Adair v. Michigan (Opinion - Leave Granted)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs were taxpayers and school districts seeking a declaratory judgment that the amount of funding appropriated by the Legislature to fund new and increased recordkeeping requirements was materially deficient. Consistent with the Supreme Court's construction of the "Headlee Amendment" and its court rules, the Court required that plaintiffs bringing an action charging inadequate funding of a legislative mandate under the Headlee Amendment must allege and prove not only that the funding was insufficient, but the type and extent of the harm. In this opinion, the Court made clear that this burden included the requirement that the plaintiff show the specific amount of underfunding where the Legislature has made at least some appropriation of funds. The special master in this case applied this burden of proof and dismissed plaintiffs’ claims when plaintiffs stated at trial that they would not provide proofs establishing the specific amount of underfunding. The Court of Appeals reversed, requiring plaintiffs only to provide evidence that the methodology used by the Legislature to determine the amount of the appropriation was materially flawed, and remanded the case to the special master for further proceedings. The Supreme Court found that the Court of Appeals’ standard was inconsistent with its requirement that a plaintiff alleging inadequate funding must show the type and extent of the funding shortfall. Plaintiffs were properly instructed regarding the burden of proof by the special master before trial and failed to offer proofs concerning the specific amount of the alleged shortfall. Thus, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and entered a judgment in favor of defendants.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.