MARSHALL, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After preliminary arguments by legal counsel representing the City of Marshall and the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance (MAEDA), the Calhoun County court decided to delay a ruling for the case which could stop the construction of the Ford BlueOval Battery Park plant. 

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The prosecution was seeking a ruling regarding the petitioner’s amendment to their petition, featuring two new claims. 

“This includes that the City failed to provide proper notice under City Charter Section 4.02, and that the City cannot rezone an area the Joint Planning Commission has refused to rezone,” according to the defense, the Committee for Marshall – Not the Megasite said in an email. 

Judge William Marietti of the 37th Circuit Court in Calhoun County shared that without the court opinion on a previous hearing, today’s hearing could not be decided.

“It is my position that any ruling on the motion to strike should be deferred until you have a decision on the motion for summary disposition,” Judge Marietti said. “Now having said that I anticipate having that motion for summary disposition decided for you within the next week.” 

The court proceedings began after The plaintiff, the Committee for Marshall-Not the Megasite claims to have garnered more than 800 signatures for a petition against a recent decision by the City of Marshall to rezone land for use other than agricultural land, and also allocate funds to be used towards the Ford Blue Oval Battery Park Plant in Marshall.  The defendants are the City of Marshall, and City of Marshall Clerk, Michelle Eubank, who did not grant the group a letter of sufficiency for the petition.  

Advocates of the project argue that it would bring more than 2,000 jobs to the region, and would offer competitive hourly wages, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer in her latest ‘What’s Next Address.’

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“These new battery plants will be game changers: supporting thousands of families, uplifting local businesses, and ensuring our cities and towns thrive for decades to come,” Gov. Whitmer said, “They’ll help Michigan go toe to toe with China, bringing critical parts of the auto supply chain home. We must reduce our reliance on Chinese products, which have caused work stoppages, shortages, and car price hikes over the last few years.”  

Currently, several of Michigan’s ongoing EV projects, including the Ford BlueOval Battery Park plant for its involvement and partnership with the foreign Chinese Battery Company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), are under review by the U.S. government for ties to China, and are being evaluated for potential security risks. 

“Ford has argued that the deal will create thousands of American jobs, further Ford’s “commitments to sustainability and human rights,” and lead to American battery technology advancements. But newly discovered information raises serious questions about each claim. Specifically, information regarding the proposed partnership agreement between Ford and CATL suggests that a significant portion of these well-paying jobs will be given to citizens of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—not Americans,” House Ways and Means Committee and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led by Chairmen Jason Smith (R-Missouri) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin) wrote in a letter to Ford.

After previously anticipating a ruling by the end of August, Judge Marietti projected his opinion would be complete within the next week. 

“I’ve drafted probably 80% of my opinion on that already so we’re very close to having the opinion on that so this so this isn’t going to be much of a delay,” he said.