RYAN M MALCOLM V AJ'S OUTDOOR SERVICES LLC

Court of Appeals, State of Michigan
ORDER
RYAN M MALCOLM V AJ'S OUTDOOR SERVICES LLC
Docket No. 381169
LC No. 2024-036315-CZ
Stephen L. Borrello, Chief Judge Pro Tem, acting under MCR 7.203(F)(1), orders:
The claim of appeal is DISMISSED IN PART as to three of the four orders listed on the claim of
appeal. The March 4, 2026 order denying judgment notwithstanding the verdict and the May 21, 2026
order denying reconsideration are not final orders as defined in MCR 7.202(6)(a). In fact, those orders
are significant only because they act as a trigger for the 21-day time period to file time a claim of appeal
from an earlier final order. See, e.g. Nye v Gable, Nelson & Murphy, 169 Mich App 411, 415; 425 NW2d
797 (1988). Additionally, although the February 20, 2026 judgment was final and appealable by right,
MCR 7.202(6)(a)(i); MCR 7.203(A), the claim of appeal was not timely filed from that judgment. MCR
7.204(A)(1)(a) and (d). Appellants waited to appeal the February 20, 2026 judgment until after entry of
the April 1, 2026 postjudgment, attorney fee and cost order. A party may not wait for entry of a subsequent
final order to appeal an earlier final order. Surman v Surman, 277 Mich App 287, 294; 745 NW2d 802
(2007) (citation omitted). The only final order from which the claim of appeal was timely filed is the
April 1, 2026 order. MCR 7.202(6)(a)(iv); MCR 7.203(A)(1); MCR 7.204(A)(1)(d). The appeal remains
pending as to the April 1, 2026 order, and the appeal is limited “to the portion of the order with respect to
which there is an appeal of right.” MCR 7.203(A).
June 17, 2026
A true copy entered and certified by Jerome W. Zimmer Jr., Chief Clerk, on
Date

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