Township of Fraser v. Haney
Annotate this CaseFraser Township filed a complaint against Harvey and Ruth Ann Haney, seeking a permanent injunction to enforce its zoning ordinance and to prevent defendants from raising on their commercially zoned property hogs or other animals that would violate the zoning ordinance, to remove an allegedly nonconforming fence, and to plow and coat the ground with nontoxic material. Defendants brought a hog onto their property as early as 2006, and defendants maintained hogs on their property through the time this lawsuit was filed in 2016. Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that Fraser's claim was time-barred by the six-year statutory period of limitations in MCL 600.5813. The trial court denied the motion, concluding that because the case was an action in rem, the statute of limitations did not apply. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that because defendants had kept hogs on the property since 2006 and plaintiff did not bring suit until 2016, plaintiff’s case was time-barred. Fraser appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, and in lieu of granting leave to appeal, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for it to address whether defendants waived an affirmative defense under Baker v Marshall, 323 Mich App 590 (2018). On remand, the Court of Appeals distinguished Baker and explained that defendants did not waive the statute-of-limitations defense. Fraser again sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court granted the request, holding that MCL 600.5813 did not bar plaintiff’s suit, which was an action for injunctive relief to address violations of the zoning ordinance that occurred within the six-year limitations period. "[W]hether the zoning violation accrued continuously or each day, it accrued within the limitations period, and plaintiff’s action was timely because its complaint was initiated within six years of defendants’ most recent offenses. The Court of Appeals erroneously concluded that plaintiff’s action would be timely only under the continuing-wrongs doctrine, which has been abrogated in Michigan."
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