Rule 3.305.Mandamus

Mandamus compels an official act. MCR 3.305 does not define when that relief is warranted; it tells a party where to file, how the case moves, and how the writ ends up in the judgment.

Choosing the court

Subrule (A) splits mandamus into two tracks according to who is being sued. Under subrule (A)(1), an action for mandamus against a state officer must be brought in the Court of Appeals or the Court of Claims, unless the constitution, a statute, or a court rule requires the action to be brought in the Supreme Court. Under subrule (A)(2), every other mandamus action goes to the circuit court unless a statute or rule requires or allows it to be brought elsewhere.

Venue

Subrule (B)(1) applies the general venue statutes and rules unless a specific statute or rule contains a special venue provision. Subrule (B)(2) then adds an option rather than a restriction: an action for mandamus against a state officer may be brought in Ingham County in addition to any other county in which venue is proper.

Getting to a hearing

The rule runs at two speeds. Subrule (C) allows an ex parte motion, which may be made in the complaint itself, for an order to show cause on a showing of the necessity for immediate action. The court indicates in that order when the defendant must answer. If the necessity for immediate action is not shown and the action is not dismissed, subrule (D) puts the case on the ordinary track and the defendant answers the complaint as in an ordinary civil action.

Proof, trial, and judgment

• Subrule (E) lets a party attach to the pleadings, as exhibits, certified or authenticated copies of the record evidence the party relies on. That matters in a case that often turns on what an official record shows.
• Subrule (F) leaves the mode of decision in the circuit court to the judge, who may hear the matter or may allow the issues to be tried by a jury.
• Subrule (G) removes a formality at the end. If the judgment awards a writ of mandamus, the writ may be contained in the judgment in the form of an order, and a separate writ need not be issued or served.

The shape of the rule is a civil action with a fast lane and an ordinary lane: subrule (C) for a case that cannot wait, subrule (D) for the rest, and under subrule (G) a single document at the end doing the work of two.