Title Office, Inc. v. Van Buren County Treasurer, 469 Mich. 516

Summary

The Michigan Supreme Court held that electronic copies of property tax records requested from a county treasurer are subject to the fee schedule in the Transcripts and Abstracts of Records Act, rather than the Freedom of Information Act. The court concluded that an electronic reproduction qualifies as a “transcript” under the statute and overruled conflicting precedent from the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Holdings

1. The TARA fee schedule, rather than the FOIA fee provisions, governs fees for copies of property-tax records because TARA specifically provides the amount of the fee for copies of records on file in a county treasurer's office.
2. An electronic copy of property-tax records is a "transcript" within the meaning of TARA, and its reproduction fees are governed by TARA.
3. Oakland Co. Treasurer v. Title Office, Inc. is overruled because it improperly limited TARA to paper or written copies.

Questions Presented

1. Whether fees for electronic copies of county treasurers' property-tax records are governed by the Freedom of Information Act or the Transcripts and Abstracts of Records Act.
2. Whether an electronic copy of a property-tax record constitutes a "transcript" under the Transcripts and Abstracts of Records Act.
3. Whether Oakland Co. Treasurer v. Title Office, Inc. should be followed.

Disposition

reversed