2026-09-12 · Michigan · Courts

What happened. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a homeowners association election challenge on 13 March 2026, holding the allegations too conclusory to survive a motion for failure to state a claim. Harold R. White v Ottawa Shores Homeowners Association, No. 373712, Monroe Circuit Court — unpublished per curiam, panel of Riordan, P.J., O'Brien and Young.¹

What was pleaded

That the association “is being mismanaged and improperly run,” and that “election vote results are being obscured, improperly tallied, or otherwise modified.”

Why it failed

Under MCR 2.116(C)(8) a complaint must state a claim on its face. These allegations did not, for three reasons the panel identified:

• the plaintiffs cited no specific bylaw that had been breached;
• they pleaded no facts about the most recent board elections — no dates, no counts, no description of what was done to a ballot;
• they identified no duty owed to them under the bylaws.

Accompanying riparian-easement and dock claims were dismissed as well, and a joinder argument under MCR 2.205 failed.

Why this is the Michigan election case, faute de mieux

Because it is the only one. Michigan produced no appellate decision in this window on election mechanics — not on proxies, not on quorum, not on electronic voting, not on ballot custody. There is also no bill on any of those subjects in the 2025–2026 session. This is what the state has, and it is about pleading standards rather than elections.

1. Harold R. White v Ottawa Shores Homeowners Ass'n, Mich Ct App No. 373712 (13 Mar 2026, unpublished) ↩
2. LARA, Condominium Act Frequently Asked Questions — “LARA has no authority to take complaints or enforce any requirements of the Condominium Act” ↩