--- name: mi-district-courts description: > Use when filing in a Michigan district court other than 36th District (Detroit), which has its own skill. Michigan's limited-jurisdiction trial courts dominant in consumer-debt and eviction. Triggers include "Michigan district court", "district court debt", "Michigan eviction", "small claims Michigan", "which district court Michigan", "summary proceedings Michigan", "MCR 4.201", "civil infraction Michigan". Covers $25k civil jurisdiction cap (MCL 600.8301), landlord-tenant summary proceedings (MCL 600.5701, MCR 4.201), small claims division (MCR 4.301), civil infractions, district numbering and organization, and how to find controlling district court, its local orders, and MiFILE e-filing status. Layer on top of `mi-statewide-format`. version: 0.2.0 --- # Michigan District Courts — Roll-Up > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Drafting and filing guidance only. Verify > the controlling district court, its local administrative > orders, the current jurisdictional and small-claims dollar > caps, and every local requirement against the official sources > before filing. Use this skill in addition to `mi-statewide-format` when the case is in a Michigan **district court other than the 36th District Court** (Detroit), which has its own overlay skill: | Court | Coverage | Skill | |-------|----------|-------| | 36th District Court | City of Detroit | `mi-36th-district` | Michigan's district courts are limited-jurisdiction trial courts organized into numbered **judicial districts** under MCL 600.8101 et seq. They are the busiest civil forum in the state and where **most consumer-debt collection suits and residential evictions are filed**. Above the district court sits the general-jurisdiction **circuit court** (see `mi-circuit-courts`). ## Civil money jurisdiction — up to $25,000 A district court has jurisdiction over civil actions where the amount in controversy does **not exceed $25,000** (MCL 600.8301). Claims above that ceiling belong in circuit court. Confirm the current statutory amount in the corpus before relying on it — the cap is set by statute and has been raised over time. District courts also handle: - **Landlord-tenant summary proceedings** (eviction / recovery of possession) — see below. - **Small claims** through the small claims division — see below. - **Civil infractions** (traffic and ordinance), garnishments ancillary to district-court judgments, and certain misdemeanors (criminal scope is outside this skill). ## Landlord-tenant summary proceedings (MCL 600.5701+ / MCR 4.201) Residential and commercial **summary proceedings to recover possession** are filed in the district court for the district where the property sits. The substantive and procedural framework is the **Summary Proceedings Act, MCL 600.5701 et seq.**, with practice governed by **MCR 4.201** (and MCR 4.202 for land-contract forfeitures). Key features: - Commenced by a statutory **notice to quit / demand for possession** followed by a **summons and complaint** on the SCAO-approved form. - An accelerated timeline with a short return date — confirm the current day counts and notice periods in the corpus. - A possession judgment, money judgment, and (after the redemption / stay period) a **writ of restitution / order of eviction**. For the substantive landlord-tenant law (notice periods, the Truth in Renting Act, security deposits, retaliation, the warranty of habitability), use **`mi-landlord-tenant`** — these cases live almost entirely in district court. ## Small claims division (MCR 4.301+) Each district court has a **small claims division** governed by **MCR 4.301 et seq.** It is an informal forum: no attorneys for parties (with narrow exceptions), no jury, **no appeal of right**, and a streamlined hearing. The **dollar ceiling for small claims is lower than the general $25,000 district-court cap** and is set by statute — **point to the corpus for the current small-claims cap rather than stating a figure that may be stale.** A party (or the opposing party) may **remove** a small-claims case to the general civil docket of the district court, where the regular rules and the right to counsel apply. ## How district courts are numbered and organized District courts are identified by **judicial-district number** (e.g., "52-1 District Court", "41-B District Court"). A district may be: - a **single municipality** (a district of the "first class" or "third class"), or - a **county-wide or multi-jurisdiction district** ("second class"), sometimes with multiple **divisions** sitting in different cities. Because districting and division geography are set by statute and local administrative order, **do not assert which numbered district court controls a given address without confirming it.** ## Find the right district court — do not assume Before drafting anything court-specific (a complaint caption, a notice, a scheduling request, a proposed order): 1. **Identify the controlling district court** for the defendant's residence or the property's location. The Michigan Courts directory at **courts.michigan.gov** maps municipalities to district courts. 2. **Pull that court's local administrative orders (LAOs)** and any posted local practices — they control motion-day scheduling, chambers copies, and form preferences. 3. **Confirm the court's e-filing status.** Michigan is rolling out mandatory statewide e-filing through **MiFILE (MiCOURT TrueFiling)** county-by-county; some district courts are live and mandatory, others still take paper. Verify before assembling a packet — see `mi-file-packet`. ## Caption — generic district-court variant ``` STATE OF MICHIGAN IN THE [NN-N] DISTRICT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF [COUNTY] [PLAINTIFF], Plaintiff, Case No. ____________-__ v. Hon. ____________________ [DEFENDANT], Defendant. ___________________________________/ [DOCUMENT TITLE IN ALL CAPS] ``` Confirm the exact district number, the county / municipality tag, and the case-type code against the controlling court's caption forms. Apply the `mi-statewide-format` conventions for paragraph numbering, the signature block with the attorney's **P-number**, and proof of service. ## Composition - For statewide format and the caption / signature mechanics: `mi-statewide-format` - For the Detroit district court: `mi-36th-district` - For general-jurisdiction matters over $25,000: `mi-circuit-courts` - For consumer-debt defense (these suits mostly live here): `mi-consumer-debt` - For eviction / summary-proceedings substance: `mi-landlord-tenant` - For the first responsive pleading: `mi-first-30-days` - For scheduling and filing: `mi-schedule-hearing`, `mi-file-packet` - For pro se conventions: `mi-pro-se` ## References - `mi-law-references` — MCR (MCR 4.201, 4.202, 4.301 et seq.), MCL Chapter 600 (§ 600.8301 jurisdiction; § 600.5701 et seq. summary proceedings; small-claims cap), and local-rules corpus. Confirm current dollar caps and day counts here. - Michigan Courts directory (courts.michigan.gov) — map an address to its district court; confirm MiFILE status and LAOs.