Tkachik v. Mandeville

Because of the danger of unintended consequences and the difficulty that a court has in assessing them when amending the common law, the Hippocratic admonition to “first do no harm” is a wise prescription for restraint. It is an admonition that the majority today unfortunately ignores. Because the tenets of property law at issue here are among the most settled and uncontroversial in all of our jurisprudence, I vigorously dissent from the majority’s sweeping modification of the common law in this case.1

Under the banner of equity, the majority today creates a rule that renders Michigan the one…