MI PT Juris flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Long-arm statute

Michigan statute (MCL 600.705, 600.715) authorizing jurisdiction over nonresident defendants who have minimum contacts with the state, subject to due process limits.

Tort limitations period

Three years from the date the claim accrues under MCL 600.5805(2); medical malpractice carries a two-year period under MCL 600.5805(8).

Notice of intent

In medical malpractice, a written notice served at least 182 days before filing suit that states the standard of care, breach, and factual basis for the claim.

Duty in negligence

A legally recognized obligation to conform to a standard of reasonable care to protect foreseeable plaintiffs from unreasonable risk of harm.

Proximate cause

A cause that produces the injury and is a foreseeable consequence of the defendant's breach, without an intervening superseding cause breaking the chain.

Res ipsa loquitur

A doctrine permitting an inference of negligence where the injury-causing instrumentality was under the 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 protected class and the harm is the type the statute was designed to prevent.

PIP benefits

Personal protection insurance under the no-fault act pays allowable medical expenses, wage loss, and replacement services regardless of fault, subject to statutory limits.

Serious impairment threshold

A no-fault tort threshold requiring an objectively manifested impairment of an important body function that affects the person's general ability to lead a normal life.

One-year-back rule

MCL 500.3145 limits recovery of no-fault PIP benefits to expenses incurred within one year before the filing of the claim or lawsuit.

Mini-tort recovery

A no-fault claim allowing recovery of up to $3,000 for vehicle damage from the at-fault driver, limited to the deductible and damage not covered by insurance.

Open and obvious doctrine

A premises liability rule barring recovery where a dangerous condition is apparent to a reasonable person, unless special aspects make the risk unreasonable.

Invitee vs licensee

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

Attractive nuisance

A doctrine imposing liability on a possessor for harm to child trespassers where the condition is likely to attract children and the risk outweighs the burden of protection.

Design defect test

A product is defective in design where the foreseeable risk of harm outweighed the burden of a reasonable alternative design that would have reduced the risk.

Failure to warn

A product defect theory imposing liability where the manufacturer failed to warn of dangers not obvious to the ordinary user, causing the plaintiff's injury.

Implied warranty

Under MCL 440.2314, goods must be fit for the ordinary purposes for which they are used; breach requires proof of a defect and causation.

Affidavit of merit

A sworn statement by a qualified expert filed with a medical malpractice complaint, stating the standard of care, breach, and causation (MCL 600.2912d).

Informed consent

A physician's duty to disclose material risks and alternatives that a reasonable patient would consider significant in deciding whether to undergo treatment.

GTLA immunity

The governmental tort liability act grants broad immunity to governmental agencies performing governmental functions, subject to enumerated statutory exceptions.

Gross negligence

Conduct so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether injury results; it defeats individual employee immunity under MCL 691.1407(2).

Highway exception

A GTLA exception allowing liability for a defective highway condition where the agency had actual or constructive notice and the defect caused the injury.

Modified comparative fault

Under MCL 600.2959, a plaintiff's recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault and barred entirely if the plaintiff is more than 50% at fault.

Joint and several liability

Abolished for most Michigan tort claims by MCL 600.2956 and 600.6304; each defendant is liable only for its proportionate share of fault.

Noneconomic damages cap

MCL 600.1483 limits recovery for pain and suffering and similar noneconomic damages; the cap is adjusted annually by the state treasurer.

Collateral source rule

Payments from sources independent of the tortfeasor are generally inadmissible at trial, but the court may reduce the verdict after judgment under MCL 600.6303.

Contingent fee agreement

A written, signed agreement stating the percentage and method of calculating the fee, required by MRPC 1.5(c) for contingent fee representations.

Communication with represented party

MRPC 4.2 prohibits a lawyer from communicating about the subject of the representation with a person known to be represented by counsel, absent consent.

Confidentiality duty

MRPC 1.6 bars a lawyer from revealing information relating to the representation without informed consent, except as permitted or required by the rules.

Litigation expense advance

MRPC 1.8(e) permits a lawyer to advance court costs and litigation expenses, with repayment contingent on the outcome of the matter.

Wrongful death damages

Under MCL 600.2922, recoverable damages include funeral expenses, loss of financial support, loss of society and companionship, and the decedent's pre-death pain and suffering.

Proprietary function

A GTLA exception imposing liability where a governmental activity is not expressly authorized by law and is conducted primarily for profit.

Expert testimony standard

In medical malpractice, a qualified expert must establish the standard of care and breach unless the negligence is within lay common knowledge.