McCracken v. City of Detroit

Plaintiffs appeal as of right the trial court’s order granting defendants’ motion for summary disposition. The trial court found that plaintiffs had effectively “admitted” defendants’ affirmative defenses when failing to specifically deny them in a timely manner, particularly after defendants had demanded a response to the affirmative defenses. We hold that affirmative defenses are not pleadings requiring a response under MCR 2.110(A) and (B). Moreover, we hold that affirmative defenses are to be taken as denied even if they include a demand for a response. Accordingly, we reverse the trial…