Joseph J. Bernardi

Joseph (Joe) Bernardi is a partner with the firm Bernardi, Ronayne & Glusac. Joe concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate and the First Amendment. He has over 30 years of experience representing individuals, businesses and financial institutions in real estate transactions, real estate title defense, and civil litigation.

Joe has argued cases throughout the State and has numerous decisions of relevance in the area of real estate. In addition, he has written various articles and manuals and delivered guest lectures on the topic. In the area of First Amendment, he co-authors Media Law Resource Center's Survey of Michigan Libel Law. Joe received a J.D. Degree from the University of Detroit, and an LL.B Degree from the University of Windsor.

He is a founding partner of the firm which has received various recognitions including U.S. News and World Report Best Law Firms, The National Law Journal Top Rated Real Estate Lawyers, and Business Top Lawyers of Metro Detroit. He maintains an AV-Preeminent Rating with Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Rating. Joe is fluent in Italian and has represented Italian companies with North American interests.

Areas of Practice

• Real Estate Litigation
• Mortgage Lien Priority Disputes
• Title Insurance Coverage Disputes
• Other Contractual Disputes
• First Amendment Law

Bar Admissions

• Michigan, 1990
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1990
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan, 1990
• U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan, 2000

Education

• University of Detroit School of Law, Detroit, MichiganJ.D. - 1990
• University of Windsor School of Law, Windsor, Ontario, CanadaLL.B. - 1990
• University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaB.A. - 1986

Associations & Memberships

• Detroit, American, and Canadian Bar Associations
• State Bar of Michigan

Representative Cases

• O’Neil v Appel, 897 F. Supp. 995 (6th Cir., 1995)
• O’Neil v Appel, 165 FRD 479 (WD Mich, 1996)
• Plymouth-Canton Community Crier v Prose, 242 Mich. App. 676; 619 N.W.2d 725 (2000)
• Meridian Mutual Ins v Mason-Dixon Lines, 242 Mich. App. 645; 620 N.W.2d 310 (2000)
• Taunt v Hurtado, 342 F.3d 528 (6th Cir., 2003)
• Special Prop IV LLC v Woodruff, 273 Mich. App. 586; 730 N.W.2d 753 (2007)
• Van Dyk Mortgage Corp v United States, 503 F. Supp. 2d 876 (6th Cir., 2007)
• Dardini v Chase, 565 Fed Appx 427 (6th Cir., 2014)
• Flynn v Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co, 162 F Supp 3d 615 (WD Mich, 2016)
• Crush, LLC v Downtown Publ’ns, Inc, 2016 Mich. Cir. LEXIS 103, 45 Media L Rep 2401 (6th Cir. Mich, 2016)
• Estate of Cornell v Bayview Loan Servicing, 908 F.3d. 1008 (6th Cir., 2018)