Sponkowski v. Ingham County Road Com'n, Docket No. 86539
| Decision Date | 08 October 1986 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 86539 |
| Citation | 152 Mich.App. 123,393 N.W.2d 579 |
| Parties | Camille SPONKOWSKI, Personal Representative of the Estate of Lorrie A. Sponkowski, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. INGHAM COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION and Cindy Lorraine Osmon, Defendants, and Charles Clinton Wood and Patricia C. Wood, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Charfoos, Christensen & Archer, P.C. by David W. Christensen and Jody L. Aaron, Detroit, for plaintiff-appellant.
Peter J. Collins & Associates by Peter J. Collins, Southfield, for defendants.
Before BRONSON, P.J., and R.B. BURNS and TOWNSEND, * JJ.
Plaintiff, Camille Sponkowski, as personal representative of the estate of decedent Lorrie Sponkowski, appeals as of right from the grant of defendant Charles Wood's motion for summary disposition dismissing plaintiff's negligence action for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. MCR 2.116(C)(8). Plaintiff filed a wrongful death action against defendants Patricia and Charles Wood based upon the alleged negligent operation of an automobile that was owned by Patricia Wood and driven by Charles Wood. The trial court determined that defendant Charles Wood owed no duty to the plaintiff's decedent as a matter of law. We reverse.
On November 10, 1983, the decedent, Lorrie Sponkowski, Charles Wood, and numerous other Michigan State University students intended to take a hayride at the Crazy C stables in Mason, Michigan. Transportation to the hayride was by way of four or more privately owned automobiles. Several of the drivers were unfamiliar with the location of the Crazy C and as a result it was agreed that one driver, who knew the way would lead and the other vehicles would follow.
Lorrie Sponkowski was a passenger in defendant Cindy Osmon's car, which was one of the cars in the caravan. The Osmon vehicle directly followed the car driven by defendant Charles Wood. Osmon indicated in her deposition that she did not know the way to the stables and thus needed to follow another vehicle. From the agreement reached between the participants before leaving, it is apparent that Charles Wood realized that he would be followed.
As the caravan proceeded southbound on Hagadorn Road, defendant Wood lost control of his vehicle at a sharp turn and left the road, ending up in a ditch. Immediately thereafter, the car carrying Lorrie Sponkowski also left the road at the same curve. The Osmon car sideswiped the Wood vehicle and then continued forward until it struck a tree. Lorrie Sponkowski died as a result of injuries she received in the accident.
Plaintiff subsequently filed the present wrongful death action against the Ingham County Road Commission, Cindy Osmon, and Charles and Patricia Wood. As to defendant Charles Wood, the complaint alleged that he knew that Osmon would be following him and that his negligent operation of his vehicle was a proximate cause of Lorrie's death. Defendant Wood filed an answer and a motion for summary judgment, asserting that plaintiff failed to state a claim because he owed no legal duty to Lorrie Sponkowski. The trial court agreed and dismissed the plaintiff's claim against defendant Wood.
On appeal, the sole issue for our determination concerns whether the trial court erred in finding as a matter of law that Charles Wood owed no duty to the decedent under the facts of this case and therefore improperly dismissed the plaintiff's negligence action for failure to state a claim.
The trial court granted summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(8) for failure of plaintiff to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The standard for this Court's review of such a motion is well settled:
Ortiz v. Textron, Inc., 140 Mich.App. 242, 244, 363 N.W.2d 464 (1985).
In a negligence action, the question of whether a duty exists is one of law for the court's resolution. Moning v. Alfono, 400 Mich. 425, 436-437, 254 N.W.2d 759 (1977), reh. den. 401 Mich. 951 (1977). "Duty is essentially a question of whether the relationship between the actor and the injured person gives rise to any legal obligation on the actor's part for the benefit of the injured person." 400 Mich. 438-439, 254 N.W.2d 759. ...
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