Source: http://www.wnj.com/Professionals/Attorneys/Gaetan-Gerville-Reache
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 06:31:47+00:00

Document:
Gaëtan Gerville-Réache focuses his practice on high-stakes appeals and representing the mining industry. He has handled appeals with over $100 million in controversy and represented state-of-the-art, multi-billion-dollar mining projects. The firm’s mining clients rely on Gaëtan to provide strategic legal advice at every stage of the mine permitting process on zoning, real property, and environmental issues. Gaëtan is a past-Chair of the Appellate Practice Section for the State Bar of Michigan and currently serves on the Governmental Affairs Committee for the Michigan Aggregates Association, the Military Appeals Tribunal for the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and as Editor for the Michigan Appellate Handbook. Gaëtan is rated AV preeminent by Martindale Hubbell and has been a Michigan Super Lawyer in appellate law since 2017.
Magley v. M & W Inc., No. 340507, _ Mich App _ (2018): Persuaded Court of Appeals to reverse the trial court’s summary disposition order and remand for trial on the issue of whether repossession of farm implements was a conversion.
Sejasmi Industries Inc v. Takumi Manufacturing Company, No. 156341 (Mich., oral argument granted Jan. 26, 2018): Representing 18 amici curiae, including American Mold Builders Association, Canadian Association of Mold Makers, and Canadian Tooling and Machining Association on the question of whether the moldbuilder’s lien can be extinguished by paying someone other than the moldbuilder.
Marlette Auto Wash LLC v. Van Dyke SC Properties, No. 153979, _ Mich _ (2018): Secured 7-0 opinion in Marlette Auto Wash’s favor reversing the Court of Appeals and holding that undocumented prescriptive easement that vested in a prior owner of the property had survived foreclosure sale and vested in Marlette Auto Wash.
Jae Lee v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 1958 (2017): Represented the prevailing appellant, Jae Lee, in persuading the Supreme Court to hold that he was denied effective assistance of counsel and entitled to withdraw his plea after counsel mistakenly advised him that pleading guilty had no deportation consequences, when in fact it required mandatory, permanent deportation.
People v. Lance, No. 151612 (Mich. 2016): Successfully persuaded Michigan Supreme Court to reverse the Court of Appeals and remand to trial court for a Ginther hearing to determine if trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to raise statute-of-limitations defense.
National Wildlife Federation v. Department of Environmental Quality, No. 150121 (Mich. 2015): Represented Kennecott Minerals Company in convincing the Michigan Supreme Court to decline review of the first-ever permitting decision under Michigan’s newly minted, non-ferrous-metallic-minerals mining act.
National Wildlife Federation v. Department of Environmental Quality, No. 150122 (Mich. 2015): Represented Kennecott Minerals Company in persuading the Michigan Supreme Court to decline review of its discharge permit under Part 31 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.
Gardner v. Dep’t of Treasury, Nos. 150293-95, _ N.W.2d _ (Mich. 2015): Persuaded the court to unanimously reverse the Court of Appeals’ interpretation of the State Real Estate Transfer Tax Act, MCL 207.526(u), and to hold client home-owners were exempt from the tax.
Yono v. Michigan Dep’t of Transportation, 864 N.W.2d 142 (Mich. 2015): Represented the Michigan County Road Commission Self-Insurance Pool and County Road Association in persuading the court to grant leave to appeal the issue of MDOT’s governmental immunity for personal injury on a highway.
Heien v. North Carolina, 135 S. Ct. 530 (2014): Represented the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and other law-enforcement agencies as amici curiae on the issue of whether a police officer’s objectively reasonable mistake of law can provide reasonable suspicion sufficient to justify a traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment.
Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473 (2014): Represented the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies and other law-enforcement agencies as amici curiae on the issue of whether the officers’ searches of a cell phone seized incident to petitioner’s arrest were lawful under the Fourth Amendment.
Elmbrook School Dist. v. John Doe, 134 S. Ct. 2283 (2014): Represented the American Association of School Administrators and other educational associations as amici curiae on the issue of whether the Establishment Clause requires public schools to evaluate the religiosity of a facility before entering into a short-term lease to use the space for public events such as high school graduations.
Huron Mountain Club v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 134 S. Ct. 1792 (2014): Represented intervening mining company as respondent on the question of whether, absent any statutory obligation, a federal agency can be compelled to initiate environmental permitting proceedings that the regulated party has not requested.
Badeen v. Par, Inc., 496 Mich. 75 (2014): Represented Fifth Third Bank as appellee on the question of whether Michigan’s Occupational Code requires licensing as a collection agency to merely manage the hiring of licensed repossession agents for lenders.
State ex rel Gurganus v. CVS Caremark Corp., 496 Mich. 45 (2014): Represented the Michigan Chamber Litigation Center as amicus curiae on the question of whether Michigan’s generic drug substitution statute required pharmacists to pass along the savings from substituting a generic drug for an equivalent brand-name drug.
Michigan Finance Authority v. Kiebler, 495 Mich. 895 (2013): As special assistant to the attorney general, represented the Michigan Finance Authority on emergency appeal in multi-million-dollar class action regarding student loans.
Bailey v. United States of America, 133 S. Ct. 1031 (2013): Represented the State of Michigan and 23 other states as amici curiae on the question of whether police officers with a warrant to search the premises for contraband may detain an “occupant of the premises” after they see him leave the premises just before executing the warrant.
King v. Kansas Judicial Watch, 132 S. Ct. 1715 (2012): Represented the State of Michigan and 17 other states on the question of whether a plaintiff who obtains a preliminary injunction before the case is mooted is a “prevailing party” entitled to attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b).
Southern-Owners Ins. Co. v. Moore, No. 14-15386, _ F.3d _ (11th Cir. 2017): Represented Southern-Owners Insurance in persuading the Eleventh Circuit to overrule its earlier misinterpretation of an exclusion in the standard Hired Auto and Non-owned Auto Endorsement in Southern-Owners’ corporate general-liability insurance policy.
Lance v. Owners Insurance Co., No. E2015-00274-COA-R3-CV, 2016 WL 3092818 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016): Represented Owners Insurance in successfully reducing $2.4 million judgment by $1.4 million through creative settlement negotiations and reversal of punitive-damages award.
Charter Township of White Lake v. Ciurlik Enterprises, No. 324976, (Mich. Ct. App. 2014): Persuaded the Court of Appeals to grant immediate consideration of Ciurlik Enterprise’s interlocutory appeal and peremptorily reverse the lower court’s preliminary injunction as an abuse of discretion.
Torres v. Torres, 2014 WL 4087927 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014): Persuaded the court to reverse a Domestic Relations Act arbitration award that declined to divide one spouses unvested military pension.
Triangle Associates, Inc. v. Bentwaters Partners, LP, 2014 WL 2931866 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014): Persuaded the court to order dismissal of $500,000 default judgment against garnishee Fifth Third Bank.
Klein v. U.S. DOE, 753 F.3d 576 (2014): Persuaded the court to affirm the Department of Energy’s funding decision on the basis that the client’s cellulosic ethanol project would have no significant environmental impact.
King v. Berghuis, 744 F.3d 961 (2014): As special assistant to the attorney general, persuaded the court to affirm denial of writ of habeas corpus on the question of whether the state imposed a plea deal entered into without defendant’s knowledge that sentences would be consecutive.
Huron Mountain Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, 545 Fed. App’x 390 (6th Cir. 2013): Persuaded the court to affirm denial of preliminary injunction on the basis that Huron Mountain Club’s Clean Water Act and Rivers and Harbors Act claims were unreviewable under the Administrative Procedures Act, among other reasons.
United States v. Huntington National Bank, 682 F.3d 429 (6th Cir. 2012): Persuaded the Sixth Circuit to reverse the district court's order of forfeiture and order the government to release to Huntington $700,000 seized from a bank customer's account which secured Huntington's loans to the customer.
Cooper v. Edgewater Bank, No. 296189, 2011 WL 2848782 (Mich. Ct. App. July 19, 2011): Persuaded the Court of Appeals to affirm the grant of summary disposition to Fifth Third Bank in a dispute with heirs over whether the bank properly changed the beneficiary designations on the decedent's certificates of deposit.
NDC of Sylvan, Ltd. v. Township of Sylvan, No. 2011 WL 1901805 (Mich. Ct. App. May 19, 2011): Successfully persuaded the Court of Appeals to reverse a $2.4 million judgment against Sylvan Township and to vacate a permanent injunction that would have cost Sylvan Township an additional $3.4 million, in a dispute over $8 million in special assessments.
Isom v. NE Lots LLC, No. 288378, 2010 WL 143470 (Mich. Ct. App. Jan. 14, 2010): Persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to affirm a declaration that the intestate heirs' rights to share in the proceeds of a million-dollar estate through a settlement agreement with the testate heir were not conveyed in quit-claim deeds purporting to assign their rights to the proceeds of the estate.
United States v. Huntington National Bank, 574 F.3d 329 (6th Cir. 2009): Persuaded the Sixth Circuit to reverse and remand an adverse decision in a three-quarter-million-dollar ancillary criminal forfeiture proceeding.
Bill Smith Sand & Gravel v. Alamo Twp., No. 281936 (Mich. Ct. App. Mar. 5, 2008): Persuaded the Michigan Court of Appeals to expedite consideration and summarily affirm the dismissal of a local township’s challenge to the client's mining project.
Moore v. Detroit Entertainment, LLC, 755 N.W.2d 686 (Mich Ct. App. 2008): Obtained affirmation of a $600,000 jury verdict for false imprisonment.
Mayhew v. Handy Township, No. 11-25965-AV (Mich. Cir. Ct. 2011): Persuaded the circuit court to affirm the Township’s decision to allow crushing reclaimed aggregate products as an accessory use authorized by the client’s special use permit.
National Wildlife Federation v. Michigan Dep't of Environmental Quality, No. 11-123-AA (Mich. Cir. Ct. Nov. 21, 2011): Successfully persuaded the circuit court to first deny an injunction against underground mine's blasting operations pending appeal and then affirm the decision by MDEQ to grant a Part 632 non-ferrous metallic mineral mining permit.
Aggregate Industries - Central Region v. Waterloo Township, 09-01248-AA (Mich. Cir. Ct. July 9, 2009): Persuaded the circuit court to grant an expedited appeal, reverse the township's adverse zoning decision, and grant a special land use application to Aggregate Industries for mining.
National Wildlife Federation v. Michigan Dep't of Natural Resources, No. 08-263-AA (Mich. Cir. Ct. Mar. 3, 2009): Successfully defeated a third-party appeal of the State of Michigan land-lease to our client and achieved early dismissal of ancillary claims using cutting-edge theories of constitutional and jurisdictional law.
Proposed MSC Rule Change #2: Submitting the application for decision no earlier than 49 days after it is filed, instead of 21 days.
MSC will review the scope of the "peer review privilege"
MSC Opinion: Newly discovered impeachment evidence can be grounds for new trial.
COA Opinion: Assertion of "medical marihuana" defense is barred because the marijuana was not kept in an enclosed, locked facility.
COA Opinion: Under Drain Code, writ of certiorari is not an exlusive remedy for challenging the Drain Commission's authority.
COA Opinion: The Public Service Commission's approval of Consumers Energy's renewable energy plan is affirmed.
COA Opinion: The Whistleblower Protection Act only protects employees whose whistleblowing is primarily motivated by concern for public interests, rather than personal pecuniary gain.
COA Opinion: Reversing $2.4 million judgment and permanent injunction against Sylvan Township.
COA Opinion: 28-day cutoff for offer-of-settlement sanctions is "explicit and mandatory."
COA Opinion: "Totality of the Circumstances" Determines Whether Statements of Child to Forensic Examiner Are "Testimonial" and Subject to Confrontation Clause.
COA Opinion: Minister's Conviction Upheld and Probation Revocation Reversed as an Infringement of Freedom Speech.
COA Opinion: The Highway Exception to Governmental Immunity Encompasses Inadequate Maintenance of the Sides and Bottom of Bridges.
COA Opinion: Building According To One's Preferred Design Is Not a "Substantial Property Right."
COA Opinion: Salespeople Can Waive Their SRCA Rights in Settlement.
MSC Oral Argument: Selflube, Inc. v. JJMT, Inc.
COA Opinion: PIP Benefits Denied to Unlicensed Driver Who Incorrectly Believed She Had Permission to Drive Stranger's Vehicle.
MSC Oral Argument: Petersen v. Magna Corp.

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