Personal liability as the guarantor of a mortgage purchase; Contract interpretation; Detroit Fire Fighters Ass’n, IAFF Local 344 v. City of Detroit

In an order in lieu of granting leave to appeal, the court vacated the part of the Court of Appeals opinion (see e-Journal # 62065 in the 3/17/16 edition) that held defendant-Makino was personally liable as the guarantor of a mortgage purchase, and remanded the case to that court for reconsideration. The court held that the Court of Appeals erred in relying on the testimony of the executive vice president of a managing partner of plaintiff-WNC Housing “in interpreting the provisions of the partnership agreement, and by reviewing the trial court’s interpretation of the partnership agreement for clear error.” The court directed the Court of Appeals on remand to review this issue de novo as a matter of law.