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Rule 2.223 – Change of Venue; Venue Improper

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Michigan

(A) Motion; Court’s Own Initiative. If the venue of a civil action is improper, the court

(1) shall order a change of venue on timely motion of a defendant, or
(2) may order a change of venue on its own initiative with notice to the parties and opportunity for them to be heard on the venue question.

If venue is changed because the action was brought where venue was not proper, the action may be transferred only to a county in which venue would have been proper.

(B) Order for Change of Venue; Case Records.

(1) The transferring court must enter all necessary orders pertaining to the certification and transfer of the action to the receiving court. The court must order the plaintiff to pay the applicable statutory filing fee directly to the receiving court, unless fees have been waived in accordance with MCR 2.002. The court may also order the plaintiff to pay reasonable compensation and attorney fees to the defendant if the case was filed in the wrong court.
(2) The transferring court must serve the order on the parties and send a copy to the receiving court. The clerk of the transferring court must prepare the case records for transfer in accordance with the orders entered under subrule (1) and the Michigan Trial Court Records Management Standards and send them to the receiving court by a secure method.
(3) The receiving court must temporarily suspend payment of the filing fee and open a case pending payment of the filing fee and costs as ordered by the transferring court. The receiving court must notify the plaintiff of the new case number in the receiving court, the amount due, and the due date.
(C)Payment of Filing and Jury Fees After Change of Venue.

(1) The plaintiff must pay to the receiving court within 28 days of the date of the transfer order the applicable filing fee, costs, and expenses as ordered by the transferring court or the receiving court will dismiss the action. No further proceedings may be had in the action until payment has been made.
(2) If a jury fee has been paid, the clerk of the transferring court must forward it to the clerk of the receiving court as soon as possible after the case records have been transferred.
(3) MCL 600.1653 applies to tort actions filed on or after October 1, 1986.

Mich. Ct. R. 2.223

Amended September 18, 2019, effective January 1, 2020; amended March 25, 2021, effective March 24, 2021.