Teufel v. Watkins
| Decision Date | 13 October 2005 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 252212. |
| Citation | 267 Mich. App. 425,705 N.W.2d 164 |
| Parties | George TEUFEL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Olie WATKINS, d/b/a ALT Aggressive Excavating and Springs Apartments, a/k/a Oakland Development Limited Partnership, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
Page 164
v.
Olie WATKINS, d/b/a ALT Aggressive Excavating and Springs Apartments, a/k/a Oakland Development Limited Partnership, Defendants-Appellees.
Page 165
Asker, Clos & Perlmuter, P.C. (by Kevin S. Oliver and Shannon L. Wirth), Westland, for George Teufel.
Garan Lucow Miller, P.C. (by Megan K. Cavanagh), Detroit, for Olie Watkins.
Kudla & McLeod (by MaryEllen McLeod and Donald J. Trybus), Southfield, for the Springs Apartments.
Before: SAAD, P.J., and FITZGERALD and SMOLENSKI, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff appeals as of right orders granting summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(10) in favor of defendants in this premises liability action. We affirm.
Plaintiff slipped and fell on ice in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Defendant Springs Apartments (Springs) owns the premises. Defendant Olie Watkins contracted with Springs to provide snowplowing services. Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred by granting Springs' motion for summary disposition on the basis of its finding that the condition that plaintiff encountered was open and obvious.
This Court reviews de novo a trial court's ruling on a motion for summary disposition. Dressel v. Ameribank, 468 Mich. 557, 561, 664 N.W.2d 151 (2003). In considering a motion pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(10), a court considers affidavits, pleadings, depositions, admissions and other documentary evidence submitted by the parties in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Corley v. Detroit Bd. of Ed., 470 Mich. 274, 278, 681 N.W.2d 342 (2004). If the proffered evidence fails to establish a genuine issue of material fact, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Maiden v. Rozwood, 461 Mich. 109, 120, 597 N.W.2d 817 (1999).
To establish a prima facie case of negligence, a plaintiff must prove (1) that the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff, (2) that the defendant breached the duty, (3) that the defendant's breach of the duty caused the plaintiff's injuries, and (4) that the plaintiff suffered damages. Case v. Consumers Power Co., 463 Mich. 1, 6, 615 N.W.2d 17 (2000); Jones v. Enertel, Inc., 254 Mich.App. 432, 436-437, 656 N.W.2d 870 (2002). A possessor of land has a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect an invitee from an unreasonable risk of harm caused by a dangerous condition on the land. The duty to protect an invitee does not extend to a condition from which an unreasonable risk of harm cannot be anticipated, or from a condition that is so open and obvious that an invitee could be expected to discover it. Bertrand v. Alan Ford, Inc., 449 Mich. 606, 609-610, 537 N.W.2d 185 (1995).
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The open and obvious danger doctrine is a defensive doctrine that attacks the duty element that a plaintiff must establish in a prima facie negligence case. Id. at 612, 537 N.W.2d 185. Whether a danger is open and obvious depends on whether it is reasonable to expect that an average person with ordinary intelligence would have discovered the danger on casual inspection. Novotney v. Burger King Corp. (On Remand), 198 Mich.App. 470, 474-475, 499 N.W.2d 379 (1993). If special aspects of a condition make even an open and obvious risk unreasonably dangerous, a possessor of land must take reasonable precautions to protect an invitee from that risk. Lugo v. Ameritech Corp., Inc., 464 Mich. 512, 517, 629 N.W.2d 384 (2001). But where no such special aspects exist, the "openness and obviousness should prevail in barring liability." Id. at 517-518, 629 N.W.2d 384.
As a general rule, and absent special circumstances, the hazards presented by snow and ice are open and obvious, and do not impose a...
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