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Issued: October 3, 2025
“This case is about more than one family’s home,” OLC attorney Philip L. Ellison explained. “It’s about making sure government cannot profit from taking property at fire-sale prices. The Constitution promises just compensation, and that means full value, not pennies on the dollar.”
Issued: October 2, 2025
Issued: September 20, 2025
Issued: September 19, 2025
September 14, 2025 - An emergency appeal has been made to the Michigan Court of Appeals for the alleged constitutionally defective notices regarding the recent Higgins Lake special assessments.
September 14, 2025 - As one of Michigan’s leading property-rights and riparian-rights law firm, it is proud to announce the launch of www.MichiganRiparian.com, a dedicated online resource for Michigan property owners, lake associations, and riparians.
September 6, 2025 - A federal court will soon decide whether to approve a proposed class-wide settlement resolving claims that the City of Ann Arbor violated motorists’ Fourth Amendment rights.
September 4, 2025 - A new class action lawsuit has been filed in Roscommon County Circuit Court on behalf of all property owners in the Higgins Lake Special Assessment District (SAD) after local officials published a misleading legal notice that could strip hundreds of residents of their constitutional rights.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
July 26, 2025 - This high-stakes case addresses critical issues of parental rights, genetic privacy, and constitutional protections under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
June 26, 2025 - Statement issued by attorney Philip L. Ellison
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.
May 25, 2025 - A Lake City couples’ legal win sets significant precedent regarding conflicts between public easements and private riparian rights.
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.
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.
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.