Civil litigation in Michigan

You have to prove three things by a preponderance of the evidence: a contract existed, the other side breached it, and the breach caused you damages. A valid contract itself requires competent parties, a proper subject matter, legal consideration, mutuality of agreement, and mutuality of obligation. The Michigan Supreme Court laid out these elements in Bank of America v First American Title.

Authority: Bank of America NA v First American Title Ins Co, 499 Mich 74 (2016); Bloomfield Estates Improvement Ass'n v City of Birmingham, 479 Mich 206, 212 (2007); MCL 600.5807(9). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

The general deadline is 6 years from when the claim accrued, under MCL 600.5807(9). A contract for the sale of goods has a 4-year period under the UCC, MCL 440.2725, and a covenant in a deed or mortgage has 10 years. A written contract can shorten the period, so the contract language should be checked before relying on the statutory deadline.

Authority: MCL 600.5807(9); MCL 440.2725(1); Miller-Davis Co v Ahrens Constr, Inc, 495 Mich 161 (2014); MCL 600.5855; Rayford v American House Roseville I, LLC, ___ Mich ___; ___ NW3d ___ (2025) (Docket No. 163989). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

Actionable fraud has six elements: a material representation, that was false, that the speaker knew was false or made recklessly without knowing its truth, made intending you to act on it, that you relied on, and that injured you. The Michigan Supreme Court restated them in Titan Insurance v Hyten. Fraud must also be pleaded with particularity under MCR 2.112(B)(1).

Authority: Titan Ins Co v Hyten, 491 Mich 547 (2012); MCR 2.112(B). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

A defendant personally served in Michigan with the summons and complaint has 21 days after service under MCR 2.108(A)(1) to serve and file an answer or take other action permitted by the rules. If service was made outside Michigan, or by a method requiring registered mail, the defendant has 28 days. A court may extend the time if asked before it expires.

Authority: MCR 2.108(A), (B), (E). Reviewed Oct. 2026.

The year runs from the date the statement was made, not from the date you found out or the date it hurt you (MCL 600.5805(11), MCL 600.5827). In Mitan v Campbell, the Michigan Supreme Court held that a television station's later broadcast of the statement did not extend the year against the person who first said it. A new, separate statement by the same person is treated differently: the Court of Appeals counts each one as its own claim with its own year.

Authority: MCL 600.5805(11); MCL 600.5827; Mitan v Campbell, 474 Mich 21 (2005); Redmond v Heller, 332 Mich App 415 (2020); Hawkins v Justin, 109 Mich App 743 (1981). Reviewed Oct. 2026.