Bremer & Nelson LLP

Our friends at Technolawyer told us about a website that allowed us to create a custom internet home page for free. We looked into it and saw a great way to easily share links to websites that we frequently use.

We got down to business and created our very own homepage. It was easy to make. We created a sunny, brightly colored page. Perhaps the most difficult part was to organize the links into logical groups so individual links could be quickly found. Once the page is created, the next step is to change the home page in your browser. Viola, your most frequently accessed websites are one click away.

Some sites listed on our homepage charge fees to access the information. We included the word "FEE" on most, but not all, of those sites. We are not responsible for the fees you may incur when accessing any site found on our homepage.

Our staff loves it. Phil suggested that our clients might find it useful, so we thought we'd share it with you!

Posted at April 08, 2006 | Permalink

Katie is a recent college graduate who plans to attend graduate school in the Fall of 2007. Katie's job is similar to that of a utility infielder in baseball. She does whatever needs to be done when it needs to be done. She fills in when other staffers are off work. She pinch hits for Lisa on the phones during the lunch hour on the days Katie works. In addition, she also handles a number of special projects under Ann's direction. When she's not busy working, Katie likes to go to plays and enjoys concerts. She also likes going to movies and spending time with her boyfriend. She enjoys spending time with her family, too.

Posted at March 31, 2006 | Permalink

William M. Bremer, Phillip J. Nelson, and Ann M. Byrne are our three talented and experienced lawyers. Bill is a down-to-earth kind of guy who loves trying and settling cases. Phil is a meticulous guy who loves the intellectual challenge of the law. Ann is our in-house geek who combines her love of the law with the challenge of combining it with technology. Follow the links to learn more about each lawyer.

Posted at August 06, 2004 | Permalink

Posted at April 03, 2004 | Permalink

Michigan Court of Appeals decisions can be accessed online at Michigan Law Online, which is free to members of the State Bar of Michigan. The links provided below are to the Michigan Appellate Digest, which is free, is accessible on line, and may include only summaries of key points in the case.

Wert v Citzens Ins. Co of America,
241 Mich App 313; 615 NW2d 779 (2000)

Mason v Cass County Bd of County Road Comm'rs,
221 Mich App 1; 561 NW2d 402 (1997)

Freeman v DEC International Inc,
212 Mich App 34; 536 NW2d 815 (1995)

Kintigh v Abbott Pharmacy,
200 Mich App 92; 503 NW2d 657 (1993)

Citizens Ins Co of America v Federated Mut Ins Co,
199 Mich App 345; 500 NW2d 773 (1993)

Heshelman v Lombardi,
183 Mich App 72; 454 NW2d 603 (1990)

Rinard v Biczak,
177 Mich App 287; 441 NW2d 441 (1989)

Lankford v Citizens Ins Co of America,
171 Mich App 413; 431 NW2d 59 (1988)

National Ben Franklin Ins Co of Mich v Harris,
161 Michh App 86; 409 NW2d 733 (1987)

Holliday v McKeiver,
156 Mich App 214; 401 NW2d 278 (1986)

Shaw v Allstate Ins Co,
141 Mich App 331; 367 NW2d 388 (1985)

Routley v Dault,
140 Mich App 190; 363 NW2d 450 (1984)

Michigan Mut Liability Co v Ohio Cas Ins Co,
123 Mich App 688; 333 NW2d 327 (1983)

Shane v Mouw,
116 Mich App 737; 323 NW2d 537 (1982)

Buckeye Union Ins Co v Johnson,
108 Mich App 46; 310 NW2d 268 (1981)

Koopman v Logan,
93 Mich App 252; 286 NW2d 872 (1979)

Dochod v Central Mut Ins Co,
81 Mich App 63; 264 NW2d 122 (1978)

Posted at March 31, 2004 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michigan Supreme Court decisions are available on line at Michigan Law Online, which is free to members of the State Bar of Michigan.

Wert v Citizens Ins Co of America,
463 Mich 926; 620 NW2d 309 (2000)

Baker v DEC International Inc,
458 Mich 247; 580 NW2d 894 (1998)

Citizens Ins Co of America v Federated Mut Ins Co,
448 Mich 225; 531 NW2d 138 (1995)

Gibson v Bronson Methodist Hosp,
445 Mich 331; 517 NW2d 736 (1994)

Freeman v Consumers Power Co,
437 Mich 514; 473 NW2d 63 (1991)

Mulholland v DEC International Corp,
432 Mich 395; 443 NW2d 340 (1989)

Gardner v Wood,
429 Mich 290; 414 NW2d 706 (1987)

Schiebout v Citizens Ins Co of America,
427 Mich 602; 398 NW2d 411 (1986)

Posted at March 31, 2004 | Permalink

Lisa answers the phones and handles many inquiries from callers throughout the day. In between calls, she manages to proofread and finalize many of the documents that our lawyers prepare each day. She works with process servers to insure that summonses and complaints or subpoenas are served in a timely manner. She schedules Ann's court appearances and helps keep Phil's calendar up-to-date.

Lisa is the mother of two boys and loves to go snowmobiling with her husband during the winter. When the temperature warms up, Lisa loves to spend time at the family cottage, enjoying the sunshine and water.

Posted at March 31, 2004 | Permalink

Kim is a long time staffer with Bremer & Nelson. Kim works primarily for Bill Bremer and handles work from Phil Nelson and Ann Byrne as time allows. Kim keeps the calendar, schedules depositions, and reminds lawyers about upcoming deadlines. She transcribes dictation, keeps case files up-to-date and organized, makes certain the mail gets out every day, and handles other tasks as needed

Kim enjoys gardening and spending time with her husband at their cabin up north. She loves to cook and often experiments with new recipes and with new cooking techniques or new kinds of foods.

Posted at March 31, 2004 | Permalink

Wanda Carlson is our office manager. She manages our support staff, handles our accounting, serves as our contact person for vendors, and researches major purchases.

Wanda is an avid reader when she's not busy working. Her grandchildren and children are the joy of her life. Ask her to show you pictures of her charming grandchildren and you'll be in for a surprise.

Posted at March 31, 2004 | Permalink

Wanda Carlson is our office manager. Kim, Lisa, and Katie are our legal assistants. Click on a person's name to learn more about that person.

Posted at March 31, 2004 | Permalink

Subrogation cases, civil appeals, and probate and estate planning are core practice areas for Ann. In addition, she serves as the firm's technology expert, keeping abreast with and implementing new technology designed to improve our service to our clients.

She is a member of the National Association of Subrogation Professionals. She is also a member of several state bar and American Bar Association sections pertaining to her practice areas, legal technology, and law practice management.

Ann serves as a member of the Circuit Court Appellate Rules Committee. The committee was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court in association with the Michigan Judges Association and the Appellate Practice Section of the Michigan State Bar to rewrite the court rules for appeals to circuit courts.

Ann joined the firm in 1996 after almost two years with the Michigan Court of Appeals as a research attorney. A published author, she wrote a case comment for the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review questioning the wisdom of using peremptory orders to decide issues of state constitutional law.

Before attending law school, Ann worked for a number of years as a buyer and negotiator for a wholesale distributing company. Her practical business experience has proven invaluable in counseling small business owners.

Posted at March 29, 2004 | Permalink

Phil's avocation (and passion) is coaching youth baseball and basketball. His vocation, however, is practicing insurance defense law. Phil concentrates his practice on appellate law, insurance coverage issues for personal and commercial lines, automobile negligence, no-fault, and trucking liability. He also has experience with the law of premises liability, products liability, and malpractice defense. In one recent case, Phil persuaded the Michigan Supreme Court that a garage keeper's insurer could not avoid providing primary, residual liability insurance to the permissive user of a courtesy car. The Supreme Court held that the insurer of the permissive user was required to provide only excess coverage.

Another one of Phil's cases interpreted the Uniform Commercial Code's statute of limitations as applied to a component manufacturer that was not in privity with the plaintiffs. The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's grant of summary disposition, holding that a factual issue existed as to when the installation had been completed. Phil argued in the Michigan Supreme Court that the statute of limitations should be measured from the date that the manufacturer delivered the components to the dealer. The Supreme Court agreed and reinstated summary disposition in the manufacturer's favor. To see a complete list of Phil's Michigan Supreme Court decisions, click here. In addition to his Michigan Supreme Court appearances, Phil has also successfully argued a number of important cases before the Michigan Court of Appeals. To see a complete list of Phil's reported Michigan Court of Appeals decisions, click here. When he's not working on appellate cases or arguing motions in the trial courts, Phil enjoys lecturing on various legal topics like trucking liability and insurance coverage. Phil is also the author of a chapter entitled "Contribution and Indemnity" in the Michigan Causes of Action Formbook; (Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 1996).

Posted at March 29, 2004 | Permalink

Bill has represented the insurance industry since 1969. His practice has encompassed a large cross section of civil litigation, including first- and third-party no-fault cases, products liability, premises liability, medical malpractice, chiropractic malpractice, nursing home malpractice, construction accidents, dog bites, natural and propane gas explosions, fire subrogation, stray voltage, and insurance coverage disputes.

Many of Bill's early no-fault cases helped define the scope of the no-fault law. He has also handled a number of closed head injury cases, some of which qualified for catastrophic claims treatment.

Bill's product liability cases have involved such things as cathodic protection of gas distribution products, odorants in natural and LP gas, metallurgical failures, furnace installation and maintenance, hot water heaters, LP gas regulators, gas logs, roof truss systems, and various electrical appliances. He has also represented the manufacturers of rotoblast machines, canningmachines, staple guns, farm equipment, windrowers, power boats, conveyor systems, automobiles, and milking machines. His involvement in numerous gas explosion cases has also resulted in his handling a number of cases involving severe burn injuries, horrendous scarring, and extensive rehabilitation.

Bill has also successfully defended doctors, dentists, nursing homes, and chiropractors against malpractice claims.

Over the years, Bill has compiled a an extensive list of expert witnesses who are genuinely knowledgeable about their respective subject areas and who stand up well under cross-examination.

Bill is a long-time student of and speaker on the art of negotiating. His highly respected skills often lead insurers to ask Bill to negotiate favorable, early settlements of claims with high dollar values.

Posted at March 29, 2004 | Permalink

Our offices are located at the northeast corner of Burlingame SW and 44th Street SW in Wyoming, Michigan. Click here for a map showing our office location or to get specific directions.

Posted at March 27, 2004 | Permalink

Posted at March 27, 2004 | Permalink

Bremer & Nelson LLP
1621 Forty-fourth Street SW Suite 300
Grand Rapids MI 49509-4387

Telephone: (616) 538-7446
Toll free: (800) 654-3454
Facsimile: (616) 538-7830

Our Website
Bremer & Nelson's Weblog: Quid Pro Quo

Posted at March 27, 2004 | Permalink