The Michigan Court of Appeals has issued a 2-1 published opinion and requested a conflict panel under Michigan Court Rule 7.215(J)(2) to address whether retail store owners owe a duty to keep aisles reasonably safe in a case in which the plaintiff tripped over a protruding end-cap platform. In Quinto v. Woodward Detroit CVS, et al., [...]
Tag: open and obvious
Supreme Court Reverses Court of Appeals’ Ruling Property Owner Maintained Nuisance In Fact and Negligent Nuisance
In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Michigan Supreme Court issued an order in this premises liability case against a commercial property owner directing the Court of Appeals to adopt the dissenting opinion of Judge Murray and reversing the damages award of $223,000 against the property owner. However, I wrote the Court's reversal constituted [...]
Residential Landlords Placed on Notice of Criminal Activity on Premises Liable for Attacks on Tenants and Guests Even Where Attack Takes Place in Open / Public Spaces Adjacent to Apartment / Dwelling
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled today in the case of Bailey v. Schaaf Opinion.07,.30.2013.144055 Opinion, that a residential landlord could be held liable to the guest of a tenant who was randomly attacked by an unknown criminal perpetrator who entered the property. Tenants and guests at a barbecue held by one of the tenants were [...]
2-1 Court of Appeals Opinion Rules Landlord Not Liable to Tenant for Failure to Maintain Common Pathway to Access Trash Disposal
This is an interesting case if only for the colloquy between the majority opinion and Judge Shapiro's dissent. The facts are unremarkable. Plaintiff was a residential tenant living in an apartment owned by the defendant. Several other tenants lived in separate apartments in the same structure. A common area (driveway / pathway) was accessed by [...]
Court of Appeals Rejects Plaintiff’s Premises Liability Claim and Explains Difference Between “Speculation and Conjecture” and “Reasonable Inference” in Proving Negligence
In this otherwise unremarkable "slip and fall" case, the Court of Appeals neatly illustrates the insufficiency of speculation and conjecture about the cause of an alleged injury suffered by the plaintiff in the defendant's store. In Fedrick v. KMart Corp. et al., Unpublished Opinion of the Michigan Court of Appeals, released February 14, 2013 (COA Docket No. [...]