Introduction to the Michigan Court of Appeals
The Michigan Court of Appeals is one of the most important components of the state judicial system, sitting immediately below the Michigan Supreme Court in terms of authority. It was established by a 1963 state constitutional amendment to provide for a systematic review of cases arising from the state district and circuit courts. The Court of Appeals is authorized to hear appeals from final judgments and post-judgment orders of the lower courts, as well as from administrative agencies of the executive branch that conduct quasi-judicial proceedings. The Court of Appeals is also established by the constitution as an "administrative court," meaning that the judges, when qualified, will also serve as judges on the state trial courts. At present , there are many Senior Judges of the Court of Appeals sitting as visiting judges on the circuit courts throughout the state, with the most recent provided by appointment of former Court of Appeals Judge Edward E. Balog to sit as a Senior Court Judge of Appeals (SCJA). Other Senior Judges have served under appointment of the State Courts Administrator. The Michigan Court of Appeals is organized into four districts, with the First District sitting in Detroit and covering 22 counties, and the Second through Fourth Districts sitting in Troy with jurisdiction over 29, 24 and 9 counties respectively. About 27 percent of all Michigan Bar members are admitted to practice on the Court of Appeals. Approximately 10,200 appeals are filed with the Court of Appeals each year.
Rules Case Principles
The Court of Appeals is governed by rules promulgated by the state legislature, and by its own internal rules. The Michigan Rules of Court are the rules applied in civil cases generally, and specifically at the Court of Appeals.
MCR 7.104 – The Notice of Appeal
The first step in taking an appeal is the filing of a notice of appeal with the lower court. The appeal is commenced with the filing of a timely notice of appeal. Rule 7.104 provides the requirements for a notice of appeal:
MCR 7.105 – Final Judgment/Order
The order sought to be reviewed must be a final order. Generally, one cannot appeal from an interlocutory (or non-final) order. An interlocutory order is not a final order. An example of an interlocutory order is a pre-trial order denying a motion to dismiss a case, compelling discovery, or striking a witness or exhibit. Generally a lower court order may be appealed only after the final order is entered in the case. There are exceptions to the rule against appealing from an interlocutory order. For example, discovery-related non-final orders are appealable by leave (permission) pursuant to MCR 7.203(B). Also, the grant or denial of a motion for summary disposition may be appealed immediately if it disposes of all claims and there is no reason to delay (i.e., the court expressly states on the record or in its written order that there is no just reason to delay), MCR 7.202(6)(a)(ii).
The lower court’s order must dispose of the entire case as to the parties involved. For example, an order dismissing a breach of contract claim but leaving other claims pending is considered non-final as to the dismissed breach of contract claim. One can appeal the dismissal of the breach of contract claim, but may have to wait for the appeal until all of the remaining claims are resolved.
Appealable Decisions
Generally, only a final decision entered within the scope of MCR 7.202(6)(a) is appealable. Here is a list of the types of final decisions that are appealable: In addition, non-final decisions that meet certain qualifications may be reviewed on interlocutory appeal:
Recent Changes to Rules
The Michigan Court of Appeals’ rules were rewritten in 2011 and have been modified somewhat in 2012 with the addition of the revised case evaluation rules. The changes limit the bases for granting delayed applications for leave to appeal, sets new formatting requirements, and provides new rules for filing, assembling, serving and service proofs.
Among the most notable rule considerations for appellants, are the condensed timelines. Most appeals require parties to file their Briefs within 42 days of filing their respective Motions unless leave is granted pursuant to MCR 7.205(E)(3). Requests for oral argument upon appeal must be filed within 10 days after the Clerk of the Court certifies the transcript, or if transcripts were not ordered, within 10 days after the filing of the last brief. Amicus briefs will now be permitted in appeals decided by the Court without oral argument. And distinct from the "friend of the court" brief, amicus briefs can be filed without permission of the Court.
All briefs must be retyped in double space, rather than the previous single space format. The font must be 12 point Calibri print, or two spaces between lines with headers and footnotes in 10 point. The brief covers must be made of 60-pound stock and must be printed on white paper. Typeface must be 22 point for the case number and 12 point for any cover footnotes.
"Follow-up" assignments of court opinions to later cases are no longer permitted. There is no more "follow-up" assignment of Court opinions to later cases following the decision assigned by the Court. Previous contrary practice allowed Court decisions to be "followed up" and placed on an appeal branched out from the original one. The opinion assigned to the original case will now be the only assignment.
Typical Reasons for Appeal
The Michigan Court of Appeals hears appeals "on the record" which means there is no jury, judge or witnesses. Instead, lawyers for both sides present their cases to a panel of three judges through written briefs in support of their written arguments. Therefore, the legal arguments made before the panel become the entire case on appeal.
The most common grounds to appeal include:
- Discretionary error occurred.
- The trial court misapplied the law.
- The trial court abused it discretion.
- The trial court violated a party’s due process rights.
- Discretionary error occurs when the judge makes an error not based on a statutory rule or procedure, but based on the judge’s judgment. Example: A judge instructs the jury to consider what effect a victim’s sexual history had on her credibility. The jury subsequently convicts a criminal defendant much to his dismay. On appeal, the defendant argues that the judge’s instruction was improper.
- The trial court misapplied the law when it does not follow a statute or a particular rule that applies to a case during trial. Example: After a defendant is prosecuted for murdering his wife, the judge erroneously sentences him to 25 years in prison . The defendant appeals the sentence, arguing that the sentence is illegal and contrary to the statute which calls for 10 years in prison as the maximum.
- The trial court abuses it discretion when it departs from an accepted standard of conduct or judgment by failing to act in conformity with reason or against the facts of the case. Example: After a high stakes poker game where a Defendant, a reputed poker hustler, has won $60,000, his partner refuses to pay his winnings and The Defendants sues him. The trial court holds that the poker game was illegal and dismisses the Plaintiff’s case. The Plaintiff brings the case to the Court of Appeals arguing that the trial court should have allowed him to collect his winnings.
- Due process requires a fair trial. The trial court violates a defendant’s due process rights when it deprives him of a fair trial. Example: The trial court limits The Defendant’s ability to bring her ex-boyfriend as a witness to testify that she is not the kind of woman who would interest a man romantically. The Defendant appeals her conviction arguing that his due process rights were violated because he was not afforded the opportunity to present his evidence.
Effects of the Appeal
The decisions rendered by the Michigan Court of Appeals not only have an immediate impact on the parties involved in a specific case, but they can also set precedents that influence the outcomes of future cases. This ripple effect is particularly potent when the Court issues published decisions, which are binding authority on lower Michigan courts.
For instance, in the 2013 decision in Courtlandt v. McIntyre (Docket No. 310907), the Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s decision that ordered a Michigan insurer to pay defense costs for an insured who was being sued in a Florida lawsuit for trademark infringement. The decision did not immediately affect the parties, because the Court of Appeals remanded the case to allow the trial court to determine whether the Florida lawsuit alleged any claims that were covered by the policy and in the absence of such a determination, whether the insurer was required to pay costs.
However , the impact of Courtlandt went beyond the narrow issues relating to the three contracts at issue because it relied on a new framework for analyzing claims under "advertising injury" provisions and unlawful competition clauses in liability policies. The Court held that the trial court had erred in recognizing claims arising under the Florida statute against deceptive and fraudulent conduct as separate from the claims alleging trademark infringement, even though some of the conduct underlying all of the claims was similar. The Court held that the unlawful competition claim under the Florida Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act was "simply another form of trademark infringement." This analysis of the scope of advertising injury is now the law in Michigan, and can provide grounds for difficult insurance coverage arguments.
A published decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals creates binding law that typically must be followed by trial courts in Michigan. This requirement includes decisions on issues of law as well as the interpretation of terms in insurance policies.