Michigan Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Energy Code Proponents
On June 25, 2008, after 2½ years of legal battles, the Michigan Supreme Court decided in favor of the State Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) and the intervening defendants on building code litigation. The decision represents a major victory for the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) and the DLEG. The defendants' next move will be to ask the lower court to allow the 2004 Michigan building code to go into effect and end the litigation.
The suit involved a challenge by the Michigan Association of Home Builders to changes to the state's residential building code (vastly improving energy efficiency) that were about to become effective in the spring of 2005. The trial court enjoined the rules, applying what appeared to be a de novo standard of review to the agency rulemaking. MEEA and others then intervened on behalf of DLEG. On the eve of trial, the defendants renewed their objections, and argued that review of the agency action should be confined to the rulemaking record (a principle well-established under federal law, but unclear under Michigan law). The trial court rejected that argument, but allowed a discretionary appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case, and in the summer of 2007 agreed with the defendants and reversed the trial court about the scope of review. The Home Builders then petitioned for review by the Michigan Supreme Court.
In lieu of granting an appeal, the Michigan Supreme Court decided the case by issuing a short memorandum opinion, in which the Court stated "[w]e hold that judicial review of an administrative rule is limited to the administrative record and that the administrative record may not be expanded by a remand to the administrative agency." This opinion is a huge victory for all Michigan governmental agencies, as it establishes the very deferential "arbitrary and capricious" standard of review. The matter will return to the trial court where the DLEG hopes to dissolve the injunction and have the challenged rules finally take effect.
More details can be found in this Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance newsletter.
The Michigan Supreme Court's opinion is available to download.
For Michigan code status information, please consult the BCAP Michigan Code Status page.