Michigan GOP's new leader drops lawsuit over former headquarters

Lansing — New Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra has abandoned a lawsuit, launched by former chairwoman Kristina Karamo, who sought to take control of the party's past headquarters building in downtown Lansing.

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop, who is the party's general counsel under Hoekstra, signed a document, agreeing to dismiss the suit Friday, three days after a Kent County Circuit Court judge ruled that Karamo was no longer the chairwoman of the state GOP.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Wanda Stokes then ordered the building lawsuit dismissed with prejudice and the litigation closed on Monday, according to court records.

"One more step towards normal/unity and winning in November," Hoekstra said in an email on Wednesday.

The order from Stokes concluded a bizarre legal effort by Karamo's leadership team, which had eyed selling the Michigan GOP's former headquarters on Seymour Avenue in a bid to alleviate hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding debts.

However, the state party didn't own the building, meaning Karamo couldn't sell it. A company controlled by a trust featuring former party chairs owns the property, according to Ingham County property records.

"They don't have a legal right to do it," Ron Weiser, a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and a prominent donor whose name appears on the front of the building, said of Karamo in November.

On Dec. 8, the Michigan Republican Party, which was then under Karamo's leadership, filed its lawsuit against the Michigan Republican Party Trust and Comerica Bank. At the time, the party owed Comerica more than $500,000 through a line of credit used before Karamo became chairwoman in February 2023.

The suit asked the judge to declare the trust's control of the property invalid and establish the Michigan Republican Party as the sole owner of the property.

Less than a month later, on Jan. 6, critics of Karamo on the state committee held a special meeting and voted to unseat her as the party's leader. Then, on Jan. 20, Karamo's opponents selected Hoekstra as the chairman.

Karamo and her supporters labeled the gatherings illegitimate and maintained that she was still the chairwoman until Kent County Judge J. Joseph Rossi ruled against her on Feb. 27 and ordered her not to hold herself out as the party's leader.

On Feb. 28, Daniel Hartman, who was the party's general counsel under Karamo, asked Stokes to adjourn the building lawsuit until "Karamo's chairwoman issue is fully resolved."

"According to Judge Rossi's order, she cannot proceed in this matter at this time," Hartman wrote on Feb. 28.

cmauger@detroitnews.com