Zeeland Twp. succeeds in remanding PA 233 lawsuit back to Ottawa County
A lawsuit filed by Zeeland Township that aims to see Michigan’s Public Act 233 declared unconstitutional has been remanded to Ottawa County’s 20th Circuit Court. RWE , the global energy company named as the lawsuit's defendant, “removed" the case to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in August shortly after the initial complaint was filed July 7. The case was temporarily assigned to Judge Paul L. Maloney. RWE has a pending application for Silver Maple Solar, a large-scale solar development, before the Michigan Public Service Commission. The project would be located in Zeeland and Jamestown Townships near the Ottawa Executive Airport. Maloney granted the municipality's motion to remand the case to Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court on Nov. 10. “First, any decision by this court regarding whether Public Act 233 violates the Michigan Constitution is not binding on (state) courts, so exercising jurisdiction here would not be useful,” Maloney wrote. “Second, exercising jurisdiction over this action would not be fair. The court will not cross the line into state sovereignty by exercising jurisdiction over a case that involves purely questions of state law, especially when many of those questions require interpreting a state constitution.” As of
