By:  Timothy P. Flynn

A few years back, I read in the Michigan Lawyers Weekly about a 144 million dollar jury verdict Geoffrey Fieger won against Beaumont Hospital.  My old law firm, Plunkett & Cooney, defended the hospital in the epic medical malpractice trial.  This verdict has to be one of the largest in Michigan history.

The case involved a true battle-of-the-experts regarding the cause of Plaintiff's birth injuries.  The attorneys deployed over a dozen experts to win the hearts and minds of the jurors.  Plaintiff prevailed.

Last year, I happened to be in Oakland Circuit Judge Rudy Nichol's courtroom when, months after the trial, Fieger and my former boss, Rob Kamenec, argued motions relating to entry of the judgment, remittitur of the damages, and interest.  The motion took over an hour to argue, with Fieger taking snide swipes at Mr. Kamenec and his law firm; for his part, Kamenec stuck to the law and the facts of the case.

Sitting nearby in the back benches that day, seething no doubt, was Plunketteer veteran trial attorney Joe Babiarz on whose watch this verdict appeared.  As an insurance defense lawyer, you never want any part of a nine-figure jury damage award.  That's the kind of day you want the floor to open-up and drop you to China, for good.

Still, in speaking with my old friends at the firm, it seemed like the jury award, which was taking literally a year to enter as a judgment, would be successfully appealed and reduced, if not outright reversed.  Well, guess again.

In perhaps a classic understatement, the Michigan Court of Appeals held last month in an unpublished 74-page opinion, VanSlembrouck v Halperin, that, "although the trial was far from perfect, we affirm."  The Court's decision was newsworthy not just because of the size of the historic jury verdict, but because of the extensive commentary in the opinion about Fieger's trial conduct.

Defendant challenged this conduct on appeal, asserting that Fieger's signature tactics of accusing the hospital of lying, conspiring and covering-up evidence, tainted the jury's verdict.  [Let's face it, Fieger has become wealthy off of his Beaumont verdicts alone.]

The Court of Appeals noted that the attorneys' hostility, intemperance and plain rudness to each other exasperated the trial court judge.  The Court of Appeals also noted:

The unnecessary comments, gratuitous interjections, and pursuit of irrelevant lines of inquiry identified by defendants played little part in this long trial, likely made Mr. Fieger look foolish rather than effective, and do not justify reversal.

Well, we here at the Law Blogger believe that many a lawyer would gladly stand like a fool before a jury that ends up netting their law firm 48 million dollars.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

A recent 2.35 million dollar Macomb County jury verdict shines a light on the ownership and practices of a nursing home in St. Clair Shores.  Bankruptcy and missing records clouded the identity of the real party in interest in a negligence law suit resulting from the 2008 choking death of a resident.

Turned out to be the Nightingale East Nursing Center, owned in part by a now-defunct company, and eventually traced to SavaSeniorCare, an LLC located in Atlanta, GA.

In the litigation, St. Clair Shores attorney John Perrin experienced an evidentiary mistrial and a mishandled document request in clawing his way to the jury verdict.  For their part, the defense attorneys claim that the botched corporate disclosure was not intentional.  Looking for the upside, defense attorneys Plunkett and Cooney (Jenny Andreou) claimed a partial victory through limiting the "non-economic" damage component of the verdict; a motion for remittur has been filed.

This death resulted from a resident choking on a golfball sized meatball; a largely unforeseeable event.  The jury found other liability factors in awarding plaintiff millions of dollars.  Obviously, we want to avoid this fate for any of our families and loved ones that are placed in a nursing home.

Serving as the guardian for more than 100 individuals, many of whom have been placed in nursing homes, I have learned that you can never pay close enough attention to the ward's care.  Complaints against licensed facilities are common and serve the purpose of compelling care improvements.

Nursing homes, assisted care facilities, and adult foster care residences provide a dizzying array of care choices and regulations.  Making the right placement for a family member or loved one is a critical decision.

In Macomb County, follow this link for skilled and basic care nursing homes.  In Oakland County, follow this link for the same information.

www.waterfordlegal.com

info@waterfordlegal.com

In 1989, I completed an 18-month stint as a research attorney with the Court of Appeals.  My next job was an associate attorney position in the appellate section of Plunkett & Cooney, then a Detroit-based firm.  Another attorney that joined the firm at the same time was Maura Corrigan.

At the time, Corrigan narrowly missed a choice (political) federal appointment as the U.S. Attorney for Detroit in the Bush 41 era.  It was a professional perk to work alongside Justice Corrigan for two-years before she was appointed to the Court of Appeals; subsequently getting elected to the Michigan Supreme Court.

In yet another example of how fast and wide legal information is spread via the Internet, an excellent podcast series known as "Assistance of Counsel" kicks-off with an interview with Justice Corrigan.  Assistance of Counsel is the product of former-Oakland County Prosecutor Paul Stablein, a partner in the Royal Oak firm of Flood, Lanctot, Connor & Stablein.

Stablin says, over time, the other Justices will be interviewed along with jurists from all levels of our legal system.  What a fantastic resource to learn about who our elected jurists are, and what they think.  

Good luck with the podcasts Paul; and keep your informative posts about our state's great common law tapestry coming.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com