Approximately 100 mortgage brokers working with United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) received a shocking video email on March 12, 2020. In the message, UWM Executive Vice President Allen Beydoun told them that UWM was implementing a 12-month early payoff policy for all loans closed in their name within the preceding year. In effect, the company was seizing the brokers’ earned commissions.  Through this correspondence, UWM unilaterally changed the brokers’ contracts with the company, increased the commission vesting period from six months to one year, and de-vested them of mortgage commissions ..read more

In 2021, Sommers Schwartz attorneys Matthew Turner and David Black filed a legal malpractice lawsuit for a client whose land was wrongfully taken and incorporated into the 18th hole of Harbor Shores Golf Club, a championship golf course in Benton Harbor. The owner hired law firm Butzel Long to protect its interest in the land, but the property was lost because the attorneys did not do what was necessary to prove that the land was actually owned by their client and not Harbor Shores. After the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the defendant law firm, Turner and Black prevailed on ..read more

In today’s digital era, where we rely on technologies and apps in nearly every aspect of life, consumers and tech users are routinely forced to accept the terms of long, legalese-filled service contracts before they can access applications and software programs. Terms and conditions are frequently changed, and users must similarly accept modified terms afterthey have become hooked to the apps and before they can continue using the programs that have become enmeshed in their daily lives.  These contracts commonly include mandatory arbitration clauses that require i ..read more

Advances in technology often lead to increased efficiency, greater connectivity, and useful integration and exchange of information. The “Internet of Things” has made everything smart–our phones, our cars, and our homes. Encroachment of technology into our daily routines has been gradual but pervasive, including the workplace and workplace rights. Technology that collects our physiological and physical characteristics can prove useful and even fun for tracking fitness goals, analyzing sleep quality, and learning about our ancestors. But when employers collect and store employees’ biometric dat ..read more

Workers deserve to be paid wages and overtime for performing all tasks required for their jobs, including preparing for the day by putting on required safety gear or personal protective equipment (PPE). Refusing to pay workers for that time may constitute wage theft under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That’s the basis for a new class action lawsuit Sommers Schwartz is investigating on behalf of warehouse distribution employees of U.S. Foods, a leading foodservice distributor with approximately 28,000 employees serving some 300,000 restaurants and operators throughout the country. Donnin ..read more

Because of the structure’s failure, the 2,600-acre Wixom Lake reservoir emptied, then causing the Sanford dam to fail and causing devastating floods. FLTF released the inspection report amid class action lawsuits against a state agency and the Edenville Dam owner and licensee alleging their neglect to properly maintain the dam resulting in millions of dollars in property damage for area residents. Inspection Report Details Engineering consultants from Saginaw-based Spicer Group inspected from June 2019 to March 2020, just a few months before the Edenville Dam collapsed on May 19, 2020. FL ..read more

As we described in a previous blog post, insurance companies look to reject policyholders’ claims whenever possible, and try to shield themselves with any condition or limitation that saves them from having to pay benefits – pandemic or no pandemic. Following the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” Order The plaintiffs each purchased a standard-form all-risk “Businessowners Coverage Form” property and casualty insurance policy from the defendant insurance companies. The policy promised to cover direct physical property loss or damage, and that under a “Civil Authority” provision, the defendants were to pay ..read more