State Supreme Court Denies Shepler's Case

The Michigan Supreme Court, February 27, denied an appeal in the Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry case against the City of Mackinac Island. The lawsuit charged that the City unfairly impeded Shepler's right to conduct freight business on the Island, but it failed in the lower court and in the Michigan Court of Appeals.

At the heart of the case was Shepler's claim that the City imposed restrictions on its freight operations that were not imposed on its competitor, Arnold Transit Company. Shepler's case focused on time restrictions placed on its business license with the City for freight delivery, noting that the City violated the company's equal protection of laws.

ACity decision first made in 1994 has allowed Shepler's to make freight deliveries between the hours of 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 8 p.m. to midnight because the boat line lacks dock space to load and unload horse-drawn drays and must rely on public streets for the process. The time restrictions were imposed to help alleviate street congestion during heavy traffic hours, the city council said.

In May 2005, the 11th Circuit Court upheld the City's right to restrict Shepler's use of public streets, basing its decision on Shepler's failure to show the restriction was unreasonable. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed that decision in October 2005, and Shepler then asked the state's Supreme Court to review the case.

Aaron J. Gauthier of Patrick and Kwiatkowski in Cheboygan represented Shepler's, while Mackinac Island City Attorney Tom Evashevski represented the Island.