2022 Offers Of Judgement: Being Proactive On Both Sides

On December 2, 2021, the Michigan Supreme Court announced changes, which took effect on January 1, 2022, to the much-maligned case evaluation process. These changes stem from 2010, when the Supreme Court directed the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to study the effectiveness of case evaluation. The SCAO hired a consultant and included civil mediation in the scope of its review, since many courts require other resolution processes, such as mediation, ADR Summits and meetings conducted by the SCAO's Case Evaluation Court Rules Committee. Although the case evaluation process had support from a majority of trial court judges, it lost favor with practicing attorneys, partly due to elongated disposition times. The awards levied by the panels often were inconsistent with the merits of the case, further frustrating the process. Accordingly, the 2022 changes to the case evaluation process likely will awaken the power of Michigan's Offers of Judgment rule.