[nfbmi-talk] snyder praises court of claims bill

[joe harcz Comcast]

Snyder praises Court of Claims bill; opponents promise legal challenges By Paul Egan Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau Gov. Rick Snyder today praised a

bill headed for his desk that will change the way people sue the state of Michigan and its officials. But opponents say Snyder can expect constitutional

challenges if he signs Senate Bill 652, which is expected to receive final legislative approval in the state House today. The fast-tracked bill removes

the Court of Claims from Ingham County Circuit Court and expands it jurisdiction, moving an unknown number of pending and future lawsuits against the state

to one of four Michigan Court of Appeals judges selected by the Michigan Supreme Court. "It's a good piece of legislation that will broaden the base of

judges hearing cases," Snyder told reporters today at an unrelated bill signing in Lansing. "I think judges from across the state should hear cases that

affect the entire state," he said. Many see removal of Court of Claims cases from Ingham County Circuit Court as a partisan move because Ingham County

tilts Democratic and many Republican lawmakers believe that political bent is reflected in the court's decision. But the expansion of the court's jurisdiction

to potentially include state civil rights, environmental, whistle-blower, Open Meetings Act, and Freedom of Information Act cases that would normally be

filed in circuit courts around the state has sparked greater controversy. The Court of Claims, which traditionally hears cases seeking monetary damages

for alleged torts by the state or state officials, will have exclusive jurisdiction to hear any state action involving a "demand for monetary, equitable

or declaratory relief, or any demand for an extraordinary writ. The bill says the revamped court would have that jurisdiction notwithstanding any other

state law that says otherwise. Proponents acknowledge the expanded jurisdiction but have been vague about its parameters. Ann Arbor attorney Chad Engelhardt,

who appeared before the House Government Operations Committee Tuesday on behalf of the Michigan Association for Justice trial lawyers group, said state

laws such as the Freedom of Information Act specify the circuit courts in counties around Michigan for legal challenges. To change that part of the FOIA

law and other state laws by passing a new Court of Claims law is "amendment by reference," which is unconstitutional, Engelhardt said. There are also constitutional

problems with the new law requiring that any challenges to the revamped Court of Claims be sent to that same Court of Claims, made up of "a panel of Court

of Appeals judges hand-picked by our politically charged Supreme Court," he said. Engelhardt said attorneys are studying the issues and predicted there

will be multiple challenges to the Court of Claims law. "Whether they will be in state court or federal court or what legal theory they will use, I'm not

able to tell you," he said.