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In the summer of 2006 Colleen Wallace of Sandusky sued the Michigan State Police and Trooper Fred Sweeney for the wrongful death of her husband Michael.

However, on Monday Sanilac County Circuit Judge Donald Teeple denied the police lawyer's motion to dismiss the lawsuit based on government immunity. If the lawyer appeals that decision, it could delay the trial.

On June 14 the court removed the pre-trial settlement conference from the June 21 docket.

The court has set aside seven or eight days for the civil case.

Michael Wallace, 32, was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle south on M-19 the night of Sept. 1, 2005. When Sweeney turned left into the driveway of Summit Power Center in Watertown Township, the motorcycle struck the patrol car on the passenger side.

The Sandusky man died early the next morning after being airlifted to a Flint hospital.

Sweeney was cleared of Michael's death last October when Genesee County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Randall Petrides announced he was not authorizing criminal charges against the trooper.

"We ultimately decided we would not be able to sustain the burden of proof on a criminal charge of negligent homicide," Petrides said at the time.

However, Wallace's attorney responded that the facts will come out at the trial.

"The prosecutor's decision not to prosecute was based upon the Michigan State Police investigating a fatality cause by one of their own," said attorney John Paterson of Sandusky. "Our experts have concluded the state police investigation ignored the physical evidence to arrive at an answer solely designed to keep a fellow officer out of the criminal system and jail."