MICHAEL T DOE V JOHN HENKE MD
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
MICHAEL T. DOE and PATSY R. DOE,
UNPUBLISHED
November 18, 2008
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
No. 278763
Washtenaw Circuit Court
LC No. 02-000141-NH
v
JOHN HENKE, MD and ANN ARBOR
ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY,
Defendants-Appellants,
and
TRINITY HEALTH, d/b/a ST. JOSEPH MERCY
HEALTH SYSTEM, d/b/a ST. JOSEPH MERCY
HOSPITAL,
Defendant.
Before: Fitzgerald, P.J., and Bandstra and Schuette, JJ.
BANDSTRA, J. (concurring).
I concur with the decision of the majority that plaintiffs should not be disallowed from
bringing their lawsuit because of the bankruptcy proceedings. The arguments defendants make
to the contrary are premised on the notion that the interests of the bankruptcy court, the
bankruptcy trustee and the bankruptcy estate must be protected from any adverse consequences
that might result from allowing this cause of action to be prosecuted and resolved in state court.
However, those very entities have clearly disavowed any interest in such protection. The
bankruptcy court entered an order that compelled the trustee to abandon plaintiffs’ claims against
defendants nunc pro tunc to the date plaintiffs originally filed their petition for bankruptcy. That
order further specifies that, should plaintiffs succeed, they must turn over any proceeds of their
lawsuit against defendants to the trustee for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate. Quite apart
from the reasoning of the majority, there is thus ample reason to reject defendants’ arguments.
/s/ Richard A. Bandstra
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