25-003407 default.pdf

Kevin M Ivers, Petitioner V Township Of St Joseph, Respondent · 25-003407-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 

Kevin M Ivers, 

MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL 

 

Petitioner, 

SMALL CLAIMS DIVISION 

 

v 

 

MTT Docket No. 25-003407 

 

St Joseph Township, 

 

Presiding Judge 

Respondent. 

 

Patricia L. Halm 

 

ORDER HOLDING PETITIONER IN DEFAULT 

 

The Tribunal has reviewed the file in this case and finds that Petitioner filed a petition on 

July 14, 2025, appealing a special assessment. The petition identifies 221 parcels of 

property, and it is unclear whether Petitioner is a party-in-interest with respect to all 221 

parcels. Pursuant to MCL 205.735a, the Tribunal’s jurisdiction can only be invoked by a 

party-in-interest. The Michigan Court of Appeals has held that “a ‘party-in-interest’ 

includes persons or entities with a property interest in the property being assessed.”1 

As such, separate petitions and separate filing fees are required for all parcels for which 

Petitioner is not the owner or a party-in-interest, and the petitions must be filed either by 

(1) the actual party-in-interest for those parcels, or (2) in the name of the party-in-

interest, with their consent, by an attorney or other authorized representative. Separate 

petitions and filing fees are also required for any non-contiguous parcels.2 Therefore, 

 

IT IS ORDERED that Petitioner is held in DEFAULT. 

 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner must complete the following to cure the 

default: File documentation establishing which, if any, of the 221 parcels identified in the 

petition to which Petitioner is a party-in-interest. The foregoing must be filed with the 

Tribunal within 14 days of entry of this Order.3 

 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Petitioner filed this appeal as an authorized 

representative for the individual parties-in-interest, Petitioner shall file separate petitions 

 

1 Spartan Stores, Inc v City of Grand Rapids, 307 Mich App 565, 567 (2014). 

2 See TTR 233 and 269. 

3 “A submission by mail is considered filed on the date indicated by the United States Postal Service 

postmark on the envelope containing the submission. A submission without a postmark or with an 

illegible postmark is considered filed on the date the submission is received by the tribunal. A submission 

by commercial delivery service is considered filed on the date the submission is given to the commercial 

service for delivery to the tribunal as indicated by the receipt date on the package containing the 

submission. A submission by personal service is considered filed on the date the submission is received. 

A submission through the tribunal’s e-filing system by 11:59 p.m. on a business day is considered filed on 

that business day. A submission by email to the email address designated by the tribunal by 11:59 p.m. 

on a business day is considered filed on that business day. A submission on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a 

holiday is considered filed on the following business day, as provided by section 35a of the tax tribunal 

act, MCL 205.735a.” TTR 225(5).

MTT Docket No. 25-003407 

Page 2 of 2 

 

for each party-in-interest with the required filing fees within 14 days of entry of this 

order. The petitions MUST be accompanied by a copy of this order, and any 

petitions so filed shall be considered as having been severed from the instant appeal 

and filed as of the original date of filing in this case. Any petitions NOT filed with a copy 

of this order or within 14 days of entry of this order shall be considered filed as of the 

actual date of filing of the petition and may be dismissed as untimely. 

 

Failure to comply with this order will result in Petitioner being required to file a motion to 

set aside the default (with appropriate filing fee). 

 

 

Entered: September 24, 2025 

 

 

By _____________________________ 

ejg/sb 

 

 

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