RAMA MADUGULA V BENJAMIN A TAUB (Concurring Opinion)

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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS RAMA MADUGULA, UNPUBLISHED October 25, 2012 Plaintiff/Counter-DefendantAppellee, v No. 298425 Washtenaw Circuit Court LC No. 08-000537-CK BENJAMIN A. TAUB, Defendant/Counter-PlaintiffAppellant, and DATASPACE INC., Defendant, and ANDREW FLOWER, Defendant. Before: RONAYNE KRAUSE, P.J., AND BORRELLO, AND RIORDAN, JJ. BORRELLO, J. (concurring). On appeal, defendant argues that because this case involved an equitable remedy this matter should have been a bench, rather than a jury trial. Defendant further argues that a party only enjoys the right to a jury trial by statute or Constitution. I express no opinion as to defendant s argument on this issue relative to his limited reading of the right to a trial by jury. Citing Barnett v Hidalgo, 478 Mich 151, 158; 732 NW2d 472 (2007), my learned colleagues hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by trying the matter before a jury. While I concur with their decision, I do so based on entirely different grounds. This Court has previously visited the issue of whether a lawsuit brought pursuant to MCL 450.1489 entitles the parties to have their claims heard by a jury. Forsberg v Forsberg Flowers Inc., unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued December 5, 2006 (Docket No. 263762). While I am fully cognizant, as my learned colleagues correctly state, that -1- Nuculovic v Hill, 287 Mich App 58, 68; 783 NW2d 124 (2010), compels us to hold that unpublished opinions have no precedential value, I nonetheless find the reasoning set forth in Chief Judge Murphy s partial concurrence and dissent in Forsberg compelling. Accordingly, on the issue of whether plaintiff was entitled to a jury trial, I would adopt the reasoning set forth by Chief Judge Murphy in Forsberg. Therefore, I would hold that plaintiff should prevail on this issue for the reasons set forth in Chief Judge Murphy s partial concurrence and dissent in Forsberg. On all other matters, I concur with the majority. /s/ Stephen L. Borrello -2-

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