The question of whether an icy sidewalk was an “open and obvious” condition was one factor in a recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling. Plaintiff slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk at her St. Clair Shores housing cooperative. Plaintiff had removed snow from her personal walkway behind her townhome, and then walked around the building on the community walkway with the intention of clearing snow from her front porch. She slipped and fell while on the community walkway, resulting in a severe ankle injury. Plaintiff testified that she fell on black ice that she described as being “the color of the sidewalk.” Plaintiff alleged in Count I of her complaint that defendant was liable under a theory of premises liability. She further alleged in Count II that defendant was liable under a theory of ordinary negligence.
The Trial Court determined that MCL §554.139 regarding the lease of residential premises was applicable to this case and further questioned whether the sidewalk condition was “open and obvious.” MCL §554.139 requires lessors to maintain leased premises in a condition “fit for its intended purpose.” As a result, the trial court denied defendant’s motion for summary disposition.
The Appellate Court, however, agreed with Defendant’s motion for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(8) and (10), and ruled that the Trial Court erred. The Appellate Court adopted the Defendant’s arguments that “…. Plaintiff’s claim of premises liability failed because Plaintiff, as a co-owner of the cooperative, was not on the land of another when she was injured;” that “Plaintiff’s claims failed because the ice on which Plaintiff slipped was open and obvious, and that Plaintiff had not alleged a valid common law negligence claim.”
Click on the link to read the case Jeffrey-Moise v. Williamsburg Towne Houses Coop., Inc., No. 351813, 2 (Mich. Ct. App. Feb. 18, 2021)