COURT RULES UPDATE

BY PETER M. KULAS-DOMINGUEZ (KENT)

The following are pending proposed changes to Michigan Court Rules (Please note, stricken text is indicated as: <text with strikethrough>):

ADM File No. 2002-37: Amendment of MCR 1.109.

This ADM file was issued on May 11, 2022 and adopted the same day. The comment period expires on August 1, 2022. The proposed amendment of MCR 1.109 provides an e-filing court with the authority to determine the most appropriate means of sending notices and other court-issued documents that are generated from its case management or local document management system. 

​The relevant proposed changes are:​

1.109(G)(3)(e) A court may electronically <If a party or attorney in a case is registered as an authorized user in the electronic-filing system, a court must electronically> send <to that authorized user> any notice, order, opinion, or other document issued by the court in that case by means of the electronic-filing system. This rule shall not be construed to eliminate any responsibility of a party, under these rules, to serve documents that have been issued by the court.​

ADM File No. 2021-21: Proposed Amendment of MCR 3.613.

This ADM file was issued on April 13, 2022. The comment period expires August 1, 2022. The proposed amendment of MCR 3.613 would clarify the process courts must use after receiving a request not to publish notice of a name change proceeding and to make the record confidential. There was much discussion regarding this proposed ADM file with the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Council at their June 4, 2022 meeting.

​This is a major overhaul of the court rule with numerous proposed changes. To review them please go to this link: Proposed Amendment of MCR 3.613

ADM File No. 2020-33: Proposed Amendment of MCR 3.903.

This ADM file was issued on April 13, 2022. The comment period expires August 1, 2022. The proposed amendment of MCR 3.903 would clarify the definition of a party in child protective proceedings.

​The relevant proposed changes are:

MCR 3.903(A)(19) “Party” includes <the> (a) <petitioner and juvenile> in a delinquency proceeding,<;> (i) the petitioner and juvenile. (b) <petitioner, child, respondent, and parent, guardian, or legal custodian> in a protective proceeding,<.> (i) the petitioner, child, and respondent (ii) the parent, guardian, or legal custodian.

ADM File No. 2021-16: Proposed Amendment of MCR 7.305.

This ADM file was issued on April 13, 2022. The comment period expires August 1, 2022. The proposed amendment of MCR 7.305 would clarify that the 28-day timeframe for filing an application for leave to appeal applies to cases where the respondent’s parental rights have been terminated.

The relevant proposed changes are:

MCR 7.305(C)(2) Application After Court of Appeals Decision. Except as provided in subrule (C)(4), the application must be filed within 28 days in <termination of parental rights> cases where the respondent’s parental rights have been terminated, within 42 days in other civil cases, or within 56 days in criminal cases, after:

ADM File No. 2021-18: Proposed Amendment of MCR 3.943.

This ADM file was issued on April 13, 2022. The comment period expires August 1, 2022. This proposed amendment of MCR 3.943 would update the definition of “firearm” in juvenile proceedings to be consistent with MCL 8.3t, which contains the definition referenced in the court rule’s companion statute, MCL 712A.18g.

The relevant proposed changes are:

MCR 3.943(E)(7)(c) “Firearm” includes any weapon which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of an explosive <means any weapon from which a dangerous projectile may be propelled by using explosives, gas, or air as a means of propulsion, except any smoothbore rifle or hand gun designed and manufactured exclusively for propelling BB’s not exceeding.177 caliber by means of spring, gas, or air>.

ADM File No. 2021-13: Proposed Amendment of MCR 8.119.

This ADM file was issued on May 11, 2022. The comment period expires September 1, 2022. This proposed amendment of MCR 8.119 would clarify that a request for a fee waiver must be filed in accordance with MCR 2.002(B), which requires the request to be made on a form approved by the State Court Administrative Office.

The relevant proposed changes are:

MCR 8.119(C) Filing of Documents and Other Materials. The clerk of the court shall process and maintain documents filed with the court as prescribed by Michigan Court Rules and the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards and all filed documents must be file stamped in accordance with these standards. The clerk of the court may only reject documents submitted for filing that do not comply with MCR 1.109(D)(1) and (2), are not signed in accordance with MCR 1.109(E), or are not accompanied by a required filing fee or a request for fee waiver under MCR 2.002(B), unless already waived or suspended by court order. Documents prepared or issued by the court for placement in the case file are not subject to rejection by the clerk of the court and shall not be stamped filed but shall be recorded in the case history as required in subrule (D)(1)(a) and placed in the case file.

ADM File No. 2022-09: Proposed Amendment of MCR 3.703

This ADM file was issued on June 15, 2022. The comment period expires October 1, 2022. This proposed amendment of MCR 3.703 would require petitioner in a personal protection action to submit a proposed order when commencing the action, which would provide the court with necessary PPII in an appropriate format and reduce workload when preparing personal protection orders.

The relevant proposed changes are: 

​3.703(A) Filing. A personal protection action is an independent action commenced by filing a petition and submitting a proposed order with a court. The proposed order shall be prepared on a form approved by the State Court Administrative Office. The petitioner shall complete in the proposed order only the case caption and the fields with identifying information, including protected personal identifying information, that are required for LEIN entry. The personal identifying information form required by MCR 1.109(D)(9)(b)(iii) shall not be filed under this rule. There are no fees for filing a personal protection action and no summons is issued. A personal protection action may not be commenced by filing a motion in an existing case or by joining a claim to an action.

All of the above court rules can be accessed at: Michigan Court Rules