Rule 3.222.Uniform Collaborative Law Act Process and Agreements

Collaborative law resolves a family matter without a judge, yet the judgment still comes from a court. MCR 3.222 is the bridge. It works alongside the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, MCL 691.1331 et seq., and answers a practical question: how does a case being settled out of court sit on a docket without drifting toward trial?

Definitions and two starting positions

Subrule (A)(1) defines the collaborative matter, the participation agreement, and the process itself, and renames the parties. Party A is the equivalent of a plaintiff and carries the filing and service responsibilities; Party B is the non-filing party. Subrule (B) then splits by posture. Parties with no pending case proceed under subrule (C). Parties who already filed under MCR 2.102 and then signed an agreement file notice of it and a motion to stay proceedings on a form approved by the State Court Administrative Office.

The stay

The court either stays the case without a hearing or schedules a hearing on the notice within 28 days after the motion is filed. An initial stay order is effective for 364 days from the date the motion was filed, and the parties may stipulate to an extension. The court may require status reports, but the rule fences them in: a report says only whether the process is ongoing, concluded, or terminated, and carries no assessment, evaluation, recommendation, or finding. When the process ends the parties promptly file notice, and the stay lifts on filing. If no notice arrives before the stay expires, the court gives notice of intent to dismiss for lack of progress, and the parties get a chance to be heard first.

Petitions that start the clock

Parties not yet before the court use one of two petitions, each brought In the Matter of the names of Party A and Party B, using the case type codes under MCR 8.117. Subrule (C)(1) is the end-of-process petition: it asks the court to take jurisdiction and enter the final judgment or order, and arrives with the proposed judgment complying with MCR 3.211, a verified statement and judgment information form where required, and separate domestic violence screening forms for each party. Subrule (C)(2) is the mid-process petition, filed before the process concludes, declaring an intent to file a judgment later.

Both petitions do unusual work: each serves as complaint and answer and as the appearance of both attorneys, no summons issues under MCR 2.102(A), and filing starts the statutory waiting period. The clerk assigns a case number and judge; absent a motion by the parties, the clerk does not schedule an end-of-process petition until the statutory waiting period runs, and sets no pretrial or settlement conference on a mid-process petition. Either petition may request a waiver of the six-month statutory waiting period under MCL 552.9f. Under subrule (C)(2)(d), parties still in the process file a status report within 182 days of the petition's filing date and again at 364 days.

Ending the case

The court may hold a hearing before entering the final judgment or order, which is served under MCR 2.602(E). Subrule (E) supplies dismissal for lack of progress, given in the manner MCR 2.501(C) prescribes for notice of trial, and stating that the case will be dismissed no sooner than 28 days after the notice unless the parties file the proposed judgment, file a complaint under MCR 2.101, or request a hearing. The same notice follows a failure to file that judgment within 28 days after the statutory waiting period expires. Subrule (F) handles collapse: a complaint filed under MCL 691.1335(4)(b)(i) proceeds under MCR 2.102(A), the court dismisses the petition, and the collaborative attorneys are disqualified from representing either party in the new action.