Grutz, James A

Eric has been an attorney since 1975 and joined Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker in 1995.  He became a member in 1998.  His practice covers a wide range of commercial, labor and construction litigation.  Eric has significant experience in shareholder disputes in close corporations and has successfully represented owners in multi-million dollar construction litigation disputes. Eric also has extensive experience in representing Tier 1 suppliers to the automotive industry in pricing, statutory tooling lien and other contract disputes.  He has been recognized by the Thomson Reuters, Legal's rankgings as a Michigan Business Litigation "Super Lawyer" from 2008 to date.

Representative Cases

Obtained a dismissal of the contractor's multi-million dollar construction lawsuit against a municipality arising out of the design and construction of that city's new water treatment facility. 

Successfully litigated and defeated a claimed statutory automotive tooling lien resulting in the immediate turnover of millions of dollars of tooling to our Tier 1 supplier.

Education

B.A., Wayne State University, 1971

J.D., Wayne State University Law School, 1975

Bar Admissions

Admitted: State Bar of Michigan; United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan; United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan; United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Professional Affiliations

• Elected Member of the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan for the 3rd Circuit (Wayne County).
  
• Member of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association.
  
• Member of the business law sections of both the State Bar of Michigan and the American Bar Association.