Opinion
Docket Nos. 142117 142118.COA Nos. 292122 292164.
2012-01-25
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF HARING, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. CITY OF CADILLAC, Defendant–Appellee.Township of Selma, Plaintiff–Appellant,andTownship of Clam Lake, Plaintiff, v. City of Cadillac, Defendant–Appellee.
Prior report: 290 Mich.App. 728, ––– N.W.2d ––––.
Order
On order of the Court, leave to appeal having been granted and the briefs and oral arguments of the parties having been considered by the Court, we AFFIRM the October 12, 2010 judgment of the Court of Appeals. Although courts are not bound by the parties' determination that a case is ripe, we agree with the parties that considering all of the circumstances this case is ripe for adjudication and that the claims are not contingent or hypothetical.
The grant of leave to appeal also asked the parties to address whether Washtenaw County Health Dep't v. T & M Chevrolet, Inc., 406 Mich. 518, 280 N.W.2d 822 (1979), which held that when “an available sewer line crosses municipal boundaries, the municipality operating the sewer system may not condition connection on annexation of the properties involved when connection means abatement of a public health hazard[,]” id. at 525–526, 280 N.W.2d 822, was correctly decided and, if so, whether it requires the defendant to continue providing sewage transportation and treatment services to the plaintiff townships. However, because there is no “public health hazard” requiring abatement presented in this case, the issue is not directly before the Court at this time and need not be decided.