Retroactive application of Court of Claims Act notice requirement; MCL 600.6431; Christie v Wayne State Univ; Stare decisis effect of special panel decisions; MCR 7.215(J); Hudson v Department of Corrs

The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Christie applies retroactively and therefore bars plaintiffs’ ELCRA claims for failure to comply with MCL 600.6431. Plaintiffs sued the State alleging civil rights violations after police raided the wrong home, but they did not file a notice of intent in the Court of Claims because binding precedent at the time held that such notice was unnecessary for circuit court actions. The trial court denied the State’s motion for summary disposition, concluding that retroactive application would be unfair because plaintiffs relied on then-binding authority. On appeal, the court explained that intervening precedent controlled the outcome. The court stated that a special conflict panel convened under MCR 7.215(J) had since resolved the split by holding that Christie “is retroactive in every case,” and therefore “we are bound to follow the decision of the special panel.” The court emphasized that “[p]ursuant to MCR 7.215(J)(6), we are required to follow the decision of the special panel,” and that the earlier decision declining retroactivity “shall no longer have precedential effect.” Applying that rule, the court concluded that plaintiffs’ reliance interests could not override stare decisis because “a panel of this Court must follow the rule of law established by a prior published decision that has not been reversed or modified.” As a result, the trial court erred by denying summary disposition, and the matter was reversed and remanded to the trial court for entry of an order granting defendant’s motion for summary disposition.