Title 600, REVISED JUDICATURE ACT OF 1961

Sec. 229. Decisions of the supreme court, including all cases of mandamus, quo warranto, and certiorari, shall be in writing, with a concise statement of the facts and reasons for the decisions; and shall be signed by the justices concurring in the opinion. Any justice dissenting…

Sec. 230. When the justices of the supreme court are equally divided as to the ultimate decision of any case properly before the court on review, the judgment of the court below shall be affirmed.

Sec. 2301. The court in which any action or proceeding is pending, has power to amend any process, pleading or proceeding in such action or proceeding, either in form or substance, for the furtherance of justice, on such terms as are just, at any time before judgment rendered the…

Sec. 2305. If such amendment is made to any pleading in matter of substance, the adverse party shall be allowed an opportunity, according to the course and practice of the court, to answer the pleading so amended.

Sec. 2311. After judgment rendered in any cause, any defect or imperfections in matter or form, contained in the record, pleadings, process, entries, returns, or other proceedings, may be rectified and amended by the court, in affirmance of the judgment, so that such judgment sha…

Sec. 2315. When a verdict has been rendered in a cause, the judgment thereon shall not be stayed, nor shall any judgment upon confession, or default, be reversed, impaired, or in any way affected, by reason of the following imperfections, omissions, defects, matters or things, or…

Sec. 232. Appeals to the supreme court may be by right or by leave as provided by the rules of the supreme court, except as otherwise provided by statute.

Sec. 2321. The omissions, imperfections, variances and defects in section 2315 enumerated, and all others, of the like nature, not being against the right and justice of the matter of the suit, and not altering the issue between the parties, or the trial, shall be supplied and am…

Sec. 2325. No process, pleading or record, shall be amended or impaired by the clerk or other officer of any court, or by any other person, without the order of such court, or of some other court of competent jurisdiction.

Sec. 2331. No appeal shall be dismissed on account of any informality or imperfection in the bond, affidavit or other proceedings, for the taking of such appeal, if plaintiff shall either by amendment, or by furnishing a new bond, affidavit or other paper, supply the deficiency o…

Sec. 235. (1) The supreme court shall appoint a chief judge for each county that is not part of a multicounty judicial circuit. The chief judge of a county shall then appoint a chief judge of the circuit court in that county, a chief judge of the probate court in that county, and…

Sec. 238. (1) The supreme court shall create a judicial performance commission. The commission shall develop standards for evaluating the performance of all judges in this state. The results of the evaluation of judges according to the standards shall be made available to the pub…

Sec. 2401. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the supreme court shall by rule regulate the taxation of costs. When costs are allowed in any action or proceeding in the supreme court, the circuit court or the district court the items and amount thereof shall be governed by t…

Sec. 2405. The following items may be taxed and awarded as costs unless otherwise directed: (1) Any of the fees of officers, witnesses, or other persons mentioned in this chapter or in chapter 25, unless a contrary intention is stated. (2) Matters specially made taxable elsewhere…

Sec. 241. The legislature shall annually appropriate, by line-item and not lump-sum budget, funds for the operation of the judicial branch.

Sec. 2411. In the following actions, if the defendant prevails, he shall be awarded costs and in addition, 1/2 thereof: (1) In actions against public officers appointed or elected under the laws of this state, or against any person specially appointed according to law to execute …

Sec. 2415. Any person who brings an action as next of friend for an infant, or a person who is insane or otherwise mentally incompetent, shall be responsible for the costs of the suit. However, no person who defends a suit as guardian ad litem of an infant or otherwise incompeten…

Sec. 2421. (1) Except as provided in sections 2421a to 2421d and as otherwise provided by law, in all civil actions by or in the name of the people of this state, except civil infraction actions, instituted by an officer duly authorized for that purpose and not for the use of a c…

Sec. 2421a. For the purposes of sections 2421c to 2421f, the words and phrases described in section 2421b have the meanings ascribed to them in that section.

Sec. 2421b. (1) "Costs and fees" means the normal costs incurred in being a party in a civil action after an action has been filed with the court, those provided by law or court rule, and include all of the following: (a) The reasonable and necessary expenses of expert witnesses …

Sec. 2421c. (1) The court that conducts a civil action brought by or against the state as a party, except for a civil infraction action, shall award to a prevailing party other than the state the costs and fees incurred by that party in connection with the civil action, if the co…

Sec. 2421d. If the court awards costs and fees to a prevailing party upon judicial review of the final action of a presiding officer in a contested case pursuant to section 125 of Act No. 306 of the Public Acts of 1969, being section 24.325 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, the cour…

Sec. 2421e. (1) The director of the department of management and budget shall report annually to the legislature regarding the amount of costs and fees paid by the state during the preceding fiscal year pursuant to sections 2421 to 2421d. The report shall describe the number, nat…

Sec. 2421f. If a prevailing party recovers costs and fees under sections 2421a to 2421f in a civil action, that prevailing party is not entitled to recover those same costs for that civil action under any law or court rule.

Sec. 2421g. Sections 2421a to 2421f shall apply to civil actions commenced after September 30, 1984.

Sec. 2425. (1) If an action to abate a public nuisance is brought by a private citizen, whether or not the attorney general or prosecuting attorney intervenes, and the court finds that there was no reasonable ground or cause for the action, costs may be taxed against such citizen…

Sec. 2431. (1) The expenses of foreclosing any mortgage by advertisement shall be taxed in the circuit court as in civil actions upon the request of any person paying the expenses thereof, and upon such party liable to pay the same. (2) Where an attorney is employed to foreclose …

Sec. 2435. The court may allow to the judgment creditor, or to any person examined, whether a party to the action or not, witness fees and disbursements, and an attorney's fee in addition not to exceed $30.00 as costs, in supplementary proceedings.

Sec. 244. (1) The following fees shall be paid to the supreme court clerk and may be taxed as costs when costs are allowed by the supreme court: (a) The sum of $375.00 for an application for leave to appeal. (b) The sum of $375.00 for an original proceeding. (c) The sum of $150.0…

Sec. 2441. (1) In all civil actions or special proceedings in the supreme court, whether heard as an original proceeding or on appeal, the following amounts shall be allowed as costs in addition to other costs unless the court otherwise directs: (a) On motions, $20.00. (b) On cal…

Sec. 2445. (1) Costs on appeal to the circuit court, the court of appeals, or to the supreme court shall be awarded in the discretion of the court. (2) The appellant may be awarded the costs on appeal if he improves his position on appeal. (3) The appellee may be awarded damages …

Sec. 2451. Costs in the supreme court and in the court of appeals shall be taxed by 1 of the justices or judges or the clerk thereof, and by such other officers as the supreme court shall, by general or special order, designate for that purpose; and upon notice to the opposite pa…

Sec. 2455. Costs in the circuit court, in the district court, and in municipal courts of record having civil jurisdiction, may be taxed by any of the judges or clerks of the courts and upon notice and proceedings as shall be provided by the rules of the supreme court.

Sec. 2461. Every officer authorized to tax costs in any court for services rendered in any proceeding authorized by law, shall examine the bills presented to him for taxation, whether such taxation be opposed or not, and shall be satisfied that the items charged in such bill are …

Sec. 2501. For the services mentioned in this chapter, hereafter done or performed in the several courts in this state, by the officers thereof, or in any proceeding authorized by law, the fees hereinafter prescribed shall be allowed.

Sec. 2504. The allowance of any fees by this chapter, shall not apply to any case where special provision is otherwise made by law for any particular service, but the fees for such service shall be such as are provided in the statute requiring the service, or providing the compen…

Sec. 2507. (1) The secretary of state, the auditor general, the state treasurer, and the attorney general may require searches in the respective offices of each other and in the offices of the clerks of any court of record or municipal court, or in the office of a register of dee…

Sec. 251. The supreme court may appoint, remove and shall have general supervision of its staff. It shall have control of the preparation of its budget recommendations and expenditures of moneys appropriated for any purpose by the legislature pertaining to the operation of the co…

Sec. 2510. (1) When used as a measure for computing fees or compensation, "page" is defined as follows: a page shall consist of 25 lines written on paper 8-1/2 by 11 inches in size, prepared for binding on the left side, with 1-3/8 inch margin on the left side and 3/8 inch margin…

Sec. 2513. A judge of any court, sheriff, bailiff, district court magistrate, or other officer, or other person except attorneys at law to whom any fees or compensation shall be allowed by law for any service, shall not take or receive any other or greater fee or reward for his s…

Sec. 2516. No fee or compensation allowed by law, shall be demanded or received by any officer or person for any service, unless such service was actually rendered by him; but this section shall not prevent any officer from demanding any fee herein allowed for any service of whic…

Sec. 2519. A violation of either section 2513 or 2516 shall be deemed a misdemeanor; and the person guilty thereof shall be liable to the party aggrieved for treble the damages sustained by him, and such violation shall be a cause for forfeiture of office.

Sec. 2522. No fee shall be taxed for services as having been rendered by any attorney, clerk, sheriff, or other officer, in the progress of a cause, unless such service was actually rendered, except when otherwise expressly provided.

Sec. 2525. Every officer, upon receiving any fees for any official duty or service, shall, if required by the person paying the same, make out in writing and deliver to such person, a particular account of such fees, specifying for what they respectively accrued, and shall receip…

Sec. 2529. (1) In the circuit court, the following fees must be paid to the clerk of the court: (a) Before filing a civil action, including an action for superintending control or another extraordinary writ, the party filing the action shall pay a fee of $150.00. This subdivision…

Sec. 2530. (1) Except in any judicial circuit in which employees serving in the circuit court are employees of the state judicial council, the county treasurer shall deposit all fees collected under section 2529(1)(d) and 1/2 of the costs collected under sections 31, 32, and 44 o…