In Michigan, civil cases were often submitted to a dispute resolution process called “case evaluation.” The case evaluation process allowed parties to submit summaries to a panel of three attorneys and/or retired judges. The parties would then have the opportunity to appear before the panel and orally advocate for their position. Then, after reviewing the summaries and hearing from the attorneys, the panel would issue an award that the parties could accept or reject.

If both parties accepted the panel’s award, the case would be settled for that amount. Alternatively, if both parties rejected the award, the case would continue forward towards trial. However, if one party accepted and another party rejected, the rejecting party risked potential sanctions. Specifically, if the matter were to proceed to a trial verdict, and the rejecting party did not better its position relative to the case evaluation award by at least 10%, the rejecting party would be responsible for paying the opposing counsel’s actual costs.

Recently, the Michigan Supreme Court entered an Order whereby it removed the sanction provision from the Michigan Court Rules in its entirety. In addition to removing the sanction provision, the Court also made the following notable changes:

The parties (with judicial approval) are permitted to stipulate to a different alternative dispute resolution process in lieu of case evaluation;
The deadline for filing summaries was reduced from 14 days to 7 days prior to the hearing.

These changes become effective January 1, 2022, and will apply to all cases filed on or after that date. Moreover, these changes will likewise apply to all presently pending cases that submit to case evaluation on or after January 1, 2022; unless the Court finds application of the rules would not be feasible or would “work injustice.”

Overall, the most significant change to the case evaluation process was eliminating the potential sanctions. Since there will not be any consequences for rejecting a case evaluation panel’s award, mutual acceptance between the parties will be less likely. Thus, it can be expected that less cases will be settled through the case evaluation process. Going forward, it can be expected that more cases will be submitted to facilitation or other alternative dispute resolution process where there will be better settlement potential. Finally, it should be expected that the Offer of Judgment Rule will be utilized more frequently by parties to replace the sanction provision and put pressure on the parties to achieve a settlement.

Should you have any questions regarding this advisory, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Post-Acute Care Practice.

Any information included here or through our website is presented solely for general informational purposes and is not in any way intended as legal advice, is not a substitute for getting actual legal advice from an attorney, and should not be acted upon as legal advice without first seeking qualified professional counsel specific to your needs and situation. Additionally, by providing this general information and the information on our website, no attorney client relationship is created.

Michigan Supreme Court Order Changing Case Evaluation Rule – Effective January 1, 2022

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