Huggett v. Department of Natural Resources

Defendant appeals as of right a declaratory judgment in favor of plaintiffs. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

In 1982, the state of Michigan, through defendant, deeded the wetland at issue to Michigan National Bank (mnb) in exchange for a parcel of land owned by mnb. The deed from the state to mnb included a condition that the land be used for peat farming and that if the condition were violated, the state had the right to reenter and retake the land. Plaintiffs later became owners of the wetland after mnb assigned its mortgage interest in the land to plaintiffs, and plaintiffs…