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Rule 2.227 – Transfer of Actions on Finding of Lack of Jurisdiction

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Michigan

(A) Transfer to Court Which Has Jurisdiction.

When the court in which a civil action is pending determines that it lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter of the action, but that some other Michigan court would have jurisdiction of the action, the court may order the action transferred to the other court in a place where venue would be proper. If the question of jurisdiction is raised by the court on its own initiative, the action may not be transferred until the parties are given notice and an opportunity to be heard on the jurisdictional issue.

(B) Order Transferring Jurisdiction; 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 for filing the case 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 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 shall 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 Transfer.

(1) The plaintiff must pay to the receiving court within 28 days of the date of the transfer order the applicable filing fee and must submit proof of the payment of any expenses as ordered by the transferring court or the receiving court will dismiss the action.
(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.
(D) Procedure After Transfer.

(1) The action proceeds in the receiving court as if it had been originally filed there. If further pleadings are required or allowed, the time for filing them runs from the date the filing fee is paid under subrule (C)(1). The receiving court may order the filing of new or amended pleadings. If part of the action remains pending in the transferring court, certified copies of the papers filed may be forwarded, with the cost to be paid by the plaintiff.
(2) If a defendant had not been served with process at the time the action was transferred, the plaintiff must obtain the issuance of a new summons from the receiving court.
(3) A waiver of jury trial in the court in which the action was originally filed is ineffective after transfer. A party who had waived trial by jury may demand a jury trial after transfer by filing a demand and paying the applicable jury fee within 28 days after the filing fee is paid under subrule (C)(1). A demand for a jury trial in the court in which the action was originally filed is preserved after transfer.
(E)Relation to Other Transfer Provisions. This rule does not affect transfers (pursuant to other rules or statutes) of actions over which the transferring court had jurisdiction.

Mich. R. Civil. Proc. 2.227

Amended September 18, 2019, effective January 1, 2020.