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No. 128913
| Norma R. Bierlein, Next Friend of |
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David B. Meyer |
| Samantha C. Bierlein, a Minor, and |
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| Kirt Bierlein, Conservator for |
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| Samantha C. Bierlein, a minor, |
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Plaintiffs-Appellants, |
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vs (Saginaw - Heathscott, L.)
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Mark Schneider and Mary Schneider, |
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Raymond W. Morganti |
Defendants-Appellees. |
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| ______________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiffs-Appellants' Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Plaintiffs-Appellants' Reply Brief>>
Plaintiffs-Appellants' Supplemental Brief>>
Defendants-Appellees' Brief in Opposition>>
Defendants-Appellees' Supplemental Brief>>
Background
Samantha Bierlein, a child, suffered brain damage in an accident involving an automobile owned and operated by Mark and Mary Schneider. Norma Bierlein sued the Schneiders on her daughter’s behalf. The parties reached a settlement, which the trial court approved in 1997. The Schneiders’ insurance company paid the settlement and the lawsuit was then dismissed. But the trial court did not insist upon compliance with the requirements of MCR 2.420(B)(3) and (4)(a): no conservator was appointed to protect the child’s interests and no bond was approved by or filed with the probate court. In 2001, Bierlein informed the trial court that, although she had made repeated inquiries to Patrick Collison, the attorney who settled the lawsuit, she was unable to locate the settlement proceeds that Collison had supposedly invested on her daughter’s behalf. Her inquiry prompted a series of hearings, and a conservator was appointed for her daughter. Soon after, it was discovered that Collison had embezzled the money. At this point, the trial court granted relief from the order of dismissal and reopened the settlement proceedings. The Schneiders appealed to the Court of Appeals, which ruled in an unpublished opinion that the trial court erred in reopening the settlement. The appeals court remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings. On remand, the trial court reinstated the original order of dismissal. Bierlein and the appointed conservator appealed this ruling to the Court of Appeals, which denied leave to appeal for lack of merit. They now appeal to the Supreme Court.
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