BEAR LAKE TRADING CO V DAVID L ERICKS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
BEAR LAKE TRADING CO.,
UNPUBLISHED
February 26, 2008
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
DAVID L. ERICKS, KATHERINE A. ERICKS,
PETER TANKE, MARY TANKE, JAMES E.
MORRIS, CHRISTINA L. MORRIS, MICHAEL
LONGO, KAREN S. LONGO, JOSEPH P. SEFCIK,
ANN J. SEFCIK, JAMES R. JOHNSON, RUTH A.
JOHNSON, and WALLOON LAKE FOURTH
STREET DOCK ASSOCIATION,
No. 276725
Charlevoix Circuit Court
LC No. 05-001421-CH
Defendants-Appellants,
and
GENEVIEVE HUNTER, JOHN R. WILLIAMS,
LAVINA S. WILLIAMS, HAROLD L. KARNER,
JOAN A. KARNER, HARRY B. NELSON,
GEORGE STUBBS, and CHARLEVOIX COUNTY
BOARD OF ROAD COMMISSIONERS,
Defendants,
and
MELROSE TOWNSHIP and CHARLEVOIX
COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION,
Defendants-Appellees.
Before: Whitbeck, P.J., and Jansen and Davis, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendants-appellants appeal as of right from the trial court order granting plaintiff Bear
Lake Trading Company’s motion for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10). We
affirm. We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
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I. Basic Facts And Procedural History
The parties agree on the basic facts of this case. The subdivision known as Watson’s
Addition to Talcott was platted and the roadways were dedicated for public use in 1897. In
1940, the Charlevoix County Road Commission passed a resolution certifying that Fourth Street
was a public street and was used for at least three months a year. This resolution included a map
in which the streets identified as certified county roads were marked in green.
Fourth Street dead-ends into Walloon Lake. Defendants have apparently maintained a
dock at the end of the street for many years. Bear Lake Trading Company requested that the trial
court grant declaratory relief declaring that Fourth Street is a public road and that defendants do
not have a right to keep a dock at that location. Bear Lake Trading Company filed a motion for
summary disposition. After a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted summary disposition
in favor of Bear Lake Trading Company, concluding that the 1940 resolution constituted
sufficient acceptance of the road at issue.
II. Acceptance
A. Standard Of Review
Defendants’ sole argument on appeal is that the road at issue, Fourth Street, was not
validly accepted because there was no affirmative act of acceptance in addition to the 1940
resolution of the Charlevoix County Road Commission. We review de novo a trial court’s grant
of summary disposition.1
B. Legal Standards
To validly accept land designated for public use, a governmental authority must publicly
accept or confirm the offer, or exercise authority over the land through improvement or
regulation.2
C. Applying The Standards
Here, there was a McNitt Act3 resolution of the county road commission that indicated
that Fourth Street was a certified public road. In this regard, a McNitt resolution, by itself, is
enough for acceptance when it expressly identifies the road.4 Fourth Street was specifically
identified by its inclusion on the color-coded map attached to the resolution. Therefore, the 1940
1
Tillman v Great Lakes Truck Ctr, Inc, 277 Mich App 47, 48; 742 NW2d 622 (2007).
2
Kraus v Dep’t of Commerce, 451 Mich 420, 424; 547 NW2d 870 (1996).
3
1931 PA 131, repealed by 1951 PA 51, § 21.
4
Kraus, supra at 427-430.
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resolution constituted a valid acceptance of Fourth Street as a public road. No further action was
necessary for the county to accept the road.
Affirmed.
/s/ William C. Whitbeck
/s/ Kathleen Jansen
/s/ Alton T. Davis
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