Burney v. P v Holding Corp.

553 N.W.2d 657, 218 Mich. App. 167

• Court: Michigan Court of Appeals
• Decided: September 27, 1996
• Docket: Docket 177003
• Status: Published

Opinions

Murphy, P.J.

Plaintiffs appeal a trial court order granting defendants’ motion to apply Alabama law to the wrongful death claim brought against defendants by plaintiff Floyd Bumey, the administrator of the estate of decedent Annie L. Bumey.* ¹ After the trial court granted defendants’ motion, plaintiff filed an application for an interlocutory. This Court denied plaintiff’s application. Burney v P V Holding Corp, unpublished order of the Court of Appeals, entered August 4, 1993 (Docket No. 164709). Plaintiff then filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. In lieu of granting leave, the Supreme Court remanded the case to this Court for consideration as on leave granted. Burney v P V Holding Corp, 445 Mich 937 (1994). We reverse.

Defendant Kenneth Watkins rented a 1991 Pontiac Grand Prix from defendant P V Holding Corporation, doing business as Avis Rent-A-Car, at the Avis City Airport office in Detroit, Michigan. Kenneth’s brother, defendant Carl Watkins, decedent, decedent’s daughter (who was Carl’s fiancée), and plaintiff Leon Burney (decedent’s son), began a trip to return the decedent to her home in Troy, Alabama. Carl was driving. On June 21, 1991, at about 11:55 A.M., Carl fell asleep while driving on Interstate 65 in Alabama. The car hit a guardrail, spun off into the median, hit a concrete ditch, and turned over twice. The decedent was pronounced dead at the scene.

Plaintiff, as administrator of the decedent’s estate, filed a wrongful death action against defendants Avis and Carl and Kenneth Watkins. Defendants moved to apply Alabama law to plaintiff’s wrongful death action, arguing that under Michigan choice-of-law rules, Michigan law does not apply when a defendant is a Michigan resident, the plaintiff is not a Michigan resident, and Michigan is not the place of the alleged wrong. Noting that defendants were Michigan residents, the decedent was an Alabama resident, and the accident in which plaintiff’s decedent was killed occurred in Alabama, defendants contended that Alabama law, specifically Alabama’s guest passenger statute, should apply. Alabama’s guest passenger statute provides:

The owner, operator or person responsible for the operation of a motor vehicle shall not be liable for loss or damage arising from injuries to or death of a guest while being transported without payment therefor in or upon said motor vehicle, resulting from the operation thereof, unless such injuries or death are caused by the willful or wanton misconduct of such operator, owner or person responsible for the operation of said motor vehicle. [Ala Code 32-1-2.]

Plaintiff argued that Michigan, not Alabama, law should apply to the wrongful death action. Under Michigan’s owner’s liability statute, “[t]he owner of a motor vehicle shall be liable for any injury occasioned by the negligent operation of the motor vehicle.” MCL 257.401(1); MSA 9.2101(1). The trial court rejected plaintiff’s argument and granted defendants’ motion to apply Alabama law, stating: “The law is that when the defendant is a Michigan resident and the plaintiff is not[,] Michigan law generally will not be applied, especially if Michigan is not the place of the wrong.” The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in granting defendants’ motion to apply Alabama law to plaintiff’s wrongful death action. If Alabama law applies, plaintiff will not be able to recover unless he can prove that defendant Carl Watkins was operating the vehicle in a wilful and wanton manner. In contrast, under Michigan law, plaintiff only has to show that defendant Carl Watkins was operating the car in a negligent manner.

This Court reviews questions regarding conflicts of law de novo. People v Krause, 206 Mich App 421, 422; 522 NW2d 667 (1994).

Before 1982, Michigan courts used the lex loci delicti rule in deciding choice-of-law issues. Abendschein v Farrell, 382 Mich 510; 170 NW2d 137 (1969). Under that rule, the substantive law of the jurisdiction where the injury occurred applied. Vogh v American Int’l Rent-A-Car, Inc, 134 Mich App 362, 365-366; 350 NW2d 882 (1984). In Sexton v Ryder Truck Rental, Inc, 413 Mich 406; 320 NW2d 843 (1982), a majority of the Supreme Court abandoned the traditional lex loci delicti rule as an absolute rule. However, the Supreme Court did not establish a new choice-of-law rule or methodology. In Olmstead v Anderson, 428 Mich 1; 400 NW2d 292 (1987), the Supreme Court again addressed the choice-of-law issue. According to Olmstead, the law of the forum state (lex fori) should apply unless there is a “rational reason” to displace it.² Id., 24, 29-30. Choice-of-law issues are to be decided case by case. Id., 24. Although the Supreme Court did not establish a specific framework or methodology for analyzing choice-of-law questions, its reasoning suggests the following approach to deciding such issues. The court must first consider whether the foreign state has any interest in having its law applied. Id., 29-30. If the foreign state has no interest in having its law applied, the inquiry ends there and Michigan law applies. Id. However, if the foreign state does have an interest in having its law applied, then an analysis of Michigan’s interest in having its laws applied is necessary. Id., 30. In Chrysler Corp v Skyline Industrial Services, Inc, 448 Mich 113; 528 NW2d 698 (1995), the most recent Supreme Court case addressing choice-of-law issues, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the interest-balancing approach suggested in Olmstead and confirmed that “[t]he trend in this Court has been to move away from traditional choice-of-law conceptions toward a more policy-centered approach.” Id., 122-123.

Applying the interest-balancing approach established by the Supreme Court, we must first consider whether Alabama has any interest in having its law applied. Olmstead, supra, 29-30. When none of the parties of an action is a citizen of the state where the wrong occurred, that state will have no interest in having its law applied. Id., 28. We therefore must determine whether any of the parties is a citizen of Alabama. It is undisputed that defendants Carl and Kenneth Watkins are residents of Michigan and that the Avis office from which the car was rented was doing business in Michigan. Furthermore, it is undisputed that plaintiff, the personal representative of the decedent’s estate, is a Michigan resident. Therefore, according to plaintiff, Michigan law applies because all the parties are residents of Michigan.

While we agree that Michigan law applies in this case, we disagree with plaintiff’s contention that plaintiff’s residence is Michigan for purposes of bringing the wrongful death action on behalf of the estate of the decedent. Wrongful death actions may be brought only in the name of the personal representative of the estate of the deceased. MCL 600.2922(2); MSA 27A.2922(2). The personal representative who asserts a cause of action on behalf of a decedent stands in the decedent’s place for all purposes incident to the enforcement of that claim. Scott v Henry Ford Hosp, 199 Mich App 241, 243, n 1; 501 NW2d 259 (1993) (emphasis added), citing McNitt v Citco Drilling Co, 60 Mich App 81, 88; 230 NW2d 318 (1975). Because the personal representative stands in the decedent’s place for all purposes incident to the enforcement of the claim, we conclude that the residency of the personal representative should be determined not by the personal representative’s domicile, but by the residency of the decedent at the time of her death. It is undisputed that the decedent lived in Alabama her entire life. Thus, there is no question that under Michigan law, she was a resident of Alabama. Beason v Beason (After Remand), 204 Mich App 178, 180-181; 514 NW2d 231 (1994), rev’d on other grounds 447 Mich 1023 (1995). Because plaintiff, as personal representative of decedent’s estate, stands in the decedent’s place for all purposes incident to the enforcement of the wrongful death claim, plaintiff must be considered a resident of Alabama for purposes of the wrongful death action.

Accordingly, under Olmstead, Alabama has an interest in having its law applied because one of the parties is a citizen of the state where the wrong occurred. Olmstead, supra, 28. We will therefore determine what Alabama’s interests are in having its guest passenger statute applied to plaintiff’s wrongful death claim. The accident occurred in Alabama, and the injury state always has an interest in conduct within its borders. Id. Moreover, the decedent was a resident of Alabama her entire life. Alabama has an interest in a car accident that occurs within its borders and claims the life of one of its residents.

Notwithstanding Alabama’s interests in having its law applied, we believe that Michigan has a greater interest in applying its owner’s liability statute. First, Michigan is the forum state. In addition, defendants Carl and Kenneth Watkins are Michigan residents. Furthermore, Kenneth rented the car from an Avis office doing business in Detroit, Michigan. Moreover, defendants, as Michigan residents and a corporation doing business in Michigan, cannot argue that the application of Michigan law would defeat their expectations. Id., 27.

Michigan also has an interest in promoting the efficient administration of justice in its courts, and applying Michigan law to plaintiffs wrongful death claim would promote the efficient administration of justice. As previously noted, the complaint contained claims in addition to plaintiff’s wrongful death claim. The complaint also contained a negligence claim brought by plaintiff Leon Burney. The same jury would be hearing both plaintiff’s wrongful death claim and plaintiff Leon Burney’s negligence claim. Applying Michigan law to the negligence claim and Alabama law to the wrongful death claim would require the jury to consider whether the same conduct satisfied two different standards. This would be confusing for the jury and would require significant instruction and explanation from the trial court. Thus, Michigan’s interest in promoting the efficient administration of justice also enhances Michigan’s overall interest in applying Michigan law to plaintiff’s wrongful death claim.

Michigan also has an interest in effectuating the purpose of Michigan’s owners’ liability statute. The purpose of Michigan’s owners’ liability statute is to place the risk of damage or injury on the person with ultimate control of the vehicle and thereby promote safety in transportation. Sexton, supra, 437. We agree that the purpose of the owners’ liability statute

cannot be fully effectuated unless the owners’ liability statutes are given uniform application to residents of this state traveling outside of Michigan as well as persons within our state. ... To enforce the owners’ liability statutes on the basis of where the accident occurred would undermine the effectiveness of these important statutes. [Id., 437-438.]

Thus, effectuating the purpose of Michigan’s owners’ liability statute is an important interest that favors applying Michigan law in this case.

The purpose of Alabama’s guest passenger statute is to protect from negligence claims that are close questions generous drivers who offer rides to guests. Roe v Lewis, 416 So 2d 750 (Ala, 1982.) In Roe, the Alabama Supreme Court described the rationale behind the statute as follows:

“As the use of automobiles became almost universal, many cases arose where generous drivers, having offered rides to guests, later found themselves defendants in cases that often turned upon close questions of negligence. Undoubtedly the legislature in adopting this act reflected a certain natural feeling as to the injustice of such a situation. The terms of the statute should be construed with their intent and purpose in view, and the purpose and object that the legislature had in mind sometimes throws light upon the meaning of the language used.” [Id., 752, quoting Blair v Greene, 247 Ala 104, 109; 22 So 2d 834 (1945).]

While Alabama clearly has an interest in protecting from lawsuits its own drivers who offer rides to guests, Alabama has no interest in protecting Michigan drivers from such lawsuits. Only Michigan has an interest in deciding how much protection to afford its drivers who offer rides to guests. Thus, even if it were applied, Alabama’s guest passenger statute would not benefit the interest it was designed to protect.

By enacting the owners’ liability statute, Michigan has determined that drivers who offer rides to guests are liable to those guests for damages caused by the driver’s ordinary negligence. At one time, Michigan, like Alabama, had a guest passenger statute that provided that a driver was not liable for injury or death of a guest passenger unless the injury or death was caused by the driver’s gross negligence or wilful and wanton misconduct Manistee Bank & Trust Co v McGowan, 394 Mich 655, 661, n 1; 232 NW2d 636 (1975). However, in Manistee Bank, the Supreme Court declared Michigan’s guest statute unconstitutional because it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Michigan Constitution. Const 1963, art 1, § 2. Michigan unquestionably has a substantial interest in not applying Alabama’s guest passenger statute when Michigan has explicitly determined that a similar guest passenger statute is unconstitutional and has enacted a statute permitting guest passengers to recover from drivers for injury or death caused by the driver’s negligence.

Defendants rely on Farrell v Ford Motor Co, 199 Mich App 81; 501 NW2d 567 (1993), in support of their argument that Alabama law applies. In Farrell, this Court held that North Carolina law applied to a products liability action arising from an accident in which a North Carolina resident was killed in North Carolina when her Ford automobile, manufactured in Michigan and purchased in North Carolina, allegedly shifted from park into reverse and ran over her. We reject defendants’ reliance on Farrell because Michigan’s interests in applying its law are much more substantial in this case than in Farrell and the foreign state’s interests are much less significant in this case than in Farrell. In Farrell, this Court held that Michigan had “little or no interest” in having its law applied when Michigan was “merely the forum state and situs of defendant’s headquarters.” Id., 94. In contrast, this Court determined that North Carolina had a substantial economic interest in encouraging manufacturers to do business in North Carolina by extending to such manufacturers the benefit of North Carolina’s statute of repose as protection from open-ended products liability claims. Id., 93-94. In this case, the foreign state, Alabama, has no comparable economic interest in applying its law to plaintiff’s wrongful death action. Moreover, unlike in Farrell, Michigan has a substantial interest in applying its owners’ liability statute. Thus, we reject plaintiff’s reliance on Farrell.

In sum, we hold that the trial court erred in ruling that Alabama law applies to plaintiff’s wrongful death action. On balance, Michigan’s interest in applying its law is greater than Alabama’s interest in applying its law. While Alabama has some interest in having its law applied, for the reasons stated above, Michigan has a much more substantial interest in having its law applied. Accordingly, we conclude that there is no rational reason to displace Michigan law in this case.

Reversed.

K. V. Fink, J., concurred.

1 Both Floyd Bumey and Leon Bumey are plaintiffs in this case. Together, plaintiffs brought several claims against defendants. However, the only relevant claim for this appeal is plaintiff Floyd Burney’s wrongful death claim because defendants’ motion to apply Alabama law applied only to the wrongful death claim, and the trial court’s ruling applied only to the wrongful death claim. Because Floyd Bumey, as the personal representative of the estate of Annie Bumey, is the plaintiff in the wrongful death claim, the opinion will refer to Floyd Bumey as plaintiff.

2 In Mahne v Ford Motor Co, 900 F2d 83, 86 (CA 6, 1990), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted the Supreme Court’s holding in Olmstead as establishing a presumption that lex fori applies to choice-of-law issues in tort cases.