Mary Massaron Ross

Mary Massaron Ross, a member of the Plunkett Cooney Board of Directors, serves as the firm's Appellate Practice Group Leader. A former law clerk to Associate Justice Patricia J. Boyle of the Michigan Supreme Court, she has handled appeals resulting in over 50 published opinions.

Ms. Massaron Ross has won numerous victories before the Michigan Supreme Court for clients in both the public and private sector, overturning multi-million dollar judgments and establishing new legal principles. She has also handled appellate matters before the Michigan Court of Appeals, the California Court of Appeals, the Indiana Court of Appeals, the Ohio Supreme Court, and several federal circuit courts of appeal.

Inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Ms. Massaron Ross has also chaired the Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Michigan and is a past chair of the Defense Research Institute’s Appellate Advocacy Committee. She co-chairs the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation, an organization of Michigan appellate judges and lawyers. Additionally, Ms. Massaron Ross serves as chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, the five-member committee that oversees preparation of ABA briefs for filing in the United States Supreme Court and other courts, and she currently chairs the ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers, a division of the Appellate Judges Conference.

Ms. Massaron Ross was appointed by the Chief Judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals to serve on the court's Internal Operating Procedures Task Force. A regular advocate before the Michigan Supreme Court, she has been invited by that court's education arm, the Michigan Judicial Institute, to be a presenter at the annual seminar for the state judiciary. In addition, she was appointed twice by the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court Committee on Civil Jury Instructions. She was also appointed by Chief Judge Whitbeck and by then Chief Justice Corrigan to serve as a member of the Differentiated Case Management Work Group, a task force that has examined ways to reduce delays in the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Representative Client Work

• Lead attorney in over 100 appeals before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Lead appellate attorney representing the property owners in precedent-setting case of County of Wayne v Hathcock, which overturned Poletown v Detroit to hold that the public use doctrine serves as a limit to government condemnation powers
• Lead attorney representing a corporate defendant to successfully argue that a litigant challenging an environmental permitting decision must satisfy the standing doctrine as a matter of constitutional law
• Handled over 500 appeals in state and federal appellate courts throughout the country, including all Michigan appellate courts, the Ohio Supreme Court, the Indiana Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeals
• Lead attorney in complex coverage cases involving corporate successorship issues in several state courts
• Succeeded in trademark appeal defending injunctive relief issued against defendant corporation 
• Handled numerous precedent-setting appeals expanding governmental immunity for public law defendants, including Robinson v Detroit and Pohutski v City of Allen Park
• Successfully obtained reversal in Michigan Supreme Court of Tax Tribunal and Court of Appeals decisions regarding applicability of tax exemption for municipalities for property used for economic development purposes
• Handled numerous complex civil rights and land use appeals in state and federal appellate courts
• Served as amicus counsel on cutting edge appeals for numerous organizations, including the Defense Research Institute, the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, the Michigan Municipal League, the Michigan Municipal League Liability and Property Pool, the Michigan Townships Association, the Insurance Institute of Michigan, and the Michigan Association of Certified Accountants
• Served as chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, which supervises the briefs filed by the ABA in the United States Supreme Court

Notable Cases

• Herald Co., Inc. d/b/a Booth Newspapers, Inc. & Ann Arbor News v Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents, __ Mich. __, __ N.W.2d __ (2006) represented university in Freedom of Information Act litigation establishing availability of exception to disclosure for frank communications  
• County of Wayne v Hathcock, 471 Mich. 445, 684 N.W.2d 765 (2004) represented property owners in Michigan Supreme Court, successfully reversed Poletown v Detroit, and obtained rule of law limiting use of eminent domain for taking of non-blighted property to transfer to private developer
• National Wildlife Federation v Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co., 471 Mich. 608, 684 N.W.2d 800 (2004) represented mining companies which challenged standing of plaintiffs on basis that Michigan environmental statute’s universal standing provision nevertheless required showing of actual injury to sue and obtained decision vindicating constitutional standing principles but finding showing was sufficient
• Pohutski v City of Allen Park, 465 Mich. 675, 641 N.W.2d 219 (2002) represented city in overturning series of past Michigan Supreme Court decisions to obtain ruling that governmental immunity statute bars claims for trespass-nuisance
• Robinson v City of Detroit, 462 Mich. 439, 613 N.W.2d 307 (2000) represented city and individual police officers in successful challenge to past precedent to obtain ruling that city was protected with governmental immunity because a proper interpretation of the exception to immunity for negligent operation of a motor vehicle resulting in injury did not encompass injuries from police pursuits and that individual officers were protected from liability because their conduct did not amount to “the” proximate cause of injury
• R.L. Polk & Co. v InfoUSA, Inc., 94 Fed. Appx. 305 (6th Cir. 2004) represented R.L. Polk & Co. in upholding district court’s preliminary injunction on the basis of the likelihood of success on R.L. Polk & Co.’s trademark infringement claim
• Meadows v Ford Motor Co., et al, 21 Fed. Appx. 302 (6th Cir. 2001) represented corporation defending an age discrimination claim on basis that the plaintiff failed to set forth a prima facie case for either discrimination or retaliation
• Clark v West Shore Hospital, 16 Fed. Appx. 421 (6th Cir. 2001) represented hospital in obtaining ruling that district court properly dismissed breach of contract claim where the employer complied with the termination provisions of the contract
• Postek, Inc. v St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 105 Fed. Appx. 740 (6th Cir. 2004) successfully represented insurer in Sixth Circuit and obtained ruling that insurer did not have to defend insured as to claims “first made or brought” before the policy’s coverage date, where, under the policy, those claims arose when the insured’s customer refused to pay the insured’s monthly invoices before coverage began
• Klein v Long, 275 F.3d 544 (6th Cir. 2001) represented police officers on appeal and obtained ruling affirming summary judgment because after the officers obtained sufficient probable cause, based on the testimony of the wife that she was battered, they were under no obligation to search for exculpatory evidence and the failure to do so did not negate probable cause
• Paccar, Inc.  v Telescan Techs., 319 F.3d 243 (6th Cir. 2003) represented a technology and internet company which sought to overturn district court preliminary injunction in favor of truck manufacturer and enjoining company from using the manufacturer’s trademarks in any of its internet domain names because of the likelihood of confusion but narrowing scope of injunction to exclude metatags

Professional Affiliations

• Fellow, American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, 2006 to present
• Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, (First Chair, Advocates Guild; Co-Chair, Hon. Patricia J. Boyle Portrait Fund, 2000-2001)
• Michigan Supreme Court Advocates Guild, First Chair, 2007-2008
• American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow, 2006 to present
• Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Foundation (Co-Chair, 1996 to present)
• State Bar of Michigan (Appellate Practice Section, Chair, 1996-1997; Chair-Elect, 1995-1996; Council Member, 1997 to present)
• Michigan Court of Appeals Internal Operating Procedures Task Force, 1996-1998
• Michigan Supreme Court Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions, 2002-2007
• Defense Research Institute (National Director, 2006-2007; Nominating Committee, 2005; Amicus Committee, 2002-2006; Appellate Advocacy Committee; Corporate Involvement Subcommittee, Co-Chair, 2004-2005; Immediate Past Chair, 2001-2003; Chair, 1999-2001; Vice-Chair and Program Chair, 1997-1999)
• Michigan Court of Appeals Differentiated Case Management Work Group, 2003-2004
• Michigan Lawyers Weekly (Board of Editors, 2001-2007)
• Federal Bar Association ( Detroit Chapter)
• Detroit Bar Association (Member, Barristers Board of Directors, 1994-1996)
• Women Lawyers Association of Michigan
• Inforum (Women’s Economic Club)
• Scribes, American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects (Outreach Committee, 2006-2007)
• Mayor-Elect Kilpatrick Transition Team, Member, 2001
• Fellow of the American Bar Foundation
• Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation
• American Bar Association (Judicial Division Council of Appellate Lawyers, Chair, 2005-2006; Chair-Elect, 2004-2005; Secretary, 2003-2004; Member of Executive Board, 2001-2002; Chair, Program Committee, 2002-2003), (Standing Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, Chair, 2003-2006; Member, 2001-2002), State and Local Government Law Section, Immediate Past Chair, 2003-2004; Chair, 2002-2003; Chair-Elect, 2001-2002; Vice-Chair, 2000-2001; Secretary, 1999-2000; Member of Council, 1996-1998; Assistant Director CLE, 1997-1998; Chair, Government Operations Committee, 1994-1996; Co-Chair, Zoning Process Subcommittee of the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Law Committee, 1994-1998; Media Board Member, 2000-2003; Urban Lawyer Advisory Board Member, 2001-2005), (Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Chair-Elect, Appellate Advocacy Committee, 2005-2006; Past Chair, Governmental Liability Committee; Vice-Chair of Appellate Advocacy Committee and Past Co-Chair, Subcommittee on Rules and Procedures), (Section Officers Conference, Nominating Committee, 2001), (SOC Committee on Amicus Curiae Briefs, 2001-2002), (Associate Editor, Tort & Insurance Law Journal, 1996-1999)

Books

• Eminent Domain Use and Abuse: Kelo In Context, (Dwight H. Merriam & Mary Massaron Ross co-editors, 2006)
• Sword and Shield, (Mary Massaron Ross & Edwin P. Voss, Jr., co-editors, 3d ed. 2006)
• Persuasive Writing for Young Lawyers, Chapter 10 in A Young Lawyer's Guide to Defense Practice, (DRI 2006)
• A Defense Lawyer's Guide to Appellate Practice, (Mary Massaron Ross, co-editor 2004)
• Sword and Shield Revisited: A Practical Approach to Section 1983 (Mary Massaron Ross ed. 1998)

Articles and Lectures

• “In-House Litigation Strategies In A Difficult Forum,” 2 In-House Defense Quarterly 3, co-authored with Robert W. Powell (Summer 2007)
• “ Cicero, Quintilian, Aristotle and Other Voices From the Past,” For the Defense (July 2007)
• “An Important Choice: Words, Words, Words,” For the Defense (July 2007)
• “Establishing A Strategy: Managing High Stakes & Cutting Edge Litigation,” 1 In-House Defense Quarterly 1 (Fall 2006)
• “Reflections on Appellate Courts: An Appellate Advocate’s Thoughts For Judges,” 8 The Journal of Appellate Practice & Process (Fall 2006)
• “A Basis for Legal Reasoning: Logic on Appeal,” first published at 46 DRI For the Defense 46 (2004) reprinted as Best Practices Classic in 3 Journal of the Association of Legal Writing 179 (2006).
• “Legislative Responses to Kelo v. City of New London and Subsequent Court Decisions—One Year Later,” Mary Massaron Ross, Co-Author Kristen Tolan, Current Issues Notice, Nichols On Eminent Domain, 2006.
• “Managing High Stakes & Cutting Edge Litigation, DRI In-House Defense Quarterly 36, Fall 2006.
• “Writing the Statement of Facts: Credibility In Telling Your Story,” 47 For the Defense 60 (April 2005)
• “Public Use: Does County of Wayne v. Hathcock Signal A Revival of the Public Use Limit to the Taking of Private Property?” 37 The Urban Lawyer 243 (2005)
• “Word Choice for Legal Writers,” 45 For the Defense 60 (August 2003)
• “An Advocate’s Tool Box: Techniques to Help Appellate Lawyers Evaluate Precedent and Craft Analytically Precise Arguments,” Michigan Bar Journal (August 2002)
• “Metaphors, Similes, and Legal Writing,” 43 For the Defense (December 2001)
• “Lessons From a Chinese Poet,” 42 For the Defense 79 (December 2000)
• “Want to be an Appellate Lawyer? Mastery of the Field,” 42 For the Defense 24 (November 2000)
• “A Framework for Handling the Statutory Interpretation Appeal,” 42 For the Defense 32 (November 2000)
• “Clearing the Fog: Clarity in Legal Writing,” 41 For the Defense 34 (1999)
• “Reflections on the Craft of Judging and the Art of Advocacy,” 40 For the Defense 8 (1998)
• “Better Advocacy Through Jurisprudential Analysis,” Michigan Bar Journal (January 1998)
• “Recent Developments in Governmental Liability,” 33 Tort and Insurance Law Journal 399 (1998) co-authored with Edward M. Turfe
• “Gated Communities: Private Solution or Public Dilemma?” 29 The Urban Lawyer 413 (1997) co-authored with Larry Smith, Robert D. Pritt, Brian Woram, John Witt and Terrance Scott Welch
• “The Zoning Process: Private Land-Use Controls and Gated Communities, the Impact of Property Rights Legislation, and Other Recent Developments in the Law,” 28 The Urban Lawyer 801 (1996) co-authored with Larry Smith and Robert D. Pritt
• “The Zoning Process: Exclusionary Zoning, Initiatives, Referenda Design Review, and Other Recent Developments in the Law,” 27 The Urban Lawyer 811 (1995) co-authored with Larry Smith
• “Preserving the Record on Appeal: Some Thoughts for Young Lawyers” 37 For The Defense 21 (1995)
• “The Voting Rights Act: Interpretation of The Statutory Text, The Political Subtexts and the Constitutional Overlay,” 26 The Urban Lawyer 23 (1994)
• “1994 Report on Recent Developments in the Law: Zoning Process Subcommittee,” 26 The Urban Lawyer 817 (1994) co-authored with Larry Smith
• “Government Law,” 40 Wayne Law Review 831 (1994)
• “Government Law,” 39 Wayne Law Review 799 (1993)
• “Report of the Government Operations Committee Subcommittee on Public Election Law: The Voting Rights Act,” 25 The Urban Lawyer 925 (1993)
• “Owens v. Allis Chalmers: The Standard of Proof in a Design Defect Case,” co-authored with E. Bazzana and C. B. Wetherington, Michigan Bar Journal, 1989
• “Entrapment Reconsidered,” Wayne Law Review, Volume 35, No. 1, 1988

Case Studies

• Firm successfully defends Freedom of Information Act case which is upheld by Michigan Supreme Court

Publications

• Recent Developments in Appellate Law
• Supreme Court Overrules Application of Judicial Tolling to the One Year Back Statute of Limitations of Michigan's No-Fault Act
• A Basis for Legal Reasoning: Logic On Appeal
• Gain Credibility While Accurately Telling Your Client’s Story

News

• Plunkett Cooney attorneys among ‘Best’ in America
• Plunkett Cooney Attorneys Named 2007 Michigan 'Super Lawyers'