Attorneys Michael Smith and Mackenzie Burrell Obtain Summary Disposition in Premises Liability Case

Attorneys Mike Smith and Mackenzie Burrell obtained summary disposition in a premises liability claim.  The Plaintiff alleged she tripped and fell on uneven ground while walking across grass at our client’s mobile home community.  The Plaintiff alleged violations of MCL 554.139, failure to warn/remediate a hazard, and active negligence against our client. The incident was never reported to our client and there was no documentation evidencing the fall in our client’s possession.   After significant discovery, including months of effort trying to obtain medical records form the date of loss, it was revealed that the Plaintiff was intoxicated at the time of the accident (despite testifying that she had not had anything to drink on the day of the incident).  The court granted our motion for summary disposition, holding that 1) there was nothing to support the notion that uneven grass constitutes a hazardous condition; and 2) there was no evidence that our client had actual or constructive notice of any alleged hazard.

While the open and obvious defense has been significantly weakened by recent case law, that does not mean that every time someone falls at a business or someone else’s home, they are entitled to compensation.  The standard for a premises owner is to be reasonable, not perfect.  These are still defensible cases, and the burden remains on the Plaintiff to prove that the Defendant acted unreasonably.  In this case, Plaintiff failed to meet that burden.