Van Haaften v. Miller-Davis Co.

The majority indicates that Walters v Arenac Circuit Judge, 377 Mich 37; 138 NW2d 751 (1966), is dissimilar and contains no controlling language. I disagree. Here, defendant forwarded the summons and complaint to its local insurance agent, which thereafter forwarded the papers to the insurer. Apparently because of careless office procedures, the summons and complaint lay undiscovered in a desk drawer until after a $20,000 default judgment had been rendered. The facts of both cases are parallel.

In Walters, ruling that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in setting aside the default,…