Jurisdiction Question

[JenniSam]

As an aside: Kudos to you! It sounds like you're an experienced landlord who covers the various contingencies very well

Thanks! I've lurked here for many years. I've tried to learn from other's mistakes as well as my own.

 

[Zigner]

This is no longer a landlord tenant matter. It is a contract claim.

WIth the additional information that the new agreement was incorporated as a part of the lease and not a separate contract, would your opinion change?

 

[JenniSam]

This is no longer a landlord tenant matter. It is a contract claim. Jurisdiction is the term that tells you which kind of court may hear your claim, e.g. if your claim is for no more than $6,000 you may bring that claim in small claims court in Michigan. Venue is the term that tells you in which small claims court(s) you may bring the case. The Michigan statute for venue in small claims court is MCL § 600.8415. It says in relevant part:

(1) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), in districts of the first class actions in the small claims division shall be filed in the county in which the cause of action arose or in the county in which the defendant is established or resides or is employed. If there is more than 1 defendant, actions shall be filed in the county in which any defendant is established or resides or is employed.​

(2) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), in districts of the second or third class actions in the small claims division shall be filed in the district in which the cause of action arose or in the district in which the defendant is established or resides or is employed. If there is more than 1 defendant, actions shall be filed in the district in which any defendant is established or resides or is employed.​

Subsection (3) deals with suing cities, villages, and townships and subsection (4) deals with suing school districts, so neither of those two concern you. As you can see, you'd bring the claim either in the county (if it is a district of the first class) or the district (for 2nd and 3rd class districts) where the the claim arose or the county/district in which the defendant is established, resides, or is employed. So where the property was that the tenant leased is irrelevant here. You may bring it were the contract arose (which is presumably the county/district where the contract was negotiated and entered into), where the defendant lives, or where the defendant works. So the bottom line is that if you want to sue in the county/district where the defendant now works, you can do that.

Thank you for the terminology correction. Venue is what I intended to ask about.

This is what I had been trying to find and it does answer my question. Thank you!

 

[Taxing Matters]

WIth the additional information that the new agreement was incorporated as a part of the lease and not a separate contract, would your opinion change?

Where I practice it wouldn't change my opinion because it is not a dispute that concerns the tenancy itself or possession of the property; e.g. it is not an unlawful detainer action or action recover possession. It is simply a lawsuit to recover money as agreed upon in a contract. The label put on that contract wouldn't matter. As a result where I practice that would be regarded as a simple contract claim that could be resolved in small claims court. In short in the states I practice they look to what the agreement is actually for to determine the nature of the claim brought, not the label the parties put on the agreement. But whether Michigan might take a more formalistic approach I don't know as I do not practice there. But the OP could bring the small claims action as a contract dispute and if the former tenant thinks that jurisdiction or venue is improper the tenant can raise that issue.

 

[FarmerJ]

Hi jennisam LTNP = long time no post I know of a Ramsey county judge here in MN who told someone I personally know )`Ive never heard of such a thing ` when she sued a former employer who violated MN statute regarding failure to pay wages promptly ( one section of the law says when a employer fires you and you demand to be paid that they have 24 hours to pay you and if they don't your entitled to one days wage for every day you are made to wait up to ten days penalty to the former employer for failing to pay wages promptly and because the judge was too damn lazy too look up the statute number Lynn was not granted her claim ( she chose to not take further action ) SO best wishes to you as you pursue this matter .

 

[FarmerJ]

So my point was that some judges perhaps shouldn't be serving, especially if they cant / wont follow the law.

 

[quincy]

So my point was that some judges perhaps shouldn't be serving, especially if they cant / wont follow the law.

In Michigan, judges are elected. Michigan statistically removes more judges annually from office for behaving badly than any other state except New York. That said, some badly behaving judges continue serving and they continue to get reelected, even after being sanctioned by the state.

I don't know which one of the four Flint judges JenniSam is speaking of here but that a judge has developed a reputation for being pro-tenant is not surprising.

 

[JenniSam]

So my point was that some judges perhaps shouldn't be serving, especially if they cant / wont follow the law.

I agree! The judge I speak of was minutes from being held in contempt of court when he blew off a 1 pm deadline given by the circuit court judge. He was being ordered to evict a tenant after he refused to rule on the case for months and he didn't want to change his ruling. It was really crazy!

I've sat in his courtroom this year, just to see the show sometimes. Now, he reviews cases before the hearings and will look for reasons to throw out a case without calling it. He has the courtroom clerk tell you. If he does call the case, the tenant never has to say a word. I have seen this: If your receipts are not stapled in order of how they are listed on itemized statement, postponed for 10 days or he lets the tenant pick when they can come back.

He also does not like to give default evictions if the tenant fails to show so personal service is extremely important.

I won't list his name but articles on google are easy to find for a flint judge held in contempt.

 

[JenniSam]

In Michigan, judges are elected. Michigan statistically removes more judges annually from office for behaving badly than any other state except New York. That said, some badly behaving judges continue serving and they continue to get reelected, even after being sanctioned by the state.

I don't know which one of the four Flint judges JenniSam is speaking of here but that a judge has developed a reputation for being pro-tenant is not surprising.

He is cleaver (I guess) because he knows that the tenants are the ones with the voting power so he caters to them and as a result, he keeps getting voted in. Landlords launched a whole campaign against his last re-election campaign. There were signs in yards, door to door knocking, highway billboards were even rented and he was still re-elected. A few attorney's got smart and somehow got themselves banned from his courtroom and now lots of landlords seek them out. Its cheaper to pay an attorney than risk getting him as judge.

 

[Taxing Matters]

In Michigan, judges are elected. Michigan statistically removes more judges annually from office for behaving badly than any other state except New York. That said, some badly behaving judges continue serving and they continue to get reelected, even after being sanctioned by the state.

I'm not a big fan of elected judge systems. I've lived in various states over the years, some with appointed judges, some with elected, and some with a mix. My experience has been that overall appointed judges tend to be better than those you get by election.