Oshtemo Charter Township v. Kalamazoo County Road Commission

792 N.W.2d 401, 288 Mich. App. 296
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 29, 2010
DocketDocket No. 292980
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 792 N.W.2d 401 (Oshtemo Charter Township v. Kalamazoo County Road Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oshtemo Charter Township v. Kalamazoo County Road Commission, 792 N.W.2d 401, 288 Mich. App. 296 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

Defendant Kalamazoo County Road Commission appeals by leave granted an order that granted plaintiff, Oshtemo Charter Township, a preliminary injunction enjoining the implementation of the road commission’s decision to void a portion of plaintiffs truck route ordinance. Plaintiff cross-appealed. We hold that the trial court misinterpreted MCL 257.726(3), the statute authorizing the road commission to resolve the dispute among several townships in this matter. We conclude that a typographical error exists on the face of MCL 257.726(3). The trial court erred when it failed to employ the interpretive doctrine known as scrivener’s error when construing MCL 257.726(3). We vacate the preliminary injunction and remand this case for further proceedings.

On March 27, 2007, plaintiff adopted its Truck Route Ordinance No. 478. The ordinance designates, “to the exclusion of all other roads,” certain specific streets traversing the township for use by heavy trucks, including double-trailer gravel trucks. It also expressly bars any person from operating “a truck or truck-tractor and semi-trailer or truck-tractor and trailer combination, or truck and trailer combination with a combined carrying capacity of over five (5) tons in Oshtemo Charter Township on any road other than a designated truck route,” except as expressly provided elsewhere in the ordinance. According to the road commission, this or[299]*299dinance bars double-trailer gravel trucks from using three streets within plaintiff township: Tenth Street, Ninth Street, and H Avenue. This prohibition of the use of these three streets has the effect of routing the truck traffic to roads in defendants Alamo Township and Kalamazoo Charter Township and off the roads that provide the most direct routes of access to US-131. Plaintiffs ordinance became effective on May 4, 2007.

Subsequently, the Michigan Legislature enacted 2008 PA 539, which amended MCL 257.726(3), effective January 13, 2009, to provide:

If a township has established any prohibition or limitation under subsection (1) [on the operation of trucks or other commercial vehicles] on any county primary road that an adjoining township determines diverts traffic onto a border highway or street shared by the township and the adjoining township, the adjoining township may submit a written objection to the county road commission having jurisdiction over the county primary road, along with a copy to the township that established the prohibition or limitation, on or before the later of March 1, 2009, or 60 days after the township approves the prohibition or limitation. The written objection shall explain how the prohibition or limitation diverts traffic onto the border highway or street shared by the township and the adjoining township. The county road commission shall then investigate the objection. The township and adjoining township shall cooperate with that investigation and negotiate in good faith to resolve the objection. If the objection is not resolved within 60 days after the township receives the copy of the written objection, the county road commission has the authority to, and shall, either approve or void the prohibition or limitation that is the subject of the objection within 60 days thereafter, which decision shall be final. For purposes of this subsection, “county primary road” means a highway or street designated as a county primary road pursuant to 1951 PA 51, MCL 247.671 to 247.675.

[300]*300Significantly, a review of MCL 247.671 to 247.675 reveals a complete absence of any provisions regarding the designation of a highway or street as a county primary road.

In February 2009, both Alamo Township and Kalamazoo Charter Township filed written objections with the road commission with respect to plaintiffs truck route ordinance. When the three townships involved in this case could not resolve the dispute, the road commission held a public hearing on the objections and, pursuant to MCL 257.726(3), declared the truck route ordinance void with regard to the three contested streets and opened those streets to use by heavy trucks. Plaintiff commenced the present lawsuit in the Kalamazoo Circuit Court on June 4, 2009, with the filing of a 10-count complaint, which sought, in part, the issuance of a preliminary injunction that would stay the road commission’s decision and prevent heavy trucks from using the contested streets.

The trial court heard plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction on June 22, 2009. Following the close of arguments, the trial court granted plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction from the bench. The trial court began its bench ruling by observing that plaintiffs entitlement to the requested injunction depended on the results of the balancing of four factors: (1) the likelihood that the applicant will prevail on the merits; (2) a demonstration that the applicant will suffer irreparable injury if the relief is not granted; (3) whether harm to the applicant in the absence of temporary relief outweighs the harm to the opposing party if relief is granted; and (4) harm to the public interest if the injunction is issued. The trial court then concluded that factors (2), (3), and (4) were a “wash” and “equally balanced out” between the opposing sides. It opined [301]*301that “the real question is[,] given that everything else is equally balanced out, does plaintiff have the likelihood of success on the merits.”

The trial court, focusing on an apparent typographical error in the last sentence of MCL 257.726(3), resolved this question as follows:

The Court is aware that there is — there are notes from the complier [sic] who does in fact provide that the destination [sic] set forth in the ordinance [sic], in fact is either typographical or some clerical error, and that the legislature could in fact have, or should [have] probably meant to include a different reference with regard to the definition of county primary roads.
The court is then — thus faced with the very interesting dilemma of interpreting the statue [sic] in a way that actually provides for justification for the Road Commission action. Or interpreting the statue [sic] as it’s written with some questions in terms of whether the Road Commission had the authority to void the ordinance, as it presently existed at the time of the hearings in May.
This court after much deliberation and recognizing, to be honest, that either status quo is not going to substantially impact the citizens of these communities to any great extent. It believes that it should follow the lead of our Supreme Court and hold that the language that is written is the language that is written.
Therefore, the court does believe as written there is a substantially [sic] likelihood that Osthemo [sic] will be successful at the — on the merits, and that absent amendment the County Road Commission would not have authority to mediate or determine the relative positions of the townships in this matter.
Therefore, having determined that three, four — two, three and four are a wash in terms of the balances that are necessary, and having determined that as to item one there is a likelihood of success on the part [of] Osthemo [sic]. The court will grant a preliminary injunction in this matter pending further action in court.

[302]*302The trial court then gave effect to its bench ruling by entering an order granting a preliminary injunction on June 22, 2009.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Walter Love v. Lashawn Rudolph
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2025
Michelene Crowley v. Michigan Realty Solutions
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2020
Baldwin v. Buckles
2020 Ohio 2759 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2020)
Oshtemo Charter Township v. Kalamazoo County Road Commission
302 Mich. App. 574 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 2013)
Hammel v. Speaker of the House of Representatives
825 N.W.2d 616 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
792 N.W.2d 401, 288 Mich. App. 296, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oshtemo-charter-township-v-kalamazoo-county-road-commission-michctapp-2010.