Stord v. Department of Transp., Docket No. 117963

• Decision Date: 08 January 1991
• Docket Number: Docket No. 117963
• Citation: 465 N.W.2d 54,186 Mich.App. 693
• Parties: Alberta STORD and Arne Stord, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

Page 54

465 N.W.2d 54

186 Mich.App. 693

Alberta STORD and Arne Stord, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Defendant-Appellee.

Docket No. 117963.

Court of Appeals of Michigan.

Submitted Oct. 9, 1990, at Lansing.

Decided Jan. 8, 1991, at 9:20 a.m.

Released for Publication Feb. 11, 1991.

Goodman, Eden, Millender & Bedrosian by Robert A. Koory and Sheila A. Ellison, Detroit, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Gay Secor Hardy, Sol. Gen., and Brenda E. Turner, Asst. Atty. Gen., for defendant-appellee.

Before J.H. GILLIS, P.J., and MICHAEL J. KELLY and NEFF, JJ.

MICHAEL J. KELLY, Judge.

On December 7, 1985, while traveling on a state highway, plaintiff Alberta Stord lost control of her automobile because of icy road conditions and struck an oncoming vehicle, resulting in serious injuries to Mrs. Stord. Plaintiffs filed the instant action, claiming that defendant failed to maintain the highway in a condition which was reasonably safe and fit for travel. The trial court granted summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(8) and (10) in favor of defendant, holding that the road's condition resulted from a natural accumulation of ice and snow and that defendant was immune from liability for failing to remove the accumulation. Plaintiffs appeal as of right.

Plaintiffs first urge this Court to reject the historical distinction between natural and unnatural accumulations and hold that a governmental agency can be found negligent under M.C.L. Sec. 691.1402; M.S.A. Sec. 3.996(102) for failing to maintain public roads reasonably free of natural accumulations of ice and snow. It has long been the law in this state, however, that a governmental agency's failure to remove the natural accumulation of ice and snow on a public highway does not signal negligence of that public authority. Johnson v. Pontiac, 276 Mich. 103, 267 N.W. 795 (1936); Johnson v. Marquette, 154 Mich. 50, 117 N.W. 658 (1908); McKellar v. Detroit, 57 Mich. 158, 23 N.W. 621 (1885); Sweetman v. State Highway Dep't, 137 Mich.App. 14, 357 N.W.2d 783 (1984); Hampton v. Master Products, Inc., 84 Mich.App. 767, 270 N.W.2d 514 (1978). We decline to transcend precedent, and therefore affirm the trial court. Plaintiffs' claims that time, technology, and statutorily mandated maintenance have made that precedent obsolete are better presented to the Supreme Court.

Plaintiffs also urge that, assuming that the natural accumulation doctrine is still valid, there was a question of fact regarding whether the traffic over the snow compressed it, resulting in unnaturally accumulated ice. Again this question should be presented to the Supreme Court. We believe the trial court properly relied on McKellar v. Detroit, supra, 57 Mich. at 158, 23 N.W. 621, which was based on a fall occasioned by "a small ridge of ice formed by the trampling of snow, and melting...