25-002800 Default Hearing Order.pdf

Macatawa Bank, Petitioner Vs. City Of Douglas, Respondent · 25-002800-TT

← View full record

Text extracted from the reviewed PDF, organized by page. OCR and reading order may contain errors; confirm details in the PDF below.

STATE OF MICHIGAN

 

GRETCHEN WHITMER 

GOVERNOR 

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 

LANSING

MARLON I. BROWN, DPA 

DIRECTOR 

 

 

MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL · 611 W. OTTAWA ST., LANSING, MI 48933 · 517-335-9760 

PO BOX 30232, LANSING, MI 48909 · Other Carriers: 2407 N. GRAND RIVER AVE., LANSING, MI 48906 

Macatawa Bank, 

MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL 

 

Petitioner, 

 

 

v 

 

MTT Docket No. 25-002800 

 

City of Douglas, 

 

Presiding Judge 

Respondent. 

 

Patricia L. Halm 

 

ORDER FOR DEFAULT HEARING 

 

The Tribunal has considered the file in this case and finds that Respondent was placed 

in default on September 18, 2025, because Respondent failed to file an answer. On 

October 7, 2025, Respondent filed a case information sheet in response to the 

Tribunal’s order of default. Although Respondent timely responded, their attempt to 

cure the default was incomplete as the Entire Tribunal Case Information Sheet and 

Proof of Service filed were not compliant with Tribunal rules.1 Respondent was required 

to file an actual answer to set aside the default.2 The Tribunal extended the time for 

Respondent to cure the default by an additional 14 days on October 20, 2025, and it 

has failed to respond or submit the required filing(s). Given this failure, the Tribunal 

finds that Respondent’s violation was willful. It also establishes a history of deliberate 

delay and refusing to comply with Tribunal rules and orders, both of which have 

prejudiced Petitioner. As a result, giving careful consideration to the Grimm factors and 

considering all options in determining what sanction is just and proper, the Tribunal 

finds that scheduling a default hearing is warranted, and a lesser sanction would not be 

appropriate or better serve the interests of justice.3 Therefore, 

 

IT IS ORDERED that a default hearing shall be scheduled in the normal course.4 

 

 

 

Entered: November 18, 2025 

 

 

By _____________________________ 

kac 

 

1 TTR 235. 

2 A complete list of Tribunal rules can be found online at www.michigan.gov/taxtrib. 

3 See Grimm v Dep’t of Treasury, 291 Mich App 140 (2010). Though Grimm was specific to the sanction 

of dismissal, the cases cited by the Court, and the reasoning behind its adoption of the factors set forth 

therein are not so narrow. The factors apply equally to default judgements, or in the case of the Tribunal 

proceedings, the conducting of a default hearing. See Bass v Combs, 238 Mich App 16 (1999), overruled 

in part on other grounds by Dimmitt & Owens Fin, Inc v Deloitte & Touche (ISC), LLC, 481 Mich 618 

(2008), Vicencio v Ramirez, 211 Mich App 501 (1995), and Traxler v Ford Motor Co, 227 Mich App 276 

(1998). See also TTR 237. 

4 A “default hearing" is “a hearing at which the defaulted party is precluded from presenting any testimony, 

offering any evidence, and examining the other party's witnesses.” TTR 203(e).

MTT Docket No. 25-002800 

Page 2 of 2 

 

PROOF OF SERVICE 

 

I certify that a copy of the foregoing was sent on the entry date indicated above to the 

parties or their attorneys or authorized representatives, if any, utilizing either the mailing 

or email addresses on file, as provided by those parties, attorneys, or authorized 

representatives. 

 

By: Tribunal Clerk

← View full record