Community activists brought action against city council and chair of city council committee, alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act (OMA), and violation of constitutional rights.
The Circuit Court denied defendant’s motion for summary disposition. Defendants appealed.
The Court of Appeals held that:
- City council’s “address the chair” rule requiring citizens to direct commentary to the chair rather than other attendees, did not violate activists’ First Amendment right to petition the government;
- Expulsion from city council committee meeting for violation of the “address the chair” rule did not violate activist’s First or Fourteenth Amendment rights; and
- Chair of meeting had qualified immunity from suit brought by activists.