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JEFF SLUGGETT RECEIVES 2020 "BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA" HONORS


We're pleased to announce that Jeff Sluggett has been selected by his peers for inclusion in "The Best Lawyers™ in America 2020” for his work in the area of Municipal Law.


This is the third time Jeff has been recognized as a Best Lawyer; in 2019 he received “Lawyer of the Year” honors, also by Best Lawyers.

Best Lawyers is a peer-review group, first published in 1983. The group recognizes outstanding lawyers, from more than 70 practice areas, who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Each selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Congratulations, Jeff, on a well deserved honor!  Read More
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2018 Legislative Update

As 2019 commences, there are a number of statutes that will begin to take effect (and that have already taken effect) as a result of legislation passed during Michigan’s 2018 lame duck legislative session.  The following is a brief summary of legislation passed during 2018 that may affect a number of our clients, as well as a number of House and Senate bills we were tracking that failed to become enacted.  Read More

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2019 Best Law Firm Honors

Bloom Sluggett, P.C. is pleased to announce that we have been selected as a "2019 Best Law Firm" by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers. This is the fourth time that our firm has been recognized.

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Jeff Sluggett Named 2019 Lawyer of the Year

Jeff Sluggett has been named the 2019 "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for his work in the field of municipal law. In addition, Sluggett was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2019 for the Grand Rapids metro area.  Read More

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Cliff Bloom’s Water / Riparian Law Articles

Cliff Bloom is general legal counsel for the Michigan Lake & Stream Associations, Inc. and the Michigan Riparian Magazine.  Cliff authors a regular column for the Michigan Riparian Magazine and many of those columns can be read on our firm’s website at www.bloomsluggett.com.  In addition, many of his articles regarding water law and riparian issues can also be accessed at the Michigan Riparian Magazine website at www.mi-riparian.org.   Read More
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Email Warning/Disclosure Regarding the Michigan Open Meetings Act

Most municipal officials in Michigan know that under the OMA, members of a public body (such as a city commission, village council, township board, zoning board of appeals, board of review or planning commission) cannot deliberate toward any decision outside of a public meeting if a quorum is involved in those discussions or deliberations.  Furthermore, the Michigan courts have gone so far as to hold that even “one-on-one” deliberations between two members of a public body can constitute a prohibited deliberation (and a violation of OMA) where a “round robin” occurs.    Read More

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Michigan Department of Treasury Proposed Assessing Reform

The Michigan Department of Treasury released on May 3rd an “assessing reform proposal” that is intended to be introduced in the Legislature prior to its summer break. The stated goal of the proposed legislation is to improve the assessment profession through quality control. As drafted, the proposed bill could force many small assessing districts to “consolidate” their assessing departments, either with other assessing districts or under the county’s umbrella.

For an assessing district that does not use county assessing services, the State Tax Commission (“STC”) would mandate “substantial compliance” with various “quality standards,” including requiring the assessor of record to have attained either MMAO(4) or MAAO(3) level certification, to be responsible for assessing a certain minimum number of parcels and generated tax revenue (with some exceptions), and to provide full time service to an assessing district as an employee or contractor (with some exceptions).  Read More

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Recodified Tax Increment Financing Act

The Michigan legislature recently enacted Public Act 57 of 2018, otherwise known as the “Recodified Tax Increment Financing Act” (the “RTIFA”), which serves to streamline Michigan’s statutory tax increment financing scheme.  Read More

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Bloom Sluggett, PC Turns Six Years Old

On April 12, 2018, our firm will celebrate its six-year anniversary.  We very much appreciate the support and loyalty of our clients.  Our attorneys look forward to many future years of representing existing and future clients.  Read More
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Open Meetings Act Violations and Later “Ratification”

The Michigan Court of Appeals recently reiterated that a public body has the authority to approve prior decisions of that public body which are void because of a violation under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act (the “OMA”).  In Lockwood v Township of Ellington (decided on March 13, 2018), the township failed to provide proper public notice of a rescheduled township board meeting at which two citizens were appointed to the township’s planning commission.  At a later (properly held and noticed) township board meeting, two other citizens were appointed to the planning commission instead.  The initial planning commission appointees subsequently filed a lawsuit against the township.  In upholding the township board’s later appointments, the Court of Appeals noted that an action taken at a meeting held in violation of the OMA has no force or effect; however, a public body may later “ratify” decisions that were made at that previous defective meeting.  In this case, the township board failed to later “ratify” the initial planning commission appointments, instead opting to appoint two different citizens at a later township board meeting.  Accordingly, the later appointments were found to be valid because, without “ratification,” the earlier appointments were void.  Read More
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