Opinion ID: 1842522
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: appeal of right granted by statute.

Text: Plaintiffs rest their claim of appeal as a matter of right to the Court of Appeals from a circuit court judgment reviewing the MPSC order on § 26 of the Michigan railroad commission act, MCLA 462.26; MSA 22.45. [1] Section 26(d) provides that: (d) Either party to said action, within 60 days after service of a copy of the order or judgment of the court [circuit court], may appeal to the supreme court, which appeal shall be governed by the statutes governing chancery appeals. When the appeal is taken the case shall, on the return of the papers to the supreme court, be immediately placed on the calendar of the then pending term, and shall be brought to a hearing in the same manner as other cases on the calendar, or if no term is then pending, shall take precedence of cases of a different nature except criminal cases at the next term of the supreme court, [2] (Emphasis added.) MCLA 462.26; MSA 22.45. The legislative intent of § 26(d) is clear: appeals from circuit court judgments reviewing orders of the then Railroad Commission and now the MPSC shall be a matter of right. The words [w]hen the appeal is taken the case shall    be immediately placed on the calendar can be given no other logical interpretation. Since the passage of § 26 this has been the recognized interpretation and the Court of Appeals, until the present case, had treated appeals from circuit court reviews of MPSC orders as a matter of right. [3]