Defendant appeals as of right his bench trial convictions of possession with intent to deliver less than 50 grams of cocaine, MCL 333.7401(2)(a)(iv), felon in possession of a firearm, MCL 750.224f, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b. He was sentenced as a third habitual offender, MCL 769.11, to concurrent prison terms of 3 to 20 years for the cocaine conviction and one to five years for the felon-in-possession conviction, to be served consecutive to a...  

The prosecutor appeals by leave granted a circuit court order affirming a district court order dismissing charges against defendant for open murder, MCL 750.318, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b, following a preliminary examination. Because the evidence presented at the preliminary examination created an issue of fact whether defendant acted in lawful self-defense, we reverse and remand... Defendant was charged with open murder and felony-firearm for...  

Defendant was convicted, following a jury trial, of maintaining a drug house, MCL 333.7405(d), and possession of marihuana, MCL 333.7403(2)(d). He was acquitted on a third count of manufacturing, delivery, or possession with intent to deliver less than 5 kilograms of marihuana, MCL 333.7401(2)(d)(iii). Defendant was sentenced to six months in jail for each of his two convictions. He now appeals and we affirm in part and vacate in part... Defendant, who had been suspected of being involved in...  

Defendant Ken Seiler appeals as of right his jury conviction of one count of unlawful killing of an animal.1 The trial court sentenced Seiler to six months in jail, with credit for time served, and 18 months of probation. We affirm... I. BASIC FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY... In August 2008, Richard Pearson was working inside his garage, and Pups, the Pearsons' 2-1/2-year-old family dog,2 was lying on the ground just outside the garage. Richard Pearson then heard Pups barking, so he went to...  

Plaintiffs Christopher and April Dirla appeal as of right the trial court's order granting defendant Andy's Seney Bar, Inc. summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10). We affirm... I. BASIC FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY... In December 2005, Christopher Dirla and some friends of his were at Andy's Seney Bar in Seney, Michigan. Jason Sunkle was also at the bar that evening. However, Christopher Dirla and Sunkle did not know each other... At the end of the evening, Christopher Dirla and his friends...  

Respondent appeals the trial court's order that terminated her parental rights to the minor child, Rayanah, pursuant to MCL 712A.19b(3)(g), (i), (j), and (l). For the reasons set forth below, we affirm... Petitioner sought termination of respondent's parental rights at the initial disposition, and respondent contends that the trial court erred when it assumed jurisdiction over Rayanah pursuant to MCL 712A.2(b). For a trial court to gain jurisdiction over a child, the fact finder must find by a...  

Respondent Larry Donaldson, Jr., appeals as of right the order of the trial court terminating his parental rights to his minor child pursuant to MCL 712A.19b(3)(a)(ii), (g), and (j). We affirm... Respondent contends for the first time on appeal that the trial court violated his due process right to counsel by failing to appoint counsel to represent him until the proceedings had been pending for almost one year. We disagree. We review respondent's unpreserved claim of constitutional error for...  

Defendant appeals as of right from a circuit court order granting his motion for relief from a default judgment of filiation, custody, parenting time, and child support. We affirm... In June 2006, the parties divorced in Russia. In July 2007, plaintiff filed a complaint in Michigan seeking an order awarding her custody of the parties' two minor children and child support. According to the complaint, defendant "was on parole for larceny by conversion and is suspected to have illegally moved...  

Defendant appeals as of right the order granting plaintiff's petition for modification of custody and awarding plaintiff sole legal and physical custody of the minor children and modifying defendant's parenting time. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm... I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY... Plaintiff and defendant were divorced in June 2007. They had two minor children, Cody (d/o/b 3/15/99) and Tyler (d/o/b 10/14/00). The divorce judgment awarded the parties joint legal and...  

Respondent LDS appeals as of right from an order that terminated her parental rights to the minor child pursuant to MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i), (g), and (j).1 We affirm. This appeal has been decided without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E)... Respondent claims that 15-year-old SLS was given too much control of the case and that, by allowing her to make the decision regarding whether to engage in visits, the court and petitioner essentially gave up on reunification efforts. Respondent believes...  

Respondent, Andrew Dwayne Navarre, appeals as of right the October 15, 2009, order terminating his parental rights to his minor child, Desmond Andrew Navarre (d/o/b 11/17/2002) under MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i) (conditions of adjudication continue to exist) and (c)(ii) (no reasonable likelihood that the conditions will be rectified within a reasonable time considering the child's age), (g) (failure to provide proper care and custody), and (j) (likelihood of harm if returned).1 Because respondent has...  

In this medical-malpractice case, we consider whether plaintiff satisfied the notice-of-intent requirements under MCL 600.2912b(2) when she timely mailed her notice of intent to file a claim (NOI) to defendants' prior address but defendants did not receive the NOI until after the expiration of the limitations period.1 We conclude that plaintiff satisfied the mandates of MCL 600.2912b(2) because the statute states that "[p]roof of the mailing constitutes prima facie evidence of compliance...  

This is a tax case arising under Michigan's repealed Single Business Tax Act (SBTA), MCL 208.1 et seq.1 Defendant conducted an audit of plaintiff to determine tax due under the SBTA for years 1997 to 1999 and assessed plaintiff with a tax liability of $21,726,713 above the SBTA taxes already paid by plaintiff. Defendant determined that voluntary contributions made to an irrevocable trust created under the Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA), 26 USC 501(c)(9), amounted to...  

This case arises from plaintiff's effort to route trucks accessing its truck terminal over Harrison Avenue, a road that is partly public and partly private but to which plaintiff claims an easement. Defendant city of Romulus tried to prevent plaintiff from using Harrison Avenue for truck traffic because Harrison did not meet the city's standards for roads serving truck traffic and because the Harrison access point was not part of plaintiff's approved site plan required by defendant's zoning...  

Defendant was convicted by a jury of armed robbery, MCL 750.529, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b. He was sentenced to consecutive prison terms of five to twenty years for the armed robbery conviction and two years for the felony-firearm conviction. He appeals as of right. Because defendant's convictions are supported by sufficient evidence, defendant was not denied effective assistance of counsel, and the prosecutor did not commit misconduct, we...  

Defendant was convicted by a jury of first-degree premeditated murder, MCL 750.316(1)(a), and assault of a pregnant individual causing a miscarriage or death of a fetus, MCL 750.90a. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder conviction and 18 to 50 years' imprisonment for the assault conviction. He appeals as of right. We affirm... I. UNDERLYING FACTS... Defendant was convicted of murdering a coworker (hereafter the "victim"), with whom he had been involved in a brief sexual...  

Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, MCL 750.520b(1)(a) (victim under 13 years of age), and sentenced as an habitual offender, third offense, MCL 769.11, to 28 to 60 years' imprisonment, with 808 days' credit for time served. He appeals as of right. We affirm... I. ADMISSION OF THE VICTIM'S SISTER'S TESTIMONY UNDER MRE 803(24)... Defendant argues that the trial court erred in ruling that the victim's statements to her older sister...  

This medical malpractice case returns to this Court a second time, this time for defendants' appeal on leave granted of the trial court's grant of partial summary disposition as to the element of proximate cause. We affirm... I. SUMMARY OF FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS... ... ... On September 23, 1999, the decedent, Jamar Jones,1 was involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident in which he suffered contusions and lacerations. Jamar was transported to the emergency room at defendants Detroit Medical...  

Plaintiff appeals as of right the trial court's order granting summary disposition in favor of defendant Trans-Porte, Inc. (TPI). Plaintiff's decedent, Jonathan Baker,1 was killed at work when he was struck by a truck driven by a coworker on the employer's premises. Baker and the coworker were both employed by U.S. Foodservice, Inc. (USF). Plaintiff received worker's compensation benefits from USF. TPI, which claimed to be a wholly owned subsidiary of USF, was alleged by plaintiff to be the...  

Defendant appeals as of right his jury trial convictions of felonious assault, MCL 750.82, and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, MCL 750.226. Because the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to support defendant's conviction of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent for the reason that it did not present evidence that the knife in question had a blade of at least three inches in length, we vacate his conviction of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful...