Senate Bill 1183 Summary

• Changes MCL 600.2445 to make appeal costs discretionary ("may" be awarded) rather than mandatory ("shall" be awarded) by courts at all levels, while preserving awards to appellants who improve their position and to appellees for delay and vexation.

• Adds new MCL 600.2446 allowing courts to assess attorney fees against parties whose appeals or proceedings in appeals are determined to be vexatious, defined as taken for hindrance/delay without reasonable basis for meritorious issues or involving filings grossly lacking in propriety or fair presentation.

• Modifies MCL 600.2591 regarding frivolous civil actions to require prevailing parties receive actual costs and reasonable attorney fees, with "prevailing party" defined as the winner on entire record for single-cause actions or winner on each issue/count in multi-issue actions.

• Expands the definition of "frivolous" in MCL 600.2591 to include actions where the party's primary purpose was harassment/embarrassment, lacked reasonable factual basis, or had no arguable legal merit.

• Effective 90 days after enactment.