Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an antitrust lawsuit Thursday against the Hoffmann Family of Companies, accusing the firm of illegally monopolizing passenger ferry service to Mackinac Island along with a huge share of the parking lots travelers use to reach the docks. The lawsuit seeks to break up the company's control over both markets, arguing it has already damaged riders who have few other ways to reach the island.
A Market That Used to Have Three Players
The lawsuit, filed in Ingham County Circuit Court, targets the Hoffmann Family of Companies and claims its string of acquisitions wiped out what used to be real competition, according to mlive.com. The complaint alleges the company eliminated the last independent competitor in a market that once supported three separate ferry operators. Hoffmann built that position in stages, purchasing a controlling interest in Shepler's in March 2022, then acquiring Star Line's successor, Mackinac Island Ferry Company, in June 2024, per the same report.
It isn't just about boats, either. The complaint alleges Hoffmann owns more than 116 parcels of land, 51 buildings and roughly 6,500 parking spaces, giving it control of about 80% of long-term parking near the mainland ferry terminals, mlive.com reports. That combination, the state argues, lets the company squeeze travelers on both ends of the trip — the ride across the Straits of Mackinac and the spot where their car sits while they're gone.
What Nessel Is Asking the Court to Do
Nessel's office is asking the court for divestiture and other structural remedies to reopen these markets to competition, as reported by Michigan Advance. In other words, the state isn't just asking for a fine — it wants Hoffmann to give up pieces of the business it has assembled. Nessel's office noted that 90 to 95% of all traffic to Mackinac Island, which receives more than 1 million guests every year, comes by ferry service, underscoring how little choice travelers have if one company controls the boats.
Hoffmann isn't backing down. The company said it is confident it will prevail, because it is not violating state or federal antitrust laws, according to the same Michigan Advance report. The allegations, for what it's worth, have not been proven in court, and the case is now headed toward litigation in Ingham County.
Rising Fares and a Pricing Comparison
The timing of the lawsuit lines up with complaints about cost. The state alleges that in 2026, Shepler's day parking increased to $15 and standard overnight parking rose from $20 to $25, per mlive.com's reporting. Both ferry companies had also proposed increasing basic adult round-trip tickets by $2 for 2027, according to a separate mlive.com report on islanders pushing for tighter ferry regulations.
Nessel's lawsuit goes further, alleging that three other Great Lakes ferry services charge around half the price-per-minute of the Hoffmann ferries, per Michigan Advance. That comparison is central to the state's argument that the lack of competition, not rising costs elsewhere, is driving up what Mackinac-bound travelers pay.
Not the First Legal Fight Over the Ferries
This isn't the first time Hoffmann's ferry holdings have landed in court. A federal judge dismissed antitrust claims brought by the City of Mackinac Island against the ferry companies, The Detroit News reported in March. In that earlier case, the city alleged that the companies' common ownership had created a monopoly and eliminated competition — arguments that echo what the attorney general's office is now pressing in its own, separate complaint.
Whether the state's new case fares any better than the city's dismissed one remains to be seen. For now, the complaint is freshly filed, Hoffmann says it intends to fight it, and the question of who controls the only practical way on and off Mackinac Island is back in front of a judge.
