Allen Park Retirees Association Inc v. State of Michigan, 327470

Background

Allen Park appointed Emergency Manager (EM) Joyce Parker after municipal insolvency; Parker sent a March 8, 2013 letter modifying retiree health benefits. Plaintiffs (Allen Park retirees) filed suit Oct. 7, 2013 in Ingham Circuit Court against EM Parker, the City, and the State (Dept. of Treasury).
State defendants filed a notice of transfer of the state claims to the Court of Claims; EM Parker moved to change venue and her claims were transferred between circuit courts and later to the Court of Claims and ultimately back to Wayne Circuit Court.
Plaintiffs moved for class certification and later sought leave to file a first amended complaint (filed May 6, 2015) adding new constitutional and contract theories. Defendants moved for summary disposition in lieu of an answer.
The Court of Claims granted summary disposition for defendants: it held EM Parker’s actions were not imputable to the State, concluded plaintiffs’ newly added counts were time-barred under the Court of Claims notice statute, and rejected plaintiffs’ constitutional and contract claims on the merits.
Plaintiffs appealed two Court of Claims orders (one transferring EM Parker’s claims back to circuit court and the other granting summary disposition); the Court of Appeals consolidated and affirmed both decisions.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Court of Claims or circuit court had subject-matter jurisdiction over claims against EM Parker	Parker is a state officer after LFSCA; Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction	EM Parker is a local official; circuit court had jurisdiction; no notice to Court of Claims for EM Parker claims	Court of Appeals: circuit court properly had jurisdiction; Court of Claims correctly transferred the EM Parker claims back to circuit court
Whether transfer order denying consolidation is immediately appealable as of right	Order disposed of rights between parties and thus appealable	Order did not resolve all parties/claims so not an appeal of right	Not appealable as of right; court nonetheless considered it by leave and affirmed
Whether court could decide summary disposition before ruling on class certification	Judgment before certification binds only named parties; summary disposition permissible	Plaintiffs argued certification should precede judgment	Court: MCR 3.501(D) permits judgment before certification; no error in deciding disposition first
Whether plaintiffs complied with Court of Claims notice statute (MCL 600.6431)	Original Oct. 7, 2013 Ingham complaint preserved claims and satisfied statute	Defendants: no written, verified notice filed with Clerk of the Court of Claims within statutory time	Court of Appeals: plaintiffs failed to file the required verified claim/notice in the Court of Claims within one year; all claims against state defendants barred; summary dismissal affirmed

Key Cases Cited

Pecoraro v Rostagno-Wallat, 291 Mich App 303 (statutory/jurisdictional review de novo)
Henry v Dow Chem Co, 484 Mich 483 (standard for class action/certification review)
Clohset v No Name Corp, 302 Mich App 550 (transfer-back when original court misapplies jurisdiction rules)
McCahan v Brennan, 492 Mich 730 (strict compliance required for Court of Claims notice provision)
Rusha v Dep’t of Corrections, 307 Mich App 300 (failure to comply with MCL 600.6431 warrants dismissal)
Reed v Yackell, 473 Mich 520 (actions by a court that lacks subject-matter jurisdiction are void except dismissal)
Bowie v Arder, 441 Mich 23 (jurisdictional principles cited)
City of Detroit v Michigan, 262 Mich App 542 (exercise of appellate discretion)
Rooyakker & Sitz, PLLC v Plante & Moran, PLLC, 276 Mich App 146 (appealability principles)
Attorney General v Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mich, 291 Mich App 64 (appealability analysis)
Barrow v Detroit Election Comm, 305 Mich App 649 (limits on appellees seeking broader relief without cross-appeal)
Fisher v Blankenship, 286 Mich App 54 (affirmance if correct result reached for any reason)