September 12, 2001



00-16

Amendment of Rule 2.602
of the Michigan Court Rules
                             


          On order of the Court, notice of the proposed changes and
an opportunity for comment in writing and at a public hearing
having been provided, and consideration having been given to the
comments received, the following amendment of Rule 2.602 of the
Michigan Court Rules is adopted, to be effective January 1, 2002.

      [The present language is amended as indicated below.]


ICLE Editor's Note:


[Italicized, bracketed text] indicates text that has been
deleted.

Bold text  indicates new text.



Rule 2.602     Entry of Judgments and Orders

(A)  [Unchanged.]

(B)  Procedure of Entry of Judgments and Orders.  An order or
judgment shall be entered by one of the following methods:

     (1)  The court may sign the judgment or order at the time it
grants the relief provided by the judgment or order.

     (2)  The court shall sign the judgment or order when its form
is approved by all the parties and if, in the court's
determination, it comports with the court's decision.

     (3)  Within 7 days after the granting of the judgment or
order, or later if the court allows, a party may serve a copy of
the proposed judgment or order on the other parties, with a notice
to them that it will be submitted to the court for signing if no
written objections to its accuracy or completeness are filed
with the court clerk within 7 days after service of the notice. 
The party must file with the court clerk the original of the
proposed judgment or order and proof of its service on the other
parties. 

          (a)  If no written objections are filed within 7 days,
the clerk shall submit the judgment or order to the court, and the
court shall then sign it if, in the court's determination, it
comports with the court's decision.  If the proposed judgment or
order does not comport with the decision, the court shall direct
the clerk to notify the parties to appear before the court on a
specified date for settlement of the matter.

          (b)     Objections regarding the accuracy or
completeness of the judgment or order must state with specificity
the inaccuracy or omission.

          ([b]c)     The party filing the objections must
serve them on all parties as required by MCR 2.107, together
with a notice of hearing and an alternate proposed judgment or
order.                         

          [(c)]   [If objections are filed, the party who
filed the proposed judgment or order must notice the judgment or
order for settlement before the court within 7 days after receiving
notice of the objections.
]
     (4)  A party may prepare a proposed judgment or order and
notice it for settlement before the court.

(C) - (D)      [Unchanged.]


          Staff Comment:  The September 12, 2001 amendment
of MCR 2.602(B)(3), effective January 1, 2002, was based on a
recommendation from the Michigan Judges Association to eliminate
delay and unnecessary work caused by nonspecific and meaningless
objections.  The amendment shifted some of the burden of going
forward from the proponent of the order to the objector and
clarified the objection procedure.


The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench
and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.