Opinion
99-27.
December 7, 1999.
On order of the Court, this is to advise that the Court is considering an amendment of Rule 2.310 of the Michigan Court Rules. Before determining whether the proposal should be adopted, changed before adoption, or rejected, this notice is given to afford any interested person the opportunity to comment on the form or the merits of the proposal. We welcome the views of all who wish to address the proposal or who wish to suggest alternatives.
As whenever this Court publishes an administrative proposal for comment, we emphasize that publication of this proposal does not mean that the Court will issue an order on the subject, nor does it imply probable adoption of the proposal in its present form.
[The present language would be amended as indicated below.]
Rule 2.310 Requests for Production of Documents and Other Things; Entry on Land for Inspection and Other Purposes
(A) — (B) [Unchanged.]
(C) Request to Party.
(1) [Unchanged.]
(2) The party on whom the request is served must serve a written response within1428 days after service of the request, except that a defendant may serve a response within 42 days after being served with the summons and complaint. The court may allow a longer or shorter time. With respect to each item or category, the response must state that inspection and related activities will be permitted as requested or that the request is objected to, in which event the reasons for objection must be stated. If objection is made to part of an item or category, the part must be specified.
(3) — (5) [Unchanged.]
(D) [Unchanged.]
Staff Comment: The change from 14 to 28 days in MCR 2.310(C)(2) has been recommended by the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan, with the following explanation from the Civil Procedure Committee:
"The Supreme Court amended MCR 2.310(C)(2) on December 1, 1998 to change the time for parties to respond to document requests from 28 to 14 days. The amendment was part of a set of amendments, approved by the Representative Assembly, to clarify that the rules authorize record-only subpoenas to nonparties. Those amendments included a requirement that a record subpoena to a nonparty be served at least 14 days before the time for production. MCR 2.305(B)(1). The response time under MCR 2.310(C)(2) was changed to 14 days to make the time for parties to respond to document requests the same as the time for nonparties to respond to record subpoenas.
"The committee has reconsidered this change in MCR 2.310(C)(2) in light of comments from practitioners and concluded that it was not well advised. With the change, there are now different time periods for responses to different types of discovery requests. A party must respond to interrogatories and requests for admission in 28 days (MCR 2.309[B][4], 2.312[B][1]), but has half that time to respond to document requests. This lack of uniformity can complicate discovery practice, particularly when document requests are combined with other discovery requests, as is frequently done. It can result in multiple discovery responses served at different times and potentially increase motion practice.
"The committee concluded that uniformity in the time for parties to respond to discovery requests is desirable and that 28 days is a reasonable time for all such responses. This will eliminate multiple responses to mixed requests and possible increased motion practice. The committee believes the benefits of this proposed change outweigh any argument that parties and nonparties should have the same 14-day time period to respond to document requests and subpoenas.
"The committee considered, but rejected, the argument that if the rule is changed to allow parties 28 days to respond to document requests, then MCR 2.305(B)(1) should also be amended to provide nonparties 28 days to respond to a document subpoena. The committee concluded that the 14-day period is more appropriate for nonparties. Record production by nonparties does not involve the same case implications as production by parties. The December 1, 1998 amendment providing for a 14-day response period for record subpoenas increased the time for nonparties to respond under the rule before amendment. A 28-day response time for nonparties would unduly slow the progress of discovery. (If a 14-day response time imposes an undue burden, the subpoenaed person can object on that ground and is relieved from compliance until the party issuing the subpoena obtains an order requiring production or there is an agreement on the time for production. MCR 2.305[B][1]-[2].)" [Emphasis added.]
The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.
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Publication of this proposal does not mean that the Court will issue an order on the subject, nor does it imply probable adoption in its present form. Timely comments will be substantively considered, and your assistance is appreciated by the Court.
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A copy of this order will be given to the secretary of the State Bar and to the State Court Administrator so that they can make the notifications specified in MCR 1.201. Comments on this proposal may be sent to the Supreme Court clerk within 60 days after it is published in the Michigan Bar Journal. When filing a comment, please refer to our file No. 99-27.
December 7, 1999
APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF JUDGES OF MICHIGAN COURTS
Pursuant to MCR 7.201 and MCR 8.110, the following judges are appointed as chief judges of the courts indicated for two-year terms commencing January 1, 2000:
Court Judge
Court of Appeals Hon. Richard A. Bandstra
1st Circuit Court Hon. Michael R. Smith
2nd Circuit Court Hon. Paul L. Maloney
3rd Circuit Court Hon. Michael F. Sapala
4th Circuit Court Hon. Chad C. Schmucker
5th Circuit Court Hon. James H. Fisher
6th Circuit Court Hon. Barry Howard
7th Circuit Court Hon. Robert M. Ransom
8th Circuit Court Hon. Charles H. Miel
9th Circuit Court Hon. J. Richardson Johnson
10th Circuit Court Hon. Leopold P. Borrello
11th Circuit Court Hon. Charles H. Stark
12th Circuit Court Hon. Garfield W. Hood
13th Circuit Court Hon. Thomas G. Power
14th Circuit Court Hon. Timothy G. Hicks
15th Circuit Court Hon. Michael H. Cherry
16th Circuit Court Hon. Peter J. Maceroni
17th Circuit Court Hon. George S. Buth
18th Circuit Court Hon. Lawrence M. Bielawski
19th Circuit Court Hon. James M. Batzer
20th Circuit Court Hon. Edward R. Post
21st Circuit Court Hon. Paul H. Chamberlain
22nd Circuit Court Hon. Timothy P. Connors
23rd Circuit Court Hon. J. Richard Ernst
24th Circuit Court Hon. Donald A. Teeple
25th Circuit Court Hon. John R. Weber
26th Circuit Court Hon. Joseph P. Swallow
27th Circuit Court Hon. Terrence R. Thomas
28th Circuit Court Hon. Charles D. Corwin
29th Circuit Court Hon. Jeffrey L. Martlew
30th Circuit Court Hon. Peter D. Houk
31st Circuit Court Hon. Peter E. Deegan
32nd Circuit Court Hon. Roy D. Gotham
33rd Circuit Court Hon. Richard M. Pajtas
34th Circuit Court Hon. Ronald M. Bergeron
35th Circuit Court Hon. Gerald D. Lostracco
36th Circuit Court Hon. William C. Buhl
37th Circuit Court Hon. Conrad J. Sindt
38th Circuit Court Hon. Michael W. LaBeau
39th Circuit Court Hon. Harvey A. Koselka
40th Circuit Court Hon. Nick O. Holowka
41st Circuit Court Hon. John D. Payant
42nd Circuit Court Hon. Thomas L. Ludington
43rd Circuit Court Hon. Michael E. Dodge
44th Circuit Court Hon. Susan L. Reck
45th Circuit Court Hon. James P. Noecker
46th Circuit Court Hon. Alton T. Davis
47th Circuit Court Hon. Stephen T. Davis
48th Circuit Court Hon. Harry A. Beach
49th Circuit Court Hon. Lawrence C. Root
50th Circuit Court Hon. Nicholas J. Lambros
51st Circuit Court Hon. Richard I. Cooper
52nd Circuit Court Hon. M. Richard Knoblock
53rd Circuit Court Hon. Scott Lee Pavlich
54th Circuit Court Hon. Patrick Reed Joslyn
55th Circuit Court Hon. Kurt N. Hansen
56th Circuit Court Hon. Thomas S. Eveland
57th Circuit Court Hon. Charles W. Johnson
1st District Court Hon. Terrence P. Bronson
2A District Court Hon. James E. Sheridan
2B District Court Hon. Donald L. Sanderson
3A District Court Hon. David T. Coyle
3B District Court Hon. William D. Welty
4th District Court Hon. Paul E. Deats
5th District Court Hon. Paul L. Maloney
7th District Court Hon. Robert T. Hentchel
8th District Court Hon. Vincent C. Westra
10th District Court Hon. John R. Holmes
12th District Court Hon. Charles J. Falahee, Jr.
14A District Court Hon. Richard E. Conlin
14B District Court Hon. John B. Collins
15th District Court Hon. Elizabeth Pollard Hines
16th District Court Hon. Kathleen J. McCann
17th District Court Hon. Karen S. Khalil Bouzas
18th District Court Hon. C. Charles Bokos
19th District Court Hon. William C. Hultgren
20th District Court Hon. Mark J. Plawecki
21st District Court Hon. Richard L. Hammer, Jr.
22nd District Court Hon. Sylvia A. James
23rd District Court Hon. William J. Sutherland
24th District Court Hon. Gerard Trudel
25th District Court Hon. David A. Bajorek
26th District Court Hon. Michael F. Ciungan
27th District Court Hon. Randy L. Kalmbach
28th District Court Hon. James A. Kandrevas
29th District Court Hon. Carolyn A. Archbold
30th District Court Hon. L. Kim Hoagland
31st District Court Hon. Patrick T. Cahill
32A District Court Hon. Roger J. La Rose
33rd District Court Hon. Michael K. McNally
34th District Court Hon. Tina Brooks Green
35th District Court Hon. John E. MacDonald
36th District Court Hon. Marylin E. Atkins
37th District Court Hon. Walter A. Jakubowski, Jr.
39th District Court Hon. Mark S. Switalski
40th District Court Hon. Peter J. Maceroni
41A District Court Hon. Kenneth J. Kosnic
41B District Court Hon. John C. Foster
42nd District Court Hon. Paul Cassidy
43rd District Court Hon. Joseph Longo
44th District Court Hon. Terrence H. Brennan
45A District Court Hon. William R. Sauer
45B District Court Hon. Benjamin J. Friedman
46th District Court Hon. Bryan Howard Levy
47th District Court Hon. Frederick L. Harris
48th District Court Hon. Kimberly Small
50th District Court Hon. Leo Bowman
51st District Court Hon. Phyllis C. McMillen
52nd District Court Hon. Julie A. Nicholson
53rd District Court Hon. A. John Pikkarainen
54A District Court Hon. Patrick F. Cherry
54B District Court Hon. Richard D. Ball
55th District Court Hon. Thomas E. Brennan, Jr.
56A District Court Hon. Paul F. Berger
56B District Court Hon. James H. Fisher
57th District Court Hon. Gary A. Stewart
58th District Court Hon. Susan A. Jonas
59th District Court Hon. Peter P. Versluis
60th District Court Hon. Michael Jeffrey Nolan
61st District Court Hon. David J. Buter
62A District Court Hon. Jack R. Jelsema
62B District Court Hon. William G. Kelly
63rd District Court Hon. Sara J. Smolenski
64A District Court Hon. Raymond P. Voet
64B District Court Hon. Donald R. Hemingsen
65A District Court Hon. Richard D. Wells
65B District Court Hon. James B. Mackie
66th District Court Hon. Ward L. Clarkson
67th District Court Hon. Christopher Odette
68th District Court Hon. William H. Crawford, II
70th District Court Hon. Terry L. Clark
71A District Court Hon. Nick O. Holowka
71B District Court Hon. Kim David Glaspie
72nd District Court Hon. David C. Nicholson
73A District Court Hon. James A. Marcus
73B District Court Hon. Karl E. Kraus
74th District Court Hon. John C. Leaming
75th District Court Hon. James E. Wilson
76th District Court Hon. Paul H. Chamberlain
77th District Court Hon. Susan H. Grant
78th District Court Hon. H. Kevin Drake
79th District Court Hon. John R. Carney, Jr.
80th District Court Hon. Gary J. Allen
81st District Court Hon. Allen C. Yenior
82nd District Court Hon. Richard E. Noble
83rd District Court Hon. Francis L. Walsh
84th District Court Hon. David A. Hogg
85th District Court Hon. Brent V. Danielson
86th District Court Hon. Michael J. Haley
87th District Court Hon. Alton T. Davis
88th District Court Hon. Theodore O. Johnson
89th District Court Hon. Harold A. Johnson, Jr.
90th District Court Hon. Richard W. May
91st District Court Hon. Michael W. MacDonald
92nd District Court Hon. Steven E. Ford
93rd District Court Hon. Bruce E. Plackowski
94th District Court Hon. Robert J. DeGrand
95A District Court Hon. Jeffrey G. Barstow
95B District Court Hon. Michael J. Kusz
96th District Court Hon. James M. Collins
97th District Court Hon. Phillip L. Kukkonen
98th District Court Hon. Anders B. Tingstad, Jr.
Eastpointe Municipal Court Hon. Martin J. Smith
Grosse Pte. Municipal Court Hon. Srussell F. Ethridge
Grosse Pte. Farms Municipal Court Hon. Matthew R. Rumora
Grosse Pte. Park Municipal Court Hon. Carl F. Jarboe
Grosse Pte. Woods Municipal Court Hon. Lynne A. Pierce
Alcona County Probate Court Hon. James H. Cook
Allegan County Probate Court Hon. George A. Greig
Alpena County Probate Court Hon. Douglas A. Pugh
Antrim County Probate Court Hon. John W. Unger
Baraga County Probate Court Hon. Timothy S. Brennan
Barry County Probate Court Hon. James H. Fisher
Bay County Probate Court Hon. Karen Tighe
Benzie County Probate Court Hon. Nancy A. Kida
Berrien County Probate Court Hon. Thomas E. Nelson
Branch County Probate Court Hon. Frederick L. Wood
Calhoun County Probate Court Hon. Phillip E. Harter
Cass County Probate Court Hon. Susan L. Dobrich
Cheboygan County Probate Court (Vacancy)
Chippewa County Probate Court Hon. Lowell R. Ulrich
Clinton County Probate Court Hon. Marvin E. Robertson
Crawford County Probate Court Hon. Alton T. Davis
Delta County Probate Court Hon. Robert E. Goebel, Jr.
Dickinson County Probate Court Hon. Robert G. Foster
Eaton County Probate Court Hon. Thomas S. Eveland
Genesee County Probate Court Hon. Allen J. Nelson
Gogebic County Probate Court Hon. Joel L. Massie
Gr. Traverse County Prob. Court Hon. John D. Foresman
Gratiot County Probate Court Hon. Jack T. Arnold
Hillsdale County Probate Court Hon. Albert J. Neukom
Houghton County Probate Court Hon. John A. Mikkola
Huron County Probate Court Hon. David L. Clabuesch
Ingham County Probate Court Hon. R. George Economy
Ionia County Probate Court Hon. Gerald J. Supina
Iosco County Probate Court Hon. John D. Hamilton
Iron County Probate Court Hon. C. Joseph Schwedler
Isabella County Probate Court Hon. Paul H. Chamberlain
Jackson County Probate Court Hon. Susan E. Vandercook
Kalamazoo County Probate Court Hon. Donald R. Halstead
Kalkaska County Probate Court Hon. Alton T. Davis
Kent County Probate Court Hon. John P. Steketee
Keweenaw County Probate Court Hon. James G. Jaaskelainen
Lake County Probate Court Hon. Mark S. Wickens
Lapeer County Probate Court Hon. Clayton E. Preisel
Leelanau County Probate Court Hon. Joseph E. Deegan
Lenawee County Probate Court Hon. Charles W. Jameson
Livingston County Probate Court Hon. Susan L. Reck
Macomb County Probate Court Hon. Pamela Gilbert O'Sullivan
Manistee County Probate Court Hon. John R. DeVries
Marquette County Probate Court Hon. Michael J. Anderegg
Mason County Probate Court Hon. Mark D. Raven
Menominee County Probate Court Hon. William A. Hupy
Midland County Probate Court Hon. Donna T. Morris
Missaukee County Probate Court Hon. Frederick S. Krupp
Monroe County Probate Court Hon. John A. Hohman, Jr.
Montcalm County Probate Court Hon. Edward L. Skinner
Montmorency County Prob. Court Hon. Robert P.M. Nordstrom
Muskegon County Probate Court Hon. Neil G. Mullally
Newaygo County Probate Court Hon. Graydon W. Dimkoff
Oakland County Probate Court Hon. Eugene Arthur Moore
Oceana County Probate Court Hon. Walter A. Urick
Ogemaw County Probate Court Hon. Eugene I. Turkelson
Ontonagon County Probate Court Hon. Joseph D. Zeleznik
Oscoda County Probate Court Hon. Kathryn Joan Root
Otsego County Probate Court Hon. Alton T. Davis
Ottawa County Probate Court Hon. Mark A. Feyen
Presque Isle Co. Prob. Court Hon. Kenneth A. Radzibon
Roscommon County Probate Court Hon. Douglas C. Dosson
Saginaw County Probate Court Hon. Faye M. Harrison
St. Clair County Probate Court Hon. John R. Monaghan
St. Joseph County Probate Court Hon. Thomas E. Shumaker
Sanilac County Probate Court Hon. R. Terry Maltby
Shiawassee County Probate Court Hon. James R. Clatterbaugh
Tuscola County Probate Court Hon. W. Wallace Kent, Jr.
Van Buren County Probate Court Hon. Frank D. Willis
Washtenaw Co. Probate Court Hon. John N. Kirkendall
Wayne County Probate Court Hon. Milton L. Mack, Jr.
Wexford County Probate Court Hon. Kenneth L. Tacoma
Clare/Gladwin Probate Dist. 17 Hon. Thomas P. McLaughlin
Mecosta/Osceola Probate Dist. 18 Hon. LaVail E. Hull
Alger/Schoolcraft Probate Dist. 5 Hon. William A. Werner
Mackinac/Luce Probate Dist. 6 Hon. Thomas B. North
Emmet/Charlevoix Probate Dist. 7 Hon. Frederick R. Mulhauser
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Chief Judges of Demonstration Projects to study consolidation of courts as established by Administrative Orders 1996-1, 1996-2, 1996-5, 1996-6, 1996-7, 1996-9, and 1999-2 are appointed as follows, for the two year period commencing January 1, 2000, or until the end of those projects, if prior to December 31, 2002:
Barry County Hon. James H. Fisher
5th Circuit Court
56th District Court, 1st Division
Barry County Probate Court
Berrien County Hon. Paul L. Maloney
2nd Circuit Court
5th District Court
Berrien County Probate Court
Crawford, Kalkaska and Otsego Counties Hon. Alton T. Davis
46th Circuit Court
83rd District Court, Crawford County
87th District Court, Kalkaska and Otsego Counties
Crawford County Probate Court
Kalkaska County Probate Court
Otsego County Probate Court
Iron County Hon. C. Joseph Schwedler
41st Circuit Court
95B District Court
Iron County Probate Court
Isabella County Hon. Paul H. Chamberlain
21st Circuit Court
76th District Court
Isabella County Probate Court
Lake County Hon. Mark S. Wickens
51st Circuit Court, Lake County
78th District Court, Lake County
Lake County Probate Court
Washtenaw County Hon. Timothy Connors
22nd Circuit Court
14A District Court
14B District Court
15th District Court
Washtenaw County Probate Court
Chief Judges of the Demonstration Project Courts shall have all of the administrative authority and responsibility of chief judge under MCR 8.110 as to all participating courts in the demonstration projects.
December 8, 1999
APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF JUDGES OF MICHIGAN COURTS
AMENDMENT TO ORDER
On order of the Court, the order of December 7, 1999 is amended to correct clerical errors in the following respects:
1) add the appointment of Hon. Jack W. Scully as Chief Judge of the Arenac County Probate Court;
2) amend the Berrien County Probate Court appointment to read:
"Berrien County Probate Court Hon. Paul L. Maloney";
3) amend the Oakland County Probate Court appointment to read:
"Oakland County Probate Court Hon. Linda S. Hallmark"; and
4) amend the appointment of Chief Judges of Demonstration Project Courts to specify that such appointments are for "the two year period commencing January 1, 2000, or until the end of those projects, if prior to December 31, 2001."