TODD LEMMEN V FALCON CUSTOM HOMES INC

Court of Appeals, State of Michigan
ORDER
TODD LEMMEN V FALCON CUSTOM HOMES INC
Docket No. 381445
LC No. 24-011840-CK
Randy J. Wallace
Presiding Judge
Michelle M. Rick
Allie Greenleaf Maldonado
Judges
The motion for immediate consideration is GRANTED.
Pursuant to MCR 7.205(E)(2), in lieu of granting the delayed application, which was timely filed,
MCR 7.205(A)(4)(a), the April 16, 2026 order and the June 10, 2026 opinion and order are VACATED to the extent
they required defendant-appellant Falcon Custom Homes, Inc., to repay the deposit by April 26, 2026, and July 23,
2026, respectively. “[E]xecution may not issue on a judgment and proceedings may not be taken for its enforcement
until 21 days after a final judgment (as defined in MCR 7.202[6]) is entered in the case.” MCR 2.614(A)(1). The
purpose of the automatic stay is to preserve the status quo during the period an aggrieved party has to file posttrial
motions or an appeal. In re Contempt of Calcutt, 184 Mich App 749, 755; 458 NW2d 919 (1990). The April 16,
2026 order deprived defendants of the protections afforded by MCR 2.614(A)(1). The order had the potential to
invite—and did invite—plaintiffs to take steps to execute on the partial judgment or to initiate proceedings to enforce
the partial judgment before entry of a final judgment. After the April 26, 2026 date passed without Falcon Custom
Homes repaying the deposit, plaintiffs moved the trial court to hold defendants in contempt for failure to comply with
the April 16, 2026 order and they asked the trial court, in part, to compel Falcon Custom Homes to immediately repay
the deposit. Plaintiffs’ reliance on Kalkman v City of the Village of Douglas, unpublished per curiam opinion of the
Court of Appeals, entered September 20, 2012 (Docket No. 306051), p 7, for the proposition that MCR 2.614 does
not apply because Falcon Custom Homes was only ordered to return money that it held in trust for plaintiffs is
misplaced. Unlike in Kalkman, the trial court did not grant injunctive relief. It entered a money judgment. MCR
2.614(G) does not apply to the case. The trial court did not direct under MCR 2.604(B) that the April 16, 2026 order
constitutes a final order. MCR 2.614(G).
This order is to have immediate effect. MCR 7.215(F)(2).
_______________________________
Presiding Judge
July 21, 2026

-- 1 of 1 --