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Whistleblower claim dismissed because it wsa not filed within 90 days

Aaron Wajer attempted to sue Outdoor Adventures, Inc., Greg King, Heather Foco and Ron Penix, alleging that they violated the Whistleblower Protection Act when they  terminated his employment.  Apparently, Wajer had reported some form of illegal activity to the civil authorities and claimed that he was fired in retaliation.  Nevertheless, his case  was dismissed because he didn't get his suit filed until almost 120 days after he was fired.

Wajer and his attorneys attempted to argue that he should be able to maintain an action because the employer had commited a "continuing violation" which should extend the statute of limitations.  The Court of Appeals rejected this claim, pointing out that the Republican Engler Majority on Michigan's Supreme Court had ruled in 2005 that the "continuing violation" doctrine "has no continued place in the jurisprudence of this state."  On the basis of that ruling, for example, a doctor who makes a continuing misdiagnosis, a lawyer whose misjudgment continues throughout his representation of a client, or a trespasser who builds a structure that continuously intrudes on a neighbor's land, is immune from liability if the statute of limitations has run from the first day of the negligent or wrongful act---regardless of how long the error continues.  The Engler Majority compounded the effect of this limitation by eliminating the common law right of a victim to sue on many theories of liability when the victim "discovers" a wrongful act that he or she  had not previously been aware of.

Thompson O’Neil, P.C.
309 East Front Street
Traverse City, Michigan 49684
Toll Free: 1-800-678-1307
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