On Friday, June 15, 2012, the Michigan Supreme Court denied two applications for leave to appeal and dismissed one application on stipulation of the parties.
The Court also remanded the case of In re Budd, Case No. 143894, to the Wayne County Circuit Family Division. This application for leave to appeal was held in abeyance pending the Court's decision in In re Morris, 491 Mich 81 (2012). As in Morris, Budd concerns the procedural and substantive notice requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act ('ICWA'). In light of its recent decision in Morris, the Court reversed the Court of Appeals' judgment which had conditionally affirmed the trial court's termination of respondent's parental rights. The Court remanded the matter to the trial court with instructions to ensure the required notice had been sent to all proper parties under ICWA. If the trial court determines that the children are not "Indian child[ren]" for purposes of ICWA, or if the tribe fails to respond to the ICWA notice, the trial court was instructed to reinstate its original order terminating respondent's parental rights. However, if ICWA applies and the tribe responds to the notice, the trial court was ordered to vacate its original order terminating parental rights and begin the termination proceedings anew.