Michigan reconsideration: 21 days, palpable error, and nobody responds
Michigan procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Michigan's reconsideration rule is three short paragraphs, and each one defeats a common assumption about how motion practice works.
You have 21 days. The other side does not reply. There is no hearing. And repeating your losing argument is specifically identified in the rule as the thing that will not work.
Twenty-one days
MCR 2.119(F)(1):
Unless another rule provides a different procedure for reconsideration of a decision (see, e.g., MCR 2.604[A], 2.612), a motion for rehearing or reconsideration of the decision on a motion must be served and filed not later than 21 days after entry of an order deciding the motion.
Three details.
The clock runs from entry of the order, not from the hearing or the opinion.
The motion must be served and filed inside the 21 days — both.
And the opening words matter: this rule governs reconsideration of a decision on a motion. Where another rule supplies its own procedure, that one governs. The rule names two: MCR 2.604(A), which keeps non-final orders open to revision before final judgment, and MCR 2.612, which is Michigan's relief-from-judgment rule.
That cross-reference is the most useful thing in the paragraph. If what you want to revisit is an interlocutory order, MCR 2.604(A) is likely the better route and it is not confined to 21 days.
No response, no argument
MCR 2.119(F)(2):
No response to the motion may be filed, and there is no oral argument, unless the court otherwise directs.
Read it as written. The opposing party may not file a response unless the court asks for one, and there is no hearing.
Two practical consequences. If you are moving, the motion is your only chance to be heard — everything has to be in the paper you file. If you are opposing, you do nothing and wait; filing an uninvited response is contrary to the rule.
The standard: palpable error
MCR 2.119(F)(3):
Generally, and without restricting the discretion of the court, a motion for rehearing or reconsideration which merely presents the same issues ruled on by the court, either expressly or by reasonable implication, will not be granted. The moving party must demonstrate a palpable error by which the court and the parties have been misled and show that a different disposition of the motion must result from correction of the error.
That is a two-part test, and both parts have to be satisfied:
- a palpable error by which the court and the parties have been misled; and
- that a different disposition must result from correcting it.
The second half is the one that sinks most motions. An error that would not change the outcome does not meet the rule, however plain it is.
And the first sentence disposes of the most common filing: a motion that "merely presents the same issues ruled on by the court, either expressly or by reasonable implication, will not be granted." Note "or by reasonable implication" — recasting an argument the court necessarily rejected counts as the same issue.
The paragraph opens with "Generally, and without restricting the discretion of the court", so this is a strong default rather than an absolute bar.
| What the rule says | |
|---|---|
| Deadline | 21 days from entry of the order |
| Response | none may be filed unless the court directs |
| Oral argument | none unless the court directs |
| Same issues again | will not be granted |
| Required showing | palpable error that misled the court and the parties |
| Plus | a different disposition must result from correcting it |
Which rule you actually want
| What you are attacking | Rule |
|---|---|
| A decision on a motion, within 21 days | MCR 2.119(F) |
| A non-final order, before final judgment | MCR 2.604(A) |
| A final judgment or order — mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud, void judgment | MCR 2.612 |
Filing under 2.119(F) when the target is a final judgment, or letting the 21 days lapse when 2.604(A) was available all along, are the two errors this cross-reference is there to prevent.
Motion fees
Worth knowing because it affects how you package things. MCR 2.119(G)(2):
The clerk shall charge a single motion fee for all motions filed at the same time in an action regardless of the number of separately captioned documents filed or the number of distinct or alternative requests for relief included in the motions.
Filing several motions together costs one fee.
How Michigan compares
| Michigan | New Jersey | New York | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 21 days from entry | 20 days from service | 30 days from notice of entry | 28 days |
| Response permitted | no, unless directed | yes | yes | yes |
| Oral argument | no, unless directed | on request | yes | discretionary |
| Standard | palpable error + different result | overlooked or erred | overlooked or misapprehended | manifest error |
| Separate route for interlocutory orders | yes, MCR 2.604(A) | yes, R. 4:42-2(b) | yes | yes |
Michigan is the strictest of these on process — it is the only one where the opponent is affirmatively barred from responding — and it is the only one that requires the movant to show the outcome would change.
A short checklist
- Check what you are attacking first. A final judgment goes to MCR 2.612; a non-final order can go to MCR 2.604(A) with no 21-day limit.
- Diarise 21 days from entry of the order, and serve as well as file inside it.
- Put everything in the motion. There is no response, no reply, and no hearing — one document is the whole proceeding.
- Identify the palpable error specifically. Name what misled the court.
- Say what changes. You must show a different disposition must result; an error without consequence is not enough.
- Do not restate your losing argument. The rule rejects motions presenting the same issues, whether expressly or by reasonable implication.
- If you are the opposing party, file nothing unless the court directs it.
- File related motions together — the clerk charges a single fee.
Where these rules live
- MCR 2.119 — Motion Practice
- MCR 2.116 — Summary Disposition
- MCR 2.602 — Entry of Judgments and Orders
- MCR 2.604 — Judgment in Actions Involving Multiple Claims or Parties
- MCR 2.612 — Relief from Judgment or Order
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what constitutes palpable error under MCR 2.119(F)(3) is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.