Douglas R. Kelly

Member
Phone: (248) 988-5890
Fax: (248) 642-2174
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Areas of Practice
Appellate
Business Litigation
Commercial Litigation
Construction
Eminent Domain
Land Use
Real Estate
Transportation

Bar Admissions
Admitted to practice in State of Michigan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Education
J.D., University of Detroit School of Law, Recipient of Presidential Scholarship for Academic Achievement, 1993
B.B.A., Eastern Michigan University, 1987

Memberships
State Bar of Michigan
Oakland County Bar Association
Greater Novi Chamber of Commerce, Director
Incorporated Society of Irish American Lawyers
International Right of Way Association
Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners

Douglas R. Kelly is a member in Clark Hill’s Litigation, Real Estate and Personal Services Practice Groups in the firm’s Birmingham office.  Mr. Kelly has substantial experience representing businesses with breach of contract claims, trademark infringement, claims arising under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), construction litigation, franchise claims and appellate work.  He also has substantial experience representing clients in a variety of real estate matters, including easement, zoning and land use, eminent domain, construction, mortgage foreclosures, environmental, drain law, landlord-tenant and title disputes.  He also represents individual clients with probate and estate matters.   

While attending law school, Mr. Kelly was Executive Editor of the Law Review.  He also interned under the Honorable George E. Woods in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  After law school, Mr. Kelly clerked for the Honorable Conrad L. Mallett, Jr. of the Michigan Supreme Court and was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.  Mr. Kelly serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Novi Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners and the International Right of Way Association. 

Significant Decisions:

Auctioneer Drain Drainage District v. Consumers Energy Company, 2005 Mich. App. LEXIS 2862 (2005)

Bermuda Container Line, Ltd. v. FX Coughlin Co., FMC Docket No. 97-22, Federal Maritime Commission, July 27, 1999  

Franklin Bank, N.A. v. Zero Plus Advantage, Inc., 2001 Mich. App. LEXIS 872 (2001)

Jerome-Duncan, Inc. v. Auto-By-Tel, LLC, 989 F.Supp. 838 (E.D. Mich. 1997)

Johnson Controls, Inc. v. Hunt Construction Group, Inc., 2003 U.S. Dist LEXIS 27358 (E.D. Mich. 2003)

Lafarge Corporation v. Altech Environmental USA, 220 F.Supp.2d 823 (E.D. Mich. 2002)

Oakland County Board of County Road Commissioners v. JBD Rochester, LLC, 271 Mich. App. 113 (2006)

Southern Michigan Beef Company v. Dean Foods Vegetable Co., 2000 Mich. App. LEXIS 503 (2000)

Lectures/Seminars:

“Preparing the Road and Access Case for Litigation,” National Business Institute, 2007.

“Utility Conflicts Within Drain Easements,” Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners, Summer Conference, 2006

“Conflicting Property Interests,” International Right of Way Association, 2006

“Alternative Easement Acquisition Methods,” Michigan Association of County Drain Commissioners, Summer Conference, 2005

“Public Use Issues in Condemnation,” CLE International, 2004

“Michigan’s New Blighting Property Statute,” International Right of Way Association, 2003

“Construction Liens in Michigan,” 2002

“Inverse Condemnation,” International Right of Way Association, 1999

Publications:

Casenote Constitutional Law - First Amendment - Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 111 S.Ct. 2419 (1991), 69 U. DET. MERCY L. REV. 649 (1992).

Comment, The Jurisprudence of Government Regulation: Aiming at the Common Good, 71 U. DET. MERCY L. REV. 87 (1993).

Article, Annual Survey of Michigan Law: Evidence, 42  WAYNE. L. REV. 849 (1996).

Article, Annual Survey of Michigan Law: Evidence, 46  WAYNE. L. REV. 831 (2000).

“Eminent Domain – Environmental Contamination and Just Compensation,” Pipeline Magazine, Vol. 12, No. 3, p. 36, Third Quarter, 2003

“Clarification of Easement Rights for Drain Commissioners,” Pipeline Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 18-19, First Quarter, 2006.