Simon PLC Attorneys & Counselors – May 2025 Memorandum
Slander of Title in the state of Michigan
Troy, MI. It is well established that Michigan Courts recognize the common law equitable and statutory claim for relief known as slander of title. This type of claim most often occurs in the context of recording documents causing an encumbrance against your real property and real estate interests. Under well-established Michigan law, an encumbrance is “anything” that “constitutes a burden upon the title.” Post v Campau, 42 Mich 90, 94; 3 NW 272 (1879); see also Darr v First Fed S & L Ass’n, 426 Mich 11, 20; 393 NW2d 152 (1986).
The Court of Appeals over the last decade has encountered cases ranging from multiple fact patterns:
- a disgruntled tenant executed and filed a Claim of Lien with the Oakland County Register of Deeds Office claiming to have a lien against an apartment complex;
- a mortgage lender recorded a release of a mortgage on real property and then recorded a recission of the same release;
- A sheriff’s deed for foreclosure was recorded;
- Recording of a Notice of Lis Pendens;
- Recording a purported Broker’s Lien;
In each of these cases the Court confronted the factual issues to either uphold or strike the encumbrances.
The analysis for determining whether an encumbrance is a burden on your title is straightforward. “To establish slander of title . . . [plaintiffs] must show falsity, malice, and special damages, i.e., that the defendant maliciously published false statements that disparaged [their] right in property, causing special damages.” B & B Investment Group v Gitler, 229 Mich App 1, 8; 581 NW2d 17 (1997). Special damages can include litigation costs. Id. at 9.
MCL 565.108, the statute governing slander of title, provides as follows:
No person shall use the privilege of filing notices hereunder for the purpose of slandering the title to land, and in any action brought for the purpose of quieting title to land, if the court shall find that any person has filed a claim for that reason only, he shall award the plaintiff all the costs of such action, including such attorney fees as the court may allow to the plaintiff, and in addition, shall decree that the defendant asserting such claim shall pay to plaintiff all damages that plaintiff may have sustained as the result of such notice of claim having been so filed for record.
“A common-law slander of title claimant must show falsity, malice, and pecuniary damages or special damages, i.e., that the defendant maliciously published false statements that disparaged a plaintiff’s right in property, causing special damages.” Wells Fargo Bank v Country Place Condo Ass’n, 304 Mich App 582, 595; 848 NW2d 425 (2014) (cleaned up). “The same three elements are required in slander of title actions brought under MCL 565.108.” Id. (quotation marks and citation omitted).
Regarding malice the Court of Appeals has made clear
The crucial element is malice. A slander-of-title claimant is required to show some act of express malice by the defendant, which implies a desire or intention to injure. Malice may not be inferred merely from the filing of an invalid lien; the plaintiff must show that the defendant knowingly filed an invalid lien with the intent to cause the plaintiff injury. A plaintiff may not prevail on a slander-of-title claim if the defendant’s claim under the mortgage or lien was asserted in good faith upon probable cause or was prompted by a reasonable belief that the defendant had rights in the real estate in question. Fed Nat’l Mtg Ass’n v Lagoons Forest Condo Ass’n, 305 Mich App 258, 270; 852 NW2d 258 (2014).
Of note, Courts often consider that money damages would be insufficient to remove the cloud of title over plaintiffs’ property or to correct the harm caused by the encumbrance. Equitable relief is generally appropriate “when (1) justice requires it, (2) there is no adequate remedy at law, and (3) there exists a real and imminent danger of irreparable injury.” Head v Phillips Camper Sales & Rental Inc, 234 Mich App 94, 110; 593 NW2d 595 (1999).
When available, money damages for encumbrances slandering your title, over and above actual damages and attorneys’ fees can include:
MCL 600.2907a(1) states that a person who violates MCL 565.25 by encumbering property through the recording of a document without lawful cause with the intent to harass or intimidate any person is liable for, among other things, exemplary damages. MCL 600.2907a(1)(c). “Exemplary damages are recoverable only for intangible injuries or injuries to feelings, which are not quantifiable in monetary terms.” Unibar Maintenance Servs, Inc v Saigh, 283 Mich App 609, 630; 769 NW2d 911 (2009). “An award of exemplary damages is considered proper if it compensates a plaintiff for the humiliation, sense of outrage, and indignity resulting from injuries maliciously, willfully and wantonly inflicted by the defendant.” Id.
If you have an encumbrance that you believe is not properly recorded against your real property it would be appropriate to seek advice from counsel as to potential relief available in the courts. A quiet title claim may be brought to remove a cloud on title. Adams v Adams, 276 Mich App 704, 712, 712 n 2; 742 NW2d 399 (2007), and see MCL 600.2932 (a person who claims an interest in land may bring an action against anyone claiming an inconsistent interest in that land).
N.B. Not Legal Advice: Please contact us if you would like to discuss the facts and circumstances of your specific matter. Simon PLC Attorneys & Counselors expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all the contents of this memorandum. The information contained herein may not reflect current legal developments and is provided without any knowledge as to the recipient’s location, industry, identity or specific circumstances. No recipients of this content, clients or otherwise, should act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of any content included in this memorandum without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the jurisdiction for which the recipient’s legal issue(s) involve. The application and impact of relevant laws varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and our attorneys do not seek to practice law in states, territories and foreign countries where they are not properly authorized to do so.
