What does the word “reimburse” mean? That was the issue recently decided by the Michigan Court of Appeals, in Grosse Isle Twp. V. Grosse Isle Bridge Co. In this case, Grosse Isle attempted to condemn the Grosse Isle Bridge Company’s (the “Company”) toll bridge under the Uniform Condemnation Procedures Act (“UCPA”). At issue in the appeal was whether the awarding of attorney’s fees to the Company was proper, even though the Company had not yet actually paid the attorney’s fees.
The Uniform Condemnation Public Act (UCPA) provides that:
if the property owner…successfully challenges the agency’s right to acquire the property….and the court finds the proposed acquisition improper, the court shall order the agency to reimburse the owner for actual reasonable attorney fees and other expenses incurred in defending against the improper acquisition. (Emphasis Added).
Attempting to avoid paying attorney’s fees, Grosse Isle argued that there was nothing to “reimburse” to the Company because the attorney’s fees had not yet been paid. In rejecting Grosse Isle’s argument, the Court of Appeals reasoned that “the Legislature’s primary purpose in the attorney fee provisions of the UCPA is that property owners ‘not be forced to suffer because of an action that they did not initiate and that endangered through condemnation proceedings, their right to private property.’” Reading the term “reimburse” to foreclose attorney’s fees that were incurred but not yet paid was contrary to the Legislature’s intent.
The Court of Appeals held, “[c]ontrary to plaintiff’s argument, the words ‘incurred’ and ‘reimburse’…do not require a property owner to have actually paid its attorney before the property owner’s right to recover from the government agency its ‘actual reasonably attorneys fees. The Court rejected the view that attorney’s fees need actually have been paid.”
This decision has broader implications for private individuals. Although specifically tailored to the UCPA, this decision indicates the willingness of courts to entertain broader readings of the term “reimburse” as applied to other statutes and contracts. A party may not need to actually make a payment first before seeking “reimbursement.”
This article was written by Matthew Ehrlich, Legal Clerk at Demorest Law Firm.
