6th Circuit Court

6th Circuit judge retired amid probe of travel expenses; allegations referred to DOJ

A federal appeals judge announced his retirement this summer as an ethics committee was investigating his travel expenses, a federal panel on judicial conduct has revealed. The ethics probe of Judge Boyce Martin Jr. was dropped as a result of his announcement, but the allegations will be referred to the…

Jan 21, 2014 1:20 PM CST

Furniture company founder files federal chair-collapse suit against rival manufacturer

Add another case to the annals of chair-collapse litigation: The founder of a Michigan furniture manufacturer has filed suit against a California chair maker contending that its defective product collapsed at a staff meeting in 2012 when he bent over to pick up a pencil. A leg collapsed, tumbling David…

Jan 15, 2014 4:45 PM CST

Rap group Insane Clown Posse sues feds over claim that fans are gang members

Insane Clown Posse. Featureflash Shutterstock.com With the help of a civil rights organization, a Michigan-based rap group has sued the feds over a government claim that its fans are gang members. The Insane Clown Posse filed suit Wednesday in federal court in Detroit, citing an “unwarranted and unlawful decision” by…

Jan 8, 2014 6:50 PM CST

Suit over 401(k) losses in employer’s own stock gets SCOTUS review

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide what type of proof is needed when employees sue over 401(k) losses in their employer’s own stock. The court accepted a class action against Fifth Third Bancorp, which had a 74 percent decline in its stock during a two-year period. At issue…

Dec 16, 2013 1:01 PM CST

Federal judge OKs Detroit bankruptcy, says city can cut pensions for retirees

Ruling from the bench on Tuesday, a federal judge said the city of Detroit met eligibility requirements to proceed with its Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The decision by U.S. District Judge Steven Rhodes, which will be followed by a written opinion, sets the stage for the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy in this…

Dec 3, 2013 6:25 PM CST

Judge accused of signing blank child-removal orders isn’t immune from suit, federal court rules

Because pre-signing blank court orders for others to fill out after hours is an administrative rather than a judicial function requiring discretion, a Michigan judge who allegedly followed this practice is not immune from liability in a lawsuit filed by parents who briefly lost custody of their child, a federal…

Nov 27, 2013 7:50 PM CST

Law firm OKs $3M payment to city following corruption-case plea by former firm attorney

Without admitting wrongdoing, an Ohio law firm has agreed to pay $3 million to a city it formerly represented after a federal and state corruption probe of onetime attorney of the firm. The agreement by Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease to disgorge $2 million in attorney fees and reimburse the…

Nov 19, 2013 6:40 PM CST

IRS workers get taxpayer-funded private counsel in nonprofit scandal

The claims that Internal Revenue Service workers displayed bias against conservative political groups’ applications for tax-exempt status have brought good news for two law firms. The IRS has retained Squire Sanders and Taft Stettinius & Hollister to represent the employees in ongoing federal litigation, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. “No one…

Oct 29, 2013 9:30 PM CDT

Community activist with law degree hid bomb-plot conviction to get US citizenship, indictment says

A suburban Chicago resident, who earned a law degree and is a valued member of a community organization that promotes Arab-American civil rights, was convicted in a terrorist attack decades ago and lied on an immigration application to become a citizen of the U.S., federal officials contend. Rasmieh Yousef Odeh,…

Oct 25, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Former Detroit mayor, an ex-lawyer, gets 28 years in federal corruption case

Convicted of public corruption for operating what the prosecution called a money-making racket out of Detroit’s city hall as the city descended toward bankruptcy, former mayor and ex-lawyer Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced Thursday to a 28-year prison term by a federal judge in Detroit. “The government has asked for a…

Oct 10, 2013 7:29 PM CDT

Cooley Law defamation suit against law firm and bloggers critical of its job stats is nixed by judge

A federal judge has nixed a defamation suit filed by Thomas M. Cooley Law School against a law firm and bloggers who criticized the institution’s portrayal of its graduates’ employment statistics. Finding that the law school is, at minimum, a limited-purpose public figure, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker on…

Sep 30, 2013 10:33 PM CDT

A ‘ridiculous’ argument? 6th Circuit thinks not

A federal appeals court begins an opinion in an insurance dispute with an observation: “There are good reasons not to call an opponent’s argument ‘ridiculous.’ ” “The reasons include civility; the near-certainty that overstatement will only push the reader away (especially when, as here, the hyperbole begins on page one…

Sep 25, 2013 12:15 PM CDT

New fair housing trial ordered over Craigslist ad touting ‘great bachelor pad’ apartment

A fair housing group has been granted a new trial in a suit against an apartment rental company that placed a Craigslist ad touting a rental unit as “a great bachelor pad for any single man looking to hook up.” The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a…

Aug 8, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Ex-judge convicted of lying to FBI should be suspended, disciplinary panel says

A former Ohio judge who was convicted and served time for lying to the FBI should be suspended indefinitely from the practice of law but not disbarred, a disciplinary board has recommended to the state supreme court. Bridget McCafferty, 47, who served on the Cuyahoga County common pleas court from…

Aug 5, 2013 4:30 PM CDT

Should federal court or state court decide if Michigan constitution bars Detroit bankruptcy filing?

In the wake of a Michigan appellate court ruling Tuesday that put the brakes on a state court judge’s orders barring Detroit from proceeding with a federal bankruptcy case, a lawyer for the city on Wednesday asked a federal bankruptcy judge to require those objecting to the filing to make…

Jul 24, 2013 4:55 PM CDT