Are Mackinac Island ferries a monopoly? Lawsuit claims island got it wrong

• Fight over Mackinac Island ferry ‘monopoly’ prompts lawsuit from new owner
• City Council rejected price hikes for both ferry companies in September, claiming the shared owner operated a monopoly
• Owner claims City Council overstepped its authority when it rejected the fee schedules

MACKINAC ISLAND — The Mackinac Island City Council says a Florida-based company that owns both major ferry lines to the mainland has monopolized the service, prompting council members to reject proposed price hikes for ferry tickets and dock parking.

But on Monday, the ferry companies fought back by suing the island in federal court, claiming the council overstepped its authority in rejecting the price hikes and asking the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan to toss out the council’s decision.

Neither Robert Dube Jr., the attorney for the ferry companies, nor Mackinac Island Mayor Margaret Doud could be reached for comment on this story. An attorney for the island was not listed in court documents as of Tuesday afternoon.

The island’s contract with the ferry companies, Shepler’s Inc. and the Mackinac Island Ferry Co. (which operates the Star Line ferries), allows the City Council to “assert its jurisdiction over schedules and fares” if “no competition is found to exist” among ferry services to and from the island, the ferry companies admitted in their complaint. 

Since last year, both Shepler’s and the Mackinac Island Ferry Co. have been owned by the Naples, Florida-based Hoffman Family of Companies, which also owns both the newspapers on Mackinac Island and in St. Ignace.

Citing “a monopoly situation” the city “has never faced before,” the council in December rejected the ferry companies’ proposed $2 hike for a standard roundtrip.

Last month, the City Council also rejected the companies’ proposed 2025 rates for parking at the ferry docks in St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.

The ferry companies dispute that the council has the authority to “unilaterally” declare a monopoly.

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The Hoffman Family of Companies, “on behalf of” both ferry companies, negotiated with the city throughout the fall and winter, the complaint says. 

Hoffman told council members that the price increases were needed because Hoffman had invested about $6 million into the Mackinac Island Ferry Co., most of which went to repairing and modernizing the fleet. The ferries also faced a $1.9 million payroll increase, $500,000 in higher fuel costs and other increased expenses, according to the complaint.

Those negotiations fell apart last month, prompting this week’s lawsuit.

As of Tuesday, traditional round-trip tickets for Shepler’s cost $36 per adult and $24 per child, and tickets for the Mackinac Island Ferry Co. cost $34 per adult and $25 per child. It wasn’t immediately clear whether those prices reflect the increase rejected by the Mackinac Island City Council. 

Hoffman bought Shepler’s in 2022, according to the complaint, “creating a partnership between the Shepler family and the Hoffman family.” The Sheplers remain “critically involved” in operations, the complaint says. 

Following a “tumultuous” 2024 season rife with passenger complaints, Hoffman bought the Mackinac Island Ferry Co. in 2024, according to the complaint. 

The complaint says the city encouraged Hoffman to buy the second ferry company so the island would have “two ferry companies that are capable of first-class ferry service.”