Michigan AG Dana Nessel sues Mackinac Island ferry service over alleged monopoly

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an antitrust lawsuit Thursday against the Hoffmann Family of Companies, which operates the Mackinac Island ferry services and parking.

The Hoffmann Family of Companies is a private equity firm that owns a wide variety of companies, including Hoffmann Marine and Hoffmann Shepler's Ferry, which are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

With no cars allowed on the island, the only way for visitors, residents and seasonal workers to reach it is by commercial ferry, except for those who can afford to fly in or sail their own boats there, according to the lawsuit.

"Today, we filed claims under the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act detailing specific violations for monopolization, unjust enrichment and agreement in restraint of trade," Nessel said in a press conference Thursday.

Historically, ferry service to the island was provided by three independent competing companies: Shepler's, Starline and the Arnold Transit Company, Nessel says.

In 2016, Starline bought out the Arnold Transit Company and renamed it the Mackinac Island Ferry Company. In 2022, Hoffmann bought a controlling stake in Shepler's before buying the Mackinac Island Ferry Company in 2024, gaining full control of the ferry market on the island, Nessel said.

This control includes the ferries, the docks and the parking lots, Nessel says.

"They've raised prices, limited services and leveraged their massive power in alarming ways, even threatening to suspend ferry service to Mackinac Island entirely if local government didn't give them favorable extended agreements to let them keep hiking their prices," Nessel said.

Nessel said that the Hoffmann group began charging for parking that had previously been free and suspended certain ferry services.

In June, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 304 into law, which gave the city of Mackinac Island the authority to regulate all aspects of ferry service rather than just the basic transportation rate.

This came after city officials denied a request from the ferry services for a $2 fare increase, to which Hoffmann responded by increasing add-on costs, such as parking, baggage and bicycle transport, raising the total cost of passage to the island from $34 to $51.

Nessel also argues that Michigan should catch up to other states that require adequate pre-acquisition and pre-merger notices to state agencies in business transactions.

Nessel adds that Michigan lacks antitrust authority and resources dedicated to antitrust enforcement for its attorneys general compared with those of other states.