· More Than 500 Higgins Lake Properties Join Legal Challenge to Special Assessment

September 2, 2025 - Serious momentum has exploded on the political scene against Roscommon and Crawford Counties' proposed special assessment on Higgins Lake, as more than 500 property owners have now signed up with the law firm of Outside Legal Counsel PLC to formally challenge the legality and fairness of the assessment.

· Governor Whitmer Finally Calls Special Election — Thanks to Lawsuit by Outside Legal Counsel

August 29, 2025 - For more than eight months, the people of Bay, Midland, and Saginaw counties were left without a voice in Lansing. The 35th Senate District — home to nearly 270,000 Michiganders — sat empty while critical issues were debated and voted on in the State Capitol. Today that silence finally ended.

· Governor Files Response in 35th District Senate Vacancy Case; Plaintiffs Immediately Reply, Stressing Constitutional Duty

August 28, 2025 - Within hours of the Governor’s formal response, Plaintiffs—represented by Outside Legal Counsel PLC—filed a comprehensive reply brief, underscoring that the Governor’s proffered excuses amount to lawlessness and that nearly 270,000 citizens continue to be denied their constitutional right to representation.

· Charlevoix County Tax Foreclosure Settlement Approved and Claims Process Announced; Property Owners Must File by April 9, 2026

August 25, 2025 - After nearly seven years of hard-fought litigation, the Circuit Court for Charlevoix County has granted final approval to the class action settlement in Zettel v. County of Charlevoix (Case No. 18-0591-26-CZ), a landmark case that restores constitutional protections for property owners whose homes and land were lost in tax foreclosures.

· Higgins Lake Riparian Owners Appeal Dismissal in Lake Level Case, Challenging Michigan’s Public Act 112

August 22, 2025 - Three riparians have filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, challenging the constitutionality of Michigan law retroactively altering court-ordered lake levels for Higgins Lake.

· Michigan Law Firm Challenges State’s Requirement of Outdated Technicalities to Block Justice

August 17, 2025 - An appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court challenges the required use of an archaic notarization rule to shut down a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) enforcement lawsuit.

· Sixth Circuit Upholds OLC's Prior Win Against Warrantless Government Search in Northern Michigan Property Rights Case

August 12, 2025 - The Sixth Circuit ruled against three government officials who "unreasonably searched the Mockeridges' property in violation of the Mockeridges’ Fourth Amendment rights."

· Lawsuit Filed to Force Special Election and Restore Representation to Michigan’s 35th Senate District

August 10, 2025 - The law seeks to compel Governor Gretchen Whitmer to immediately issue a writ of election to fill the long-vacant seat in the 35th State Senate District, which covers portions of Bay, Midland, and Saginaw counties.

· Aurelius Township Sued for Repeated Warrantless Searches of Private Property

August 2, 2025 - The township not only allegedly violated the Fourth Amendment but also is accused of undertaking a larger pattern of unannounced and unconstitutional searches by local officials.

· Law Firm Files Petition for En Banc Rehearing in Groundbreaking Newborn Genetic Privacy Case Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

July 26, 2025 - This high-stakes case addresses critical issues of parental rights, genetic privacy, and constitutional protections under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.

· OLC Files Petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in a Local Property Rights Case from Isabella County

July 22, 2025 - The case stems from Isabella County’s confiscation of the Pung Estate’s family home over approximately $2,000 in disputed taxes and fees—amounts that were later determined to never have been owed.

· OLC Submits Brief to the Michigan Court of Appeals, Defending FOIA Victory for Disclosure of Tanton Papers

July 16, 2025 - OLC attorney Philip L. Ellison today filed a key brief in the Michigan Court of Appeals case of Ahmad v. University of Michigan to finally secure access to the Tanton Papers.

· Major Decision in Fourth Amendment Case Brings Liquor Commission Rules Under Constitutional Scrutiny

July 10, 2025 - A decision by an U.S. District Judge paves the way for an in-depth review of state regulatory practices by state law enforcement officers and the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.

· OLC Secures Major Victory for Piggery in Michigan Right-to-Farm Act Case

July 9, 2025 - OLC succeeded in the Michigan Court of Appeals in overturning a trial court ruling rejecting the protections of the Right to Farm Act (RTFA), MCL 286.471 et seq.

· OLC Petitions Full Sixth Circuit to Overrule 'Erroneous' Fourth Amendment Precedent

July 9, 2025 - Outside Legal Counsel has filed formal papers asking entire group of active Sixth Circuit judges to overrule its two-decade old decision of Fox v. Van Oosterum as wrongly decided.

· Attorney Philip L. Ellison's Statement on the Sixth Circuit's Decision on Michigan's Newborn Screening Program

June 26, 2025 - Statement issued by attorney Philip L. Ellison

· Saginaw County Firearms Case Provides Major Property Rights Victory

June 20, 2025 - A Sixth Circuit decision issued today vacates a federal district court's outright dismissal of a firearms seizure lawsuit against the Saginaw County Sheriff and allows the three largest and most critical claims to proceed forward in federal court.

· OLC Secures Win in Lake Missaukee Road-End Riparian Rights Case

May 25, 2025 - A Lake City couples’ legal win sets significant precedent regarding conflicts between public easements and private riparian rights.

· OLC Files Opposition to Change Houghton Lake's Legal Level

May 23, 2025 - On behalf of several local citizens and a non-profit lake association, the law firm of Outside Legal Counsel PLC has filed a legal challenge to Roscommon County's petition to effectively change the legal level of Houghton Lake in Roscommon County.

· Federal Lawsuit: Expungement Gag Law is Unconstitutional

April 12, 2025 - The federal court is being asked to find a Michigan law that criminalizes discussion of prior but expunged convictions as being unconstitutional.

· Two from Mid-Michigan Challenge the Constitutionality of Michigan 'Part 303' Wetlands Laws

March 24, 2025 - "If such a drastic obligation exists, the law needs be absolutely clear and it currently is not," explains OLC attorney Philip L. Ellison.

· Judge Rules Federal Lawsuit Against Trespassing EGLE Wetland Inspectors Can Proceed Forward

March 15, 2025 - The federal court has denied dismissal of a federal lawsuit being pursued against two EGLE land inspectors for allegedly violating the Fourth Amendment.

· Lawsuit Filed Against Independence Bridge Operator Alleging Illegal Tolls

March 4, 2025 - A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of drivers who were forced to pay an allegedly illegal bridge-toll when crossing the Independence Bridge in Bay City, Michigan starting January 1, 2025.

· OLC Secures FOIA Win on the 25,000 Pages of the Tanton Papers; University Vows Appeal

February 22, 2025 - After nearly eight years of litigation, two appeals to the Michigan Court of Appeals and a prior challenge to the Michigan Supreme Court, Outside Legal Counsel PLC has secured a final order that the University of Michigan violated the Freedom of Information Act.

· Bay City Property Owner Files Destroy-and-Dash Amicus Brief with Supreme Court

February 3, 2025 - Anthony Banaszak and his attorney from Outside Legal Counsel in Hemlock have today filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court encouraging the nation's highest court to take up a legal challenge to the "destroy-and-dash" practices of law enforcement, including those from Mid-Michigan.