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Michigan Attorney General Seeks State Supreme Court Review of a Michigan Consumer Protection Act Exemption

  • Michigan AG Dana Nessel filed an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court urging it to reconsider its denial of an appeal in Cyr, et al. v. Ford Motor Co., and revisit its interpretation of an exemption contained in the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (“MCPA”).
  • Plaintiffs sued Ford Motor Co. (“Ford”) for, among other things, violating the MCPA over allegations of defective transmissions in some of its vehicles. The trial court denied Ford’s motion for summary disposition of plaintiff’s MCPA claims, in which it argued that its activities fell under long-standing precedent from the Michigan Supreme Court interpreting the MCPA as providing an exemption to any industry that is “generally regulated.” Ford appealed and the appellate court overturned the trial court’s decision. The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the case, and plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration, which AG Nessel’s amicus brief supports.
  • The brief urges the Supreme Court to revisit its interpretation of the exemption, arguing, among other things, that the Michigan Supreme Court’s precedential decisions erroneously exempt a wide array of industries from the MCPA and negate the MCPA’s purpose by foreclosing the ability of consumers to obtain relief for unfair and deceptive trade practices.