Daily Briefs . . .

 Court peels some immunity in cases against public agencies 

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has struck down an award of $767,000 for a Lansing-area woman who aspired to be a dental hygienist before her car was hit by a state salt truck.

In a 7-0 decision, the court says compensation from public agencies for the loss of work as well as pain and suffering is allowed under Michigan law. But in the case of Heather Hannay (HANN’-ay), the court says a judge was too generous because it’s unclear whether she would have been accepted into a dental hygienist program and entered the profession.
 
Writing for the court, Justice Brian Zahra says there are too many uncertainties.

The Supreme Court on Friday sent Hannay’s case back to the lower court for another calculation. The court didn’t upset Hannay’s $475,000 award for pain and suffering related to her injuries.
In 2007, Hannay was 22 when her Oldsmobile was struck by a Michigan Transportation Department salt truck after the driver went past a stop sign. Hannay, now 30, says she’s had five shoulder surgeries and probably will need another.

She works at a small gift store but a career as a dental hygienist is unlikely because of the strain on her shoulders and neck.
 

WMU?Cooley to hold Professionalism in Action event Jan. 5

 
 On Monday, Jan. 5, new students at WMU-Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus will take part in the school’s Professionalism in Action Orientation, an event that is held for the incoming classes at each of WMU-Cooley’s Michigan campuses in conjunction with the State Bar of Michigan (SBM). The keynote speech on professionalism and ethics in the legal profession will be delivered by Thomas Rombach, State Bar of Michigan president. Additionally, other speakers and participants will lead small group discussions about real-world ethical dilemmas and professional conduct that will prepare students for issues they will face as practicing attorneys.
 
Keynote speaker Rombach was sworn in as president of the State Bar of Michigan in 2014. The WMU-Cooley graduate (class of 1987) practices general law at The Law Offices of Thomas C. Rombach in New Baltimore. He also belongs to the SBM's Criminal Law Section, General Practice — Solo & Small Firm Section, Litigation Section, Master Lawyers Section, Negligence Law Section, and Public Corporation Law Section.
 

LAD to conduct free outreach clinic in  Pontiac Feb. 2

 
Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. (LAD) will conduct a free outreach clinic on civil legal services for income-eligible residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, including the city of Detroit, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015 from 9 a.m. to noon at Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency, 196 Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Pontiac.  
For further information, contact Stacey Felder, paralegal at LAD's Oakland County office in Pontiac, at (248) 253-1548, ext. 4005.

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