Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 445 / Act 70 of 1981
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.257 (2026)

Action for damages or equitable relief; amount of recovery; civil fine; attorney's fees and court costs.

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

REGULATION OF COLLECTION PRACTICES


Act 70 of 1981


445.257 Action for damages or equitable relief; amount of recovery; civil fine; attorney's fees and court costs.

Sec. 7.

    (1) A person who suffers injury, loss, or damage, or from whom money was collected by the use of a method, act, or practice in violation of this act may bring an action for damages or other equitable relief.

    (2) In an action brought pursuant to subsection (1), if the court finds for the petitioner, recovery shall be in the amount of actual damages or $50.00, whichever is greater. If the court finds that the method, act, or practice was a wilful violation, the court may assess a civil fine of not less than 3 times the actual damages, or $150.00, whichever is greater, and shall award reasonable attorney's fees and court costs incurred in connection with the action.

History: 1981, Act 70, Imd. Eff. June 29, 1981

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 2005–2026 · leading case: Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Compass Healthcare Plc, 928 N.W.2d 726 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Compass Healthcare Plc, 928 N.W.2d 726 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 8× “15 I also concur in the majority’s determination to reverse the trial court’s award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs under MCL 445.257(2). /s/ Mark T. Boonstra 15 Contrary to defendants’ assertions, this result does not leave healthcare providers generally without a…”
Martin v. Trott Law, P.C., 265 F. Supp. 3d 731 (E.D. Mich. 2017). · cites it 4× “mages” as a result of the alleged nominal statutory transgressions; (2) the plaintiffs lack “statutory standing” to pursue any claims under the RCPA, because they do not allege, and have not testified, that they suffered any “injury, loss, or damage,” and they are not persons…”
Tina McPherson v. Suburban Ann Arbor, LLC, 135 F.4th 419 (6th Cir. 2025). · cites it 4× “Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.257 (2). Under the second, Michigan’s conversion statute, the plaintiff “may recover 3 times the amount of actual damages sustained” if the defendant “convert[ed]” the plaintiff’s “property to [its] own use.”
Bolone v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg., Inc., 858 F. Supp. 2d 825 (E.D. Mich. 2012). “§ 445.257. Applying the RCPA to Plaintiffs Count II, the Court finds that Plaintiff fails to state a claim that Wells Fargo made inaccurate, misleading, untrue, or deceptive statements to collect a debt that caused Plaintiff to suffer an injury.”
Lynk v. Chase Home Fin., LLC, 644 F. Supp. 2d 868 (E.D. Mich. 2009). · cites it 2× “See Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.257 (1). Chase claims that Lynk has not alleged damages or out-of-pocket loss and admitted that the evidence of a bankruptcy notation did not affect the terms of her loan with CitiFinancial.”
Stolicker v. Muller, Muller, Richmond, Harms, Myers & Sgroi, P.C., 387 F. Supp. 2d 752 (W.D. Mich. 2005). “§ 445.257. Before the Court are three motions by the Muller law firm: 1) dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, 2) dismiss the FDCPA claims for failure to state a claim or on summary judgment, 3) dismiss the MCPA claims for failure to state a claim or on summary…”
Beryllin Gamby v. Equifax Info. Servs., 462 F. App'x 552 (6th Cir. 2012). “Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.257 (2). Those statutory damages, however, are minimal — totaling only the greater of $50 or the amount of actual damages.”
Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Compass Healthcare Plc (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 6× “We affirm in part, and reverse in part as to the trial court’s award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs under MCL 445.257(2). I. RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND On July 3, 2014, plaintiff Caleb Casanova was injured in an automotive accident.”
Parsad v. Trott Law P.C. (E.D. Mich. 2020). · cites it 5× “” Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.257 . But Parsad must show some form of harm beyond a bare procedural violation.”
MCPHERSON v. Suburban Ann Arbor, LLC (E.D. Mich. 2024). · cites it 4× “Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.257 (2). The conversion statute likewise authorizes an award of “3 times the amount of actual damages sustained” if the defendant is found liable for “converting property to the [defendant]’s own use.”
Kathryn M Rodriguez v. Hirshberg Acceptance Corp (Mich. Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 3× “MCL 445.257(2); MCL 339.916(2). At least as applied to this matter, the availability of attorneys’ fees and court costs in addition to statutory damages obviates the problem of individual lawsuits being intrinsically unviable.”
Nitzkin v. One Reliance LLC (E.D. Mich. 2022). · cites it 2× “MCL § 445.257. Given Defendant continued to call even after Plaintiff asked it to stop, there is sufficient evidence to show Defendant’s actions were willful.”
Show all 18 citing cases →
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 445.257(2) — 7 cases
Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Compass Healthcare Plc, 928 N.W.2d 726 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “15 I also concur in the majority’s determination to reverse the trial court’s award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs under MCL 445.257(2). /s/ Mark T. Boonstra 15 Contrary to defendants’ assertions, this result does not leave healthcare providers generally without a…”
Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Compass Healthcare Plc (Mich. Ct. App. 2018). “We affirm in part, and reverse in part as to the trial court’s award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs under MCL 445.257(2). I. RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND On July 3, 2014, plaintiff Caleb Casanova was injured in an automotive accident.”
Kathryn M Rodriguez v. Hirshberg Acceptance Corp (Mich. Ct. App. 2022). “MCL 445.257(2); MCL 339.916(2). At least as applied to this matter, the availability of attorneys’ fees and court costs in addition to statutory damages obviates the problem of individual lawsuits being intrinsically unviable.”
Cynthia K Newmeyer v. Bank of Am. Inc (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).
20230112_C357975_79_357975.Opn.Pdf (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).
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.