American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc v. City of Hamtramck

A civil judgment was entered against defendant city of Hamtramck, and it assessed the unpaid amount of the judgment on the tax rolls under § 6093 of the Revised Judicature Act.1 Plaintiff American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc., paid the tax and petitioned the Michigan Tax Tribunal for a refund. The Tax Tribunal found for American Axle on the ground that adding the judgment to the tax rolls violated the Headlee Amendment, Const 1963, art 9, §§ 6, 25-34. The Court of Appeals affirmed.2

We conclude that § 6093, which authorizes levying the judgment on the tax rolls, constituted preexisting authority…