July 2025

By Ann-Marie E. Earls

I hope you're enjoying the sunshine and making the most of the summer so far.To keep the good vibes going, I am excited to invite you to our upcoming summer networking event at TopGolf in Auburn Hills on Thursday, August 21, 2025. Join us for an evening of golf, great food, and fun connections. Whether you're a seasoned player or brand new to the game, this is a relaxed and welcoming setting to connect with fellow attorneys.

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By Christopher Best and Stephanie Strycharz; Zausmer P.C.

On October 4, 2024, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued a published opinion regarding the case of Canty v Mason, ____ Mich App _____ (2024). In that case the court of appeals was asked to construe the interplay between MCL 500.3135(3)(C), MCL 500.3109(1), MCL 500.3107(1)(a), MCL 500.3157, and a plaintiff’s duty to mitigate damages. 

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By Sheldon Stark

Everyone is familiar with that old adage: “a picture is worth 1000 words.” According to the application Perplexity:

The phrase … means that a single image can convey complex ideas or tell a story more effectively than a large amount of … text. It emphasizes the power of visual communication over verbal descriptions, suggesting that images can evoke emotions and convey information more quickly and deeply than words alone.

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By Mitchell Zolton

On March 27, 2025, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a unanimous per curiam opinion in Kircher v Boyne USA, Inc, definitively clarifying the scope and application of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (the Implied Covenant) under Michigan law. As reaffirmed in Kircher, under Michigan law, the Implied Covenant exists in every contract and is applied as an interpretive tool to evaluate how parties should perform their contractual obligations, particularly when a contract grants one party discretionary authority over the manner of performance. 

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By Dan Boss

Construction projects involve a variety of risks. Among other things, construction project owners and contractors face the prospect of construction and design defects, permitting issues, property damage, natural disasters, theft of building materials and equipment, project delays, and injury to employees and third parties. It is common practice for participants in construction projects to use indemnity agreements to shift these risks to other businesses and individuals they hire.

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By Jennifer Serwach; Karmer Corbett Harding & Dombrowski

It is a piece of advice repeated throughout high school and college to avoid the use of adverbs in writing. However, in the high-volume world of insurance litigation this advice is quickly forgotten. In this quarter’s column of insurance practice tips, I will focus on writing and address the use of adverbs in insurance practice.

One common mistake when taking a previous template is to find a motion from a contentious case where fraud is an issue. This is not inherently bad as it is common for fraudulent cases to proceed to the litigation stage, but taking these same templates and applying them to every case can confuse the real issue. For

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By Christopher J. Petrick & Katharine Buehner Smith; Collins Einhorn Farrell PC

As the heat ramps up, summer is upon us which means there are only a few scheduled session days remaining over the next couple of months. The recess allows legislators to spend more time in their districts. The Legislature will resume regular session in September. Between now and then, there won’t be much committee work.

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By Eric Conn, Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes PLC

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JOURNAL DETAILS

This journal is published by the Insurance and Indemnity Law Section, State Bar of Michigan—Christine Caswell, Journal Editor.

Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors or the editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the section council or the membership.

If you have an article idea for the Journal, please contact the editor, Christine Caswell.

SECTION INFORMATION

Officers & Council Information

2024-2025 Officers and Council Pictorial

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