MI PT Juris cheat sheet

Personal jurisdiction over a nonresident requires Michigan long-arm service (MCL 600.705 general, MCL 600.715 limited) plus a Due Process minimum-contacts and fair-play analysis.

General in personam jurisdiction attaches where the defendant is domiciled, served with process while present in Michigan, or consents; a Michigan corporation is a resident for venue purposes.

Venue in a tort action lies in the county where the injury occurred, where the defendant resides or has its principal place of business, or where the plaintiff resides if the defendant is a nonresident (MCL 600.1629).

MCL 600.5851 tolls limitation periods for minors under 18 and legally incapacitated persons; the minor's period generally runs no later than the minor's 19th birthday.

The tort limitations period is three years (MCL 600.5805(2)); the two-year period applies to medical malpractice (MCL 600.5805(8)) and to wrongful death accruing from the date of death (MCL 600.5852).

Notice of intent for medical malpractice must be served at least 182 days before filing; the statute is tolled during that period (MCL 600.2912b).

Discovery rule: a claim accrues when the plaintiff knows or should know of the injury and its causal link to the defendant's conduct (MCL 600.5827, Trentadue).

A party may join multiple claims and parties arising from the same transaction or occurrence; a defendant must assert compulsory counterclaims or lose them (MCR 2.203).

Statutory periodic payments and offers of judgment under MCR 2.405 shift costs and interest based on whether the adjusted verdict beats the offer.

Elements: (1) duty, (2) breach, (3) cause in fact and proximate cause, (4) damages; each element must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.

Duty is a question of law; breach and proximate cause are ordinarily questions of fact for the jury (Moning v Alfono).

General duty: reasonable care under the circumstances; a defendant owes no duty to guard against unforeseeable harm (Schultz v Consumers Power).

Special relationships and reliance create affirmative duties: innkeepers, common carriers, therapists, and volunteers who undertake a rescue.

Cause in fact is tested by the 'but for' rule; proximate cause requires that the harm be a foreseeable consequence of the breach, not an intervening superseding cause.

Proximate cause is limited by 'legal cause' doctrine: if reasonable minds could differ on foreseeability, the jury decides (Brisboy v Fibreboard).

Res ipsa loquitur permits an inference of negligence where the instrumentality was under defendant's exclusive control and the event ordinarily does not occur absent negligence.

Negligence per se: violation of a penal safety statute establishes breach where the plaintiff is within the class the statute protects and the harm is the type the statute is designed to prevent.

Damages in negligence include past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium; there is no separate punitive damages award absent statute.

Michigan's no-fault act (MCL 500.3101 et seq.) requires every owner to maintain personal protection insurance (PIP), property protection insurance (PPI), and residual liability insurance.

PIP pays allowable expenses (medical, rehabilitation, wage loss up to a monthly cap, replacement services) regardless of fault; the default medical limit under 2019 amendments is $250,000, with higher optional tiers.

Wage loss benefits are limited to 85% of gross income, subject to a statutory monthly maximum adjusted annually; replacement services are capped at $20 per day and payable for up to three years.

Tort liability for noneconomic damages is preserved only where death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement results (MCL 500.3135(1)).

Threshold: 'serious impairment of body function' is an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person's general ability to lead a normal life; the McCormick standard governs.

The one-year-back rule (MCL 500.3145) limits recovery of PIP benefits to expenses incurred within one year before suit; the claim must be filed within one year after the expense is incurred.

Insurers must pay penalty interest and attorney fees for unreasonably delayed or denied PIP benefits (MCL 500.3142, 500.3148).

A person may recover excess economic loss (beyond PIP) from the at-fault driver and uninsured motorist benefits if the policy provides them; mini-tort recovery for vehicle damage is capped at $3,000 under MCL 500.3135(3)(e).

The order of priority for PIP benefits: the insurer of the owner or registrant, then the insurer of the operator, then the insurer of the injured person's household, then the Michigan Automobile Insurance Placement Facility.

A premises possessor owes a duty of reasonable care to invitees and licensees; the duty to trespassers is limited to avoiding willful, wanton, or intentional harm, except for child trespassers under the attractive nuisance doctrine.

An invitee is a person invited to enter for a purpose connected with the possessor's business; a licensee enters for the visitor's own purpose and is owed a duty to warn of known hidden dangers.

A possessor must warn of dangerous conditions known or discoverable with reasonable inspection; the 'open and obvious' doctrine bars recovery where the hazard is apparent to a reasonable person.

Exceptions to open and obvious: the possessor has reason to expect the invitee will be distracted, or the condition has special aspects making it unreasonably dangerous (e.g., an unavoidable, effectively inescapable risk).

The 'special aspects' analysis requires that the risk of harm remain unreasonable even when the condition is known; mere severity of injury is insufficient (Lugo v Ameritech).

A possessor generally has no duty to protect against an open and obvious condition, but retains a duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition and to avoid creating hazards.

Michigan abolished the 'natural accumulation' defense for ice and snow in some contexts; a landowner may still be liable if the hazard was created or exacerbated by the landowner's conduct.

A landlord who retains control over common areas owes a duty of reasonable care to tenants and their guests; a landlord who covenants to repair may be liable for negligent performance.

The 'mode of operation' approach is not adopted in Michigan; the open and obvious doctrine applies to self-service businesses unless an exception applies.

Michigan recognizes three product-defect theories: manufacturing defect, design defect, and failure to warn (MCL 600.2945 et seq.).

A plaintiff must prove the product was not reasonably safe at the time of sale and that the defect caused the injury; the product must be used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable manner.

Design defect: the risk-utility test asks whether the foreseeable risk of harm outweighed the burden of designing a safer alternative; the availability of a reasonable alternative design is central.

Failure to warn: a manufacturer must warn of dangers that are not obvious to the ordinary user; the 'learned intermediary' doctrine applies to prescription drugs and medical devices.

Comment k / unavoidably unsafe products: a product that is incapable of being made safe but is properly prepared and accompanied by adequate warnings is not defective.

Breach of implied warranty of merchantability (MCL 440.2314) requires that the goods be fit for ordinary purposes; the UCC four-year limitations period applies (MCL 440.2725).

Breach of express warranty requires an affirmation of fact or promise that becomes part of the basis of the bargain; puffery is not a warranty.

A manufacturer may be liable for a defective component it supplied even if the finished product is assembled by another; the component must be a substantial factor in the harm.

Statutory presumption of nondefectiveness applies where the product complied with government standards at the time of manufacture (MCL 600.2946(4)).

Elements: the applicable standard of care, breach, proximate cause, and damages; the standard is that of a reasonable physician in the same or similar specialty under similar circumstances.

Expert testimony is generally required to establish the standard of care and breach unless the negligence is within the common knowledge of laypersons.

Notice of intent (NOI) must be served at least 182 days before filing suit and must include the standard of care, the breach, and the factual basis for the claim (MCL 600.2912b).

An affidavit of merit signed by a qualified expert must accompany the complaint (MCL 600.2912d); failure to file is grounds for dismissal, subject to amendment.

The statute of limitations is two years from the date of the act or omission, or six months after the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the injury, whichever is later (MCL 600.5805(8), 600.5838a).

The statute of repose bars claims more than six years after the act or omission, subject to exceptions for fraudulent concealment and minors.

Informed consent: a physician must disclose the material risks and alternatives that a reasonable patient would consider significant (MCL 600.2912c).

Res ipsa loquitur may apply in medical malpractice where the injury is of a type that ordinarily does not occur absent negligence and the instrumentality was under the defendant's exclusive control.

Damage caps do not apply to medical malpractice in the same way as other torts; however, noneconomic damages in medical malpractice are capped under MCL 600.1483, adjusted annually.

The governmental tort liability act (GTLA), MCL 691.1401 et seq., grants broad immunity to governmental agencies engaged in a governmental function.

Exceptions to immunity: proprietary function, highway defect, public building defect, motor vehicle operation, and the 'nuisance' exception (MCL 691.1407).

A governmental agency is not liable for the exercise or performance of a discretionary function; the immunity protects discretionary decisions, not ministerial acts.

The highway exception requires actual or constructive notice of the defect and applies only to the improved portion of the highway designed for vehicular travel.

The public building exception applies to dangerous or defective conditions of public buildings but not to the surrounding grounds or sidewalks.

The motor vehicle exception applies to negligent operation of a government-owned vehicle by an employee acting within the scope of employment.

A government employee is immune from tort liability for acts within the scope of employment unless the conduct is grossly negligent, i.e., so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether injury results (MCL 691.1407(2)).

Notice of claim: a claimant must serve notice on the governmental entity within 120 days of the injury (MCL 691.1404); the statute of limitations is generally two years.

The 'proprietary function' exception applies where the activity is not expressly authorized by law and is conducted primarily for profit; a governmental agency may be liable for negligence in a proprietary function.

Michigan is a modified comparative fault state: a plaintiff's recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault attributable to the plaintiff (MCL 600.2959).

A plaintiff who is more than 50% at fault is barred from recovery under MCL 600.2959; the comparison is between the plaintiff's fault and the total fault of all defendants.

Joint and several liability is abolished for most tort claims; each defendant is liable only for its proportionate share of fault (MCL 600.2956, 600.6304).

Noneconomic damages in personal injury actions are capped under MCL 600.1483; the cap is adjusted annually by the state treasurer and applies to pain and suffering, mental anguish, and similar damages.

The cap does not apply to medical malpractice actions where the plaintiff suffers a permanent impairment of a body function or permanent disfigurement; separate higher caps apply.

Collateral source rule: evidence of payments from collateral sources is generally inadmissible, but the court may reduce the verdict by collateral source payments after judgment (MCL 600.6303).

Wrongful death damages under MCL 600.2922 include funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial support, loss of society and companionship, and pain and suffering of the decedent before death.

Punitive damages are not recoverable in Michigan tort actions absent an express statutory provision; exemplary damages are limited.

Prejudgment interest is generally not available in tort actions; post-judgment interest accrues at the statutory rate under MCL 600.6013.

A lawyer must act with reasonable diligence and promptness and must keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter (MRPC 1.3, 1.4).

Contingent fee agreements must be in writing, signed by the client, and must state the percentage and the method by which the fee is determined (MRPC 1.5(c)).

A lawyer may not advance or guarantee financial assistance to a client in connection with pending litigation, except for court costs and expenses of litigation, which may be advanced with repayment contingent on the outcome (MRPC 1.8(e)).

A lawyer may not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer, absent consent (MRPC 4.2).

A lawyer must not make false statements of material fact or fail to disclose a material fact when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act (MRPC 4.1).

A lawyer who has formerly represented a client may not represent another person in the same or a substantially related matter in which that person's interests are materially adverse to the former client (MRPC 1.9).

Confidentiality: a lawyer may not reveal information relating to the representation without informed consent, except as permitted or required by the rules (MRPC 1.6).

A lawyer must withdraw from representation if the representation will result in a violation of the rules or if the lawyer's physical or mental condition materially impairs the ability to represent the client (MRPC 1.16).

Settlement offers must be communicated to the client promptly; a lawyer may not settle a matter without the client's consent (MRPC 1.2(a), 1.4).