Carole Chiamp recently won a case in the Michigan Supreme Court when it refused to take the appeal of a woman seeking additional child support from her client, a wealthy European.  The parties had agreed to a very large support order ten years ago which included child support, an annual cost of living increase, health care, child care, extra-curricular activities, travel, college education through professional school and much more.
The former wife received several million dollars in lieu of coming back to the court for more child support.  The parties agreed in writing that it was their intent not to modify support.  The former wife nonetheless asked for an increase in support which was denied by Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ellen Brennan, the Michigan Court of Appeals and finally on January 29, 2010 by the Michigan Supreme Court.

Five attorneys from our office were selected by dbusiness magazine, Detroit’s premier business journal, as the best lawyers of 2010.  Steven Hickey, Michael Cianciolo, Patrick Fishman, Charles Cheatham, and ‘of counsel’ attorney Carole Chiamp.

Steven M. Hickey has been selected as a Michigan Super Lawyer for 2009.  Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  In selecting attorneys for Super Lawyers, Law & Politics employs a rigorous, multiphase proces.  See selection process.  Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research.  Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.  As a result this list represents an elite group of lawyers comprising less than 5% of the State Bar of Michigan.  See his profile at Super Lawyer.

Andrew Finn recently obtained summary disposition in favor of a real estate appraiser in a Wayne County Circuit Court case based upon the absence of proximate cause.  Flagstar Bank FSB v Wolkammer, Docket No. 08-113091-CZ.

Flagstar loaned $200,000 on a home equity line of credit that it believed would be secured a first mortgage on the subject property.  Unbeknownst to Flagstar, the borrower simultaneously obtained three other loans secured by mortgages that were recorded prior in time to Flagstar’s mortgage.  The prior liens totaled $1.58 Million, far exceeding the $916,000 appraised value of the property.  Flagstar also failed to obtain title insurance on its mortgage, and was thus left with worthless security when the borrower defaulted and the first mortgage holder foreclosed on the subject property.

After obtaining a review appraisal that estimated the market value at $630,000, Flagstar filed suit against the appraiser alleging that its $200,000 loss was proximately caused by an inflated appraisal.  The Court ruled that because the parties agreed that the value of the subject property far exceeded the value necessary to meet Flagstar’s Loan to Value requirements, and the subject property would have provided ample security had the mortgage in fact been a first mortgage, any alleged “inflation” of the appraisal could not be the proximate cause of Flagstar’s loss.

Steve Hickey participated as a Defense cross-examiner of Plaintiff’s medical/causation witness in a “mock trial” seminar presentation for HarrisMartin Publishing in Chicago, IL on June 21 – 22, 2009.  The “trial” involved a case of mesothelioma in a person exposed to asbestos through “take home” or “bystander” exposures.  Trial participants included approximately 20 attorneys from around the nation, all experienced in the trial of asbestos-related personal injury cases.  The seminar was attended by several hundred attorneys from around the nation.  At the conclusion of the mock trial the jury returned a verdict for the defense.

Steven M. Hickey has been appointed the Vice-Chair of the Special Litigation Group, Toxic Tort/Environmental Law Section of the Defense Research Institute

The Insurance and Indemnity Section of the State Bar of Michigan has just successfully completed its first year as an official section of its bar.  Steven M. Hickey and Andrew L. Finn were among the first members.