Practice Area(s):

Real Property

Issues: Whether a private dedication of an outlot in a subdivision plat recorded in November 1969 was recognized by Michigan law; The Land Division Act; MCL 560.253(1)
Court: Michigan Supreme Court
Case Name: Martin v. Beldean
e-Journal Number: 22650
Judge(s): Taylor, Corrigan, Cavanagh, Weaver, Kelly, Young, Jr., and Markman

The Court of Appeals erred by holding the statute does not allow private dedications. The court held private dedications in plats filed after the effective date of MCL 560.253(1), January 1, 1968, are expressly recognized and allowed under Michigan law. The statement in the plat, located under the paragraph entitled "Dedication," that outlot A was "reserved for the use of the lot owners" was marked and noted as a "dedication" and thus, constituted a private dedication conveying a fee simple to the donees. Therefore, the private dedication of outlot A was drafted in conformity with, and was expressly permitted by, the Land Division Act. The trial court also erred when it allowed the case to proceed as a quiet title cause of action because the exclusive means available when seeking to vacate, correct, or revise a dedication in a recorded plat is a lawsuit filed pursuant to MCL 560.221 through 560.229. Reversed.

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