Michigan Court of Claims pauses status conference after court reporter fails to connect

Judge James Redford of the Michigan Court of Claims recessed a virtual status conference, saying the court could not proceed until the official court reporter connected.

Redford opened the session and identified the proceeding as a status conference held pursuant to the court's stipulated case-management order dated Feb. 23, 2024. "The court will hold status conferences at 10:00 a.m. on the following dates, May 14, August 13, November 12, and February 11," Redford read, and he recited the filing protocol in Paragraph 7: agenda items must be filed 14 days before a conference, limited to three double-spaced pages, and any response may be filed no sooner than seven days before the scheduled conference and is likewise limited to three pages.

Multiple attorneys identified themselves as appearing for the plaintiffs, class plaintiffs and MAS plaintiffs and for the defendants. Shortly after the roll call, an attorney on the call told the court that the court reporter had not yet connected; participants said they would try to reach her.

Because the reporter was not available, Redford recessed the conference "in place" and asked participants to rejoin the same Zoom link at 10:30 a.m.; he said he planned to return at about 10:28 a.m. The session remained on hold while participants made technical checks and attempted contact with the reporter.

No motions, filings or substantive arguments were resolved during the brief session; the judge's recitation of the case-management schedule and the temporary recess are the principal developments recorded on the public docket as of this conference. The court indicated the session would resume at the announced time to continue any scheduled agenda items once the reporter was present.