Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 247.185 (2026)

Paramount rights of public; injury to trees and shrubs; regulation of rights.

✓ current as of July 2026
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HIGHWAY OBSTRUCTIONS AND ENCROACHMENTS; USE OF HIGHWAY BY PUBLIC UTILITIES


Act 368 of 1925


247.185 Paramount rights of public; injury to trees and shrubs; regulation of rights.

Sec. 15.

    The construction and maintenance of all such telegraph, telephone and power lines, cable television lines, pipe lines, wires, cables, poles, conduits, sewers and like structures shall be subject to the paramount right of the public to use such public places, roads, bridges and waters, and shall not interfere with other public uses thereof and nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize any telegraph, telephone, power, or other public utility company, cable television company or municipality to cut, destroy, or in anywise injure any tree or shrub planted within any highway right of way or along the margin thereof, or purposely left there for shade or ornament or to bridge across any of the waters of this state. Nor shall anything in this section or sections 13 and 14 be construed to grant any rights whatsoever to any public utilities or cable television companies whatsoever, nor to impair anywise any existing rights granted in accordance with the constitution or laws of this state, but shall be construed as a regulation of the exercise of all such rights.

History: 1925, Act 368, Eff. Aug. 27, 1925 ;-- CL 1929, 4055 ;-- CL 1948, 247.185 ;-- Am. 1972, Act 268, Imd. Eff. Oct. 11, 1972

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1968–1987 · leading case: McMillan v. State High. Comm'n, 393 N.W.2d 332 (Mich. 1986).
McMillan v. State High. Comm'n, 393 N.W.2d 332 (Mich. 1986). · cites it 2× “See also MCL 247.185; MSA 9.265. [Emphasis added.][ [13] ] *71 Thus, the Court of Appeals viewed the rule set forth in Dawson and Cramer as relating to the specific standard of care.”
Detroit Edison Co. v. Se. Michigan Transp. Auth., 410 N.W.2d 295 (Mich. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 3× “MCL 247.185 [MSA 9.265], however, provides that the construction and maintenance of all such telegraph, tele *36 phone and power lines, and the like, "shall be subject to the paramount right of the public to use such public places, roads, bridges, and waters, and shall not…”
Detroit Edison Co. v. Twp. of Richmond, 388 N.W.2d 296 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986). “263, MCL 247.185; MSA 9.265, MCL 460.553; MSA 22.”
McMillan v. State High. Comm'n, 344 N.W.2d 26 (Mich. Ct. App. 1983). “See also MCL 247.185; MSA 9.265. Other jurisdictions have similarly held that a utility company is under no obligation to guard against extraordinary exigencies created when a vehicle leaves the traveled portion of the roadway out of control.”
Gunn v. Delhi Twp., 154 N.W.2d 598 (Mich. Ct. App. 1968). · cites it 2× “The broad phraseology of the second sentence of CL 1948, § 247.185 (Stat Ann 1958 Rev § 9.265) 5 *285 is relied upon by plaintiff as preserving Ms existing .”
Union Twp. v. City of Mount Pleasant, 158 N.W.2d 905 (Mich. 1968). “8 The concluding sentence of section 15 of PA 1925, No 368, reads: “Nor shall anything in this or the next 2 sections preceding be construed to grant any rights whatsoever to any public utilities whatsoever, nor to impair anywise any existing rights granted in accordance with…”
Consumers Power Co. v. Costle, 468 F. Supp. 375 (E.D. Mich. 1979). “§ 247.185; see also Mich. Const, art. 7, § 29.”
Eyde Bros. Dev. Co. v. Eaton Cnty. Drain Comm'r, 377 N.W.2d 857 (Mich. Ct. App. 1985). “However, MCL 247.185; MSA 9.265 provides in part: "Nor shall anything in this section or sections 13 [MCL 247.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.