§ 600.8031 Definitions; business or commercial disputes
§ 600.8033 Business court; operation; plan; administrative order; purpose
§ 600.8035 Business court; jurisdiction; venue; assignment
§ 600.8037 Business court; judges
§ 600.8039 Commencement of action; electronic filing; standards; availability of written opinions; practice and procedure
§ 600.8041 Appeal
§ 600.8043 Judges; training
§ 600.8045 Fees
§ 600.8047 Case pending on pilot business court docket

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Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 600 > Act 236 of 1961 > Chapter 80 - The Business Court

  • Agreement: means a written, oral, or implied contract, sales agreement, security agreement, or franchise agreement between a supplier and a dealer by which the dealer is authorized to engage in the business of the retail sale and service, wholesale sale and service, or the distribution of tractors and equipment as an authorized outlet of the supplier or in accordance with methods and procedures provided for or prescribed by the supplier. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • agreement: means an instrument prescribing the terms of home improvement charge sales, whether secured or unsecured, which may be made under the agreement from time to time and under the terms of which a time price differential is to be computed in relation to the buyer's unpaid balance from time to time. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Attachments: means machinery or any part of a piece of machinery designed to be used on or in conjunction with farm tractors, farm equipment, utility tractors, and utility equipment. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Brother-sister controlled group: means 2 or more corporations if 5 or fewer persons who are individuals, estates, or trusts own or have constructive ownership of stock possessing both of the following:
    (i) At least 80% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or at least 80% of the total value of shares of all classes of the stock of each corporation. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • buyer: means a person who buys goods and services, or services from a contractor pursuant to a home improvement installment contract, or goods and services from a contractor pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Cash price: means the cash sales price stated in a home improvement installment contract, or the cash sales price of goods and services that are the subject of a home improvement charge sale, for which the contractor would sell or furnish to the buyer and the buyer would buy or obtain from the contractor the goods and services which are the subject of the contract or home improvement charge sale, if the sale were a sale for cash, instead of a home improvement installment sale or home improvement charge sale, and may include any taxes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
  • Collateral: means real or personal property subject to a pledge, security interest, mortgage, encumbrance, judgment, or other lien which secures the performance of an obligation of the buyer, or a surety or guarantor for the buyer, under a home improvement installment contract or any extension, deferment, renewal, or other revision thereof. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Combined group: means 3 or more corporations each of which is a member of a parent-subsidiary controlled group or a brother-sister controlled group and 1 of which is both of the following:
  •     (i) Is a common parent corporation included in a parent-subsidiary controlled group. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Constructive ownership: means any or all of the following:
  •     (i) A person who has an option to acquire stock. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • contract: means an agreement covering a home improvement installment sale, whether contained in 1 or more documents, together with any accompanying promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness, pursuant to which the buyer promises to pay in installments all or any part of the time sale price or prices of goods and services, or services. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • contractor: means a person who sells goods and services, or agrees to furnish or render services, to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement installment contract, or sells goods and services to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement, but not in connection with construction of new homes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Controlled group of corporations: means any of the following:
  •     (i) A parent-subsidiary controlled group. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Current net price: means the price listed in the supplier's printed price lists, catalogs, microfiche, price tapes, invoices, or any other printed or electronically recorded data in effect at the time an agreement is canceled or discontinued, less all applicable discounts. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Dealer: means a person engaged in the business of the retail sale of farm tractors and equipment, utility tractors and equipment, or the attachments to or repair parts for that equipment. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Dealer supplies: means any display, machinery, signage, book, manual, computer, microfiche, microfilm, communication device, or tool that a dealer purchased from a supplier, or from a third party upon the request or requirement of the supplier, and which is used by the dealer to facilitate the sale or repair of inventory furnished by the supplier and no other product line sold or serviced by the dealer. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Department: means the department of licensing and regulatory affairs. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Down payment: means the amounts paid in money and in goods to the home improvement contractor and allowances given by the home improvement contractor to the buyer prior to or contemporaneous with the execution of a home improvement installment contract. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Equipment: means motorized machines designed for or adapted and used for agriculture, horticulture, livestock raising, forestry, grounds maintenance, lawn and garden, construction, materials handling, and earth moving. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. Source: OCC
  • Financing agency: means a person other than a home improvement contractor engaged, directly or indirectly, as principal, agent, or broker in the business of purchasing, acquiring, financing, soliciting, or arranging for the financing or acquisition of home improvement installment contracts or home improvement charge agreements or any obligation in connection therewith. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Goods: means chattels which are furnished or used in the modernization, rehabilitation, repair, alteration, or improvement of real property, but not in the construction of new homes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Holder: means a person, including a contractor, currently entitled to the rights of a contractor under a home improvement installment contract or home improvement charge agreement. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Home improvement charge sale: means the sale of goods and furnishing of services by a contractor to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement and as to which sale the cash price is stated to be in excess of $300. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Inventory: means farm tractors, utility tractors, equipment, and accessories for attachments to and repair parts for those tractors and that equipment. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • judgment: as used in this act , includes decree. See Michigan Laws 600.112
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Limousine: means a self-propelled motor vehicle used in the carrying of passengers and the baggage of the passengers for hire with a seating capacity of 8 passengers or fewer, including the driver. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Limousine carrier: means a person who, either directly or through any device, dispatch system, or arrangement, holds himself or herself out to the public as willing to transport passengers for hire by limousine. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Limousine driver: means an individual who uses a limousine to provide transportation services to potential passengers. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Minimum finance charge: The minimum, or fixed, finance charge that will be imposed during a billing cycle. A minimum finance charge usually applies only when a finance charge is imposed, that is, when you carry over a balance. Source: Federal Reserve
  • month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Net cost: means an amount equal to the original invoice price that the dealer paid for the merchandise to the supplier, less all applicable discounts allowed and received, plus the freight cost incurred by the dealer from the location of the supplier to the location of the dealer. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Official fees: means the fees required by law to be paid to the appropriate public officer for obtaining any permit or filing or recording or releasing any judgment, mortgage, or other lien or perfecting any security interest taken or reserved as security in connection with a home improvement installment contract. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Parent-subsidiary controlled group: means 1 or more chains of corporations connected through stock ownership with a common parent corporation if all of the following exist:
  •     (i) Stock possessing at least 80% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote or at least 80% of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of each of the corporations, except the common parent corporation, is directly owned by 1 or more of the other corporations or stock subject to constructive ownership by the corporation. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other form of business organization. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Person: means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, association, business corporation, banking institution, nonprofit corporation, common law trust, joint stock company, or any other group of individuals, however organized. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Personal vehicle: means a motor vehicle with a seating capacity of 8 passengers or fewer, including the driver, that is used by a transportation network company driver that satisfies both of the following:
  •     (i) The vehicle is owned, leased, or otherwise authorized for use by the transportation network company driver. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Principal amount financed: means the cash price of the goods and services which are the subject matter of the home improvement installment sale minus the amount of the buyer's down payment, plus the amounts, if any, included for insurance and official fees. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • sale: means the sale of goods and furnishing of services or the furnishing of services by a contractor to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement installment contract in which the cash price is stated to be in excess of $300. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Services: means work, labor, and services furnished in connection with the installation or application of goods. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
  • Supplier: means a manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor of farm and utility tractors and farm and utility equipment, or the attachments to or repair parts for that equipment. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Taxicab: means a motor vehicle with a seating capacity of 8 passengers or fewer, including the driver, that is equipped with a roof light and that carries passengers for a fee usually determined by the distance traveled. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Taxicab carrier: means a person who, either directly or through any device, dispatch system, or arrangement, holds himself or herself out to the public as willing to transport passengers for hire by taxicab. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Taxicab driver: means an individual who uses a taxicab to provide transportation services to potential passengers. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Time balance: means the sum of the principal amount financed and the finance charge. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
  • Transportation network company: means a person operating in this state that uses a digital network to connect transportation network company riders to transportation network company drivers who provide transportation network company prearranged rides. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Transportation network company driver: means an individual who satisfies all of the following:
  •     (i) Receives connections to potential passengers and related services from a transportation network company in exchange for payment of a fee to the transportation network company. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Transportation network company prearranged ride: means the provision of transportation by a transportation network company driver to a transportation network company rider, beginning when a transportation network company driver accepts a ride requested by a transportation network company rider through a digital network controlled by a transportation network company, continuing while the transportation network company driver transports the requesting transportation network company rider, and ending when the last requesting transportation network company rider departs from the personal vehicle. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Transportation network company rider: means an individual who uses a transportation network company's digital network to connect with a transportation network company driver who provides a transportation network company prearranged ride to the transportation network company rider in the transportation network company driver's personal vehicle between points chosen by the transportation network company rider. See Michigan Laws 257.2102
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
  • Usage for demonstration: means usage, not prohibited by an agreement, to demonstrate the function of equipment or inventory to potential customers, but does not include use by a buyer who subsequently rescinds the purchase of the inventory or equipment. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Usage for rental: means usage by a customer of the dealer, not prohibited by the agreement, under a rental contract or nonfinancing lease. See Michigan Laws 445.1452
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.