Detroit Attorney Disbarred After $659,821 Settlement Meant for Bereaved Family Went Missing

 

A decade after losing her 3-year-old daughter, Tabatha Kerr is still trying to get answers. Now she is also seeking to learn what happened to nearly $660,000 intended for her family from a wrongful-death settlement.

Detroit attorney Gregory Rohl, who handled the case, was disbarred effective Oct. 1 and ordered to pay $659,821.44 in restitution, along with $1,446.14 in costs. In the attorney-discipline matter, Rohl pleaded no contest to misappropriating settlement funds and failing to distribute court-ordered shares.

The ruling said his conduct brought the legal profession into disrepute and violated standards of justice and honesty.

Kerr described the past nine years as lonely, stressful and hollow. Her daughter, Lilliana, died on Jan. 20, 2017, when a 350-pound cafeteria table fell from its wall casing at a Head Start program in Dearborn Heights. Lilliana’s twin sister and older brother survived her.

Kerr says the settlement was meant to help her children, but the money never reached them. She has continued to press for accountability over her daughter’s death while raising her surviving children. Her son is now 19, and Lilliana’s twin is 13.

Rohl says others were involved

Rohl said he is recovering from a stroke and has not knowingly taken money from a client. He said a deceased law partner and office manager took control

of the firm while he was receiving medical treatment. According to Rohl, he later learned that money remained in his trust account and had not been transferred as intended.

He also pointed to a probate attorney who, he said, had been appointed to secure the remaining funds for the children. Rohl said a civil lawsuit against the former office manager was dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds, and he has agreed to a consent judgment against himself and his firm. He said the matter is ongoing and that any money recovered from others should offset what he owes.

The disciplinary ruling, however, holds Rohl responsible for the loss because the trust account was in his name.

A long campaign for school safety

Since Lilliana’s death, Kerr has become an advocate for changes to school safety requirements. She is pushing for legislation known as Lilliana’s Law, which would require annual health and safety inspections at public and private schools and create a statewide registry of school safety incidents.

The current proposal would require school boards to inspect their facilities for health and safety violations. Kerr has testified in Lansing, gathered nearly 32,300 petition signatures and assembled a 510-page research book on hazards in schools.

She says the goal is to give schools a clearer framework for identifying risks and preventing injuries and deaths. Her friends say they have watched her turn grief into a sustained effort to protect other children.

For Kerr, the missing settlement has added another painful battle to a loss that remains part of daily life. She says she promised Lilliana she would keep fighting—and intends to continue until she gets answers for her children.

Gordie Howe International Bridge Set to Open July 27 After U.S.-Canada Reach Agreement

 

After months of uncertainty and a last-minute delay, the long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge is finally set to open to traffic on July 27, marking a historic milestone for Detroit, Windsor, and North American trade.

Canadian officials announced Friday that the United States, Canada, and the State of Michigan have reached an agreement clearing the way for the $6.4 billion international crossing to begin operations later this month. The announcement ends weeks of speculation after the bridge's planned June opening was unexpectedly postponed.

The delay had become an unusual point of tension between the neighboring countries. Canadian officials initially described the holdup as involving technical and operational matters, while reports later indicated President Donald Trump had sought greater U.S. involvement in the bridge's ownership and financial arrangements before allowing the crossing to open.

Those issues now appear to have been resolved through negotiations between Washington and Ottawa.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge stretches across the Detroit River, connecting Interstate 75 in Detroit with Highway 401 in Windsor, Ontario. Once open, it will become one of the busiest commercial border crossings in North America, providing an alternative to the nearly century-old Ambassador Bridge.

The new crossing is expected to significantly improve the movement of goods between the United States and Canada. Nearly one-quarter of all trade between the two countries passes through the Detroit-Windsor corridor, making the region one of the most important economic gateways on the continent.

For Michigan, the bridge represents more than just new infrastructure. It is expected to strengthen the state's manufacturing sector, particularly the automotive industry, by reducing border congestion and improving supply chain reliability. Businesses on both sides of the border have long argued that a second major crossing was necessary to support growing trade volumes and future economic growth.

The project has also been notable because it was financed primarily by Canada, which covered construction costs and will operate the crossing through the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. Michigan contributed by building the connecting highway infrastructure on the U.S. side.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers said Friday that the agreement had been reached through negotiations between the United States and Canada, a statement that was later followed by the official announcement from Canadian officials confirming the July 27 opening date.

Construction of the bridge has taken nearly a decade and has overcome engineering challenges, legal disputes, political disagreements, and the COVID-19 pandemic. With those hurdles now behind it, the Gordie Howe International Bridge is poised to become a landmark of international commerce and one of the most significant transportation projects in the Great Lakes region.

When traffic begins flowing on July 27, the new span will not only connect Detroit and Windsor but also reinforce one of the world's most important economic partnerships between the United States and Canada.