Case Year: | 2007 |
Case Forum: | Michigan Supreme Court |
Keywords: | Governmental Tort Liability Act (GTLA), governmental immunity, public building exception |
Amicus Counsel: |
Mary Massaron Ross (P43885) | Hilary A. Dullinger (P69979) | |
CoAmicus Parties: |
1. Michigan Municipal League Liability and Property Pool (Pool) |
Summary: |
In holding that a plaintiff can maintain a design defect claim under the public building exception, the court of appeals has deviated from this court’s well-established principles governing the interpretation of the Michigan Governmental Tort Liability Act requiring that its immunity provisions be given broad effect to protect governmental agencies from tort liability and that any exceptions must be narrowly construed. This Court has employed this textual approach in the context of the highway exception, MCL 691.1402(1), and has held that the statutory duty to “repair” and “maintain” does not by implication impose a duty to “design.” When the Court judicially decides whether to apply a principle that must be seen as a correct statement of the law to only some cases rather than to all cases, it harms the |
Decision: |
Michigan Supreme Court: |
MSC requested LDF amicus brief? | Yes |
Facts: |
Plaintiff Karen Renny visited a rest area in Roscommon County, Michigan, in January 2000. She alleged that while leaving the rest area building, she slipped on a patch of snow and ice on the sidewalk in front of the doorway and suffered serious injuries to her right wrist. Plaintiff sued MDOT, alleging that her injuries resulted from a defective condition of the rest area building. Plaintiff attributed the accumulated snow and ice, in part, to MDOT’s failure to install and maintain gutters and downspouts around the roof of the building. Plaintiff maintained that gutters and downspouts would have safely channeled the snow and ice that melted off the roof away from the sidewalks. Moreover, plaintiff alleged that MDOT had actual or constructive notice of these defects for more than 90 days before the accident, but failed to remedy them. MDOT moved |
Case Number: | 2006-15 |
Links: |