Again, the resulting litigation reached the Supreme Court which affirmed the decision of the
Court of Claims (26).
The
Court of Claims ruled in favor of the plaintiff by stating it was well established that in Michigan, plaintiffs enjoy the right to a jury trial under the ELCRA and that appellate courts extended that right to claims against the state or state agencies.
David Harris, an Arlington Heights Republican, noted that plaintiffs first must prove the state was at fault for the injury and any compensatory award would be decided by the
Court of Claims. He noted Iowa has no cap on awards.
(129) It may have found its way into the Federal Courts Improvements Act of 1982 because of the history of trial commissioners on the
Court of Claims. In 1855, Congress established the
Court of Claims and gave the first three judges the power to "appoint commissioners to take depositions and issue subpoenas." (130) These trial commissioners were employees of the
Court of Claims and became an essential part of the
Court of Claims' practice.
The I
Court of Claims has "original, exclusive jurisdiction to determine, initially, whether one is entitled to personal immunity under Ohio law and whether the courts of common pleas have jurisdiction over the civil action." Therefore, courts of common pleas do not have jurisdiction to make a determination as to immunity.
This decision is very "pro taxpayer." There is a question whether other circuits will follow it given the contrary
Court of Claims and Tax Court conclusions.
Either House of Congress can pass private legislation ordering the
Court of Claims to decide a case, but that is rarely done.
We thought it would be interesting to watch him explain to a judge that, even after the
Court of Claims said that the depletion block was the definition of the property for tax purposes, the Commissioner could ignore that result by refusing to consent to taxpayers' requests to change their method.
Court of Claims in which Chief Judge Loren Smith asked political officials to clearly define regulatory takings.
We went to the
Court of Claims, where there are hundreds of "takings" cases of all kinds being filed in waves of protest, and you know what we found?
Both complaints included a jury demand.<br />Pursuant to MCL 600.6404(3), on May 25, 2017, the department filed a notice of transfer of the case to the
Court of Claims "effective immediately." Almost simultaneously, the department also filed a motion for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(7), arguing that Doe failed to comply with the
Court of Claims filing requirements.<br />In response, Doe filed an emergency motion to transfer the matter back to the circuit court on the grounds that the jury-trial exception as set forth in MCL 600.6421(1) to the exclusive jurisdiction of the
Court of Claims applied.