" Policy; Denying Without Prejudice Jim Fish's Motion for Summary Judgment under Farmers Insurance Exchange's Umbrella Policy; Denying Without Prejudice Farmers Insurance Exchange's Motion for Summary Judgment under Its Umbrella Policy; Vacating the Pretrial Conference and Trial Sine Die...
OPINION AND ORDER PAUL L. MALONEY, Chief Judge. Holding that the Tax Injunction Act Does Not Bar Jurisdiction; Denying the Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment; Granting the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment; Directing the Parties to Jointly File a Statement of Damages and Interest by October 14, 2010 Plaintiff Brown Bark I, L.P. ("BBI") is the owner of a 15-acre parcel of real property in Elmwood Township, Leelanau County, Michigan, namely Lot 1, Section 33, Town 28...
OPINION ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge. In this matter Defendant-Appellant Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc. ("Wells Fargo") seeks review of an order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan. Wells Fargo is the holder of a mortgage from Mary P. Brandt, a debtor in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Plaintiff-Appellee Thomas C. Richardson ("Trustee") is the trustee for the bankruptcy estate. On November 30, 2009, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge James D....
OPINION GORDON J. QUIST, District Judge. Plaintiff, Evanston Insurance Company ("Evanston"), has filed a Complaint to Vacate Appraisal and for Declaratory Judgment against Defendant, Cogswell Properties, LLC ("Cogswell"), requesting that the Court vacate an appraisal award to Cogswell of the actual cash value of an insured loss on the grounds of manifest mistake (Count I) and bad faith (Count II). In addition, Evanston seeks a declaratory judgment (Count III) that Evanston's liability to...
OPINION ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge. At its core, this is a breach of contract action. Plaintiffs, retired employees of Defendant Menasha Corporation and their spouses, argue that Defendant promised them lifetime health insurance benefits and then reneged on that promise. Because the alleged promise appears in two separate collective bargaining agreements ("CBA") that are also ERISA-qualified welfare benefits plans, Plaintiffs bring suit under Section 301 of the Labor Management...
OPINION ROBERT J. JONKER, District Judge. This is a contract dispute between employees who retired from a manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan, and the company that later reduced their healthcare benefits. There are two issues at stake in this case: (1) whether a series of collective bargaining agreements granted the retirees vested, lifetime healthcare benefits upon retirement, and, if so, (2) the scope of those benefits. Both sides have moved for summary judgment. After a careful...
OPINION AND ORDER JANET T. NEFF, District Judge. Plaintiffs filed this action against Defendant Huntington National Bank, seeking recovery for millions of dollars in losses sustained as a result of alleged fraudulent business dealings with a bank customer, Cyberco Holdings, Inc., and Defendant's handling of its Cyberco accounts. Plaintiffs' Complaint alleged four counts: Count 1—aiding and abetting Cyberco's fraud; Count 2—aiding and abetting Cyberco's conversion of Plaintiffs' funds; Count...
OPINION ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge. This is a putative collective action brought by seven 1 current or former employees of Defendants Trueblue, Inc., Labor Ready, Inc., and Labor Ready Midwest, Inc. (collectively "Labor Ready") pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., and the Michigan Minimum Wage Law ("MWL"), Mich. Comp. Laws 408.381 et seq. On November 4, 2008, Plaintiffs filed a motion to approve notice to similarly situated...
OPINION ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge. This matter is before the Court on a motion filed by Plaintiffs Stryker Corporation ("Stryker") and Howmedica Osteonics Corporation, a subsidiary of Stryker, to amend or correct the final judgment pursuant to Rules 59(e) and 60(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Dkt. No. 1098), and Defendant XL Insurance America Inc.'s motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Dkt. No. 1114). Also...
OPINION and ORDER "Harshaw 7" Denying Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim on Which Relief Can Be Granted Denying Defendants' Motion for SJ on Count 1, Parents' Intentional Misrepresentation Claim Denying Cross-Motions for SJ on Count 2, Parents' Negligent Misrepresentation Claim Denying Cross-Motions for SJ on Count Count 3, Parents' Negligent Failure-to-Disclose Claim Granting Summary Judgment to Defendants on Count 4, Minor's Negligent Failure-to-Disclose Claim; Ending...
OPINION ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge. This is a prisoner civil rights action filed by pro se Plaintiff Dustin Gordon. Before the Court is a motion for reconsideration (Dkt. No. 134) filed by Defendants Brian Schaefer, Patricia L. Caruso, Dennis Straub, Dave J. Burnett, Ken McKee, Cathleen Stoddard, Mike Walczak, and Daniel Maguire with respect to the Court's opinion (Dkt. No. 133) on a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") (Dkt. No. 124) on Defendants' motion for summary judgment. I....
OPINION and ORDER Granting in Part and Denying without Prejudice in Part the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment: Granting Summary Judgment to Defendant on the Federal Claim due to Qualified Immunity Declining Supplemental Jurisdiction over State-Law Claims Dismissing State-Law Claims without Prejudice Terminating and Closing the Case PAUL L. MALONEY, Chief Judge. Matthew Joseph Crehan ("Crehan") has asserted a Fourth Amendment excessive-force claim against City of...
OPINION GORDON J. QUIST, District Judge. The [investigating officer] advised the incident happened between 8:30-8:45 a. [m]. From the above time chart, the suspect was visible on camera 7 during that time. Unless the times given to me by the [investigating officer] for the card swipe or the frames chosen by the [investigating officer] as in/out [were inaccurate] the suspect did not commit the crime. In all likelihood, had the jury in the trial of Plaintiff, Claude Zain McCollum ("McCollum"),...
