Mote v. City of Chelsea

391 F. Supp. 3d 720
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJuly 3, 2019
DocketCase Number 16-11546
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 391 F. Supp. 3d 720 (Mote v. City of Chelsea) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mote v. City of Chelsea, 391 F. Supp. 3d 720 (E.D. Mich. 2019).

Opinion

Second, there is no evidence to support the WCRC's theory that pavement shifting over time caused the out-of-compliance measurements found in 2017 and 2018. For instance, the Northwest and Northeast ramps at Arthur Street do not exhibit any signs of heaving, buckling, cracking, or settling in 2018. All flags of concrete were flush, and joints between ramp, curb, and gutter pan were flush and even. Shifting concrete is easily identifiable by visible cracking, distortion of joints, and changes in elevation resulting in uneven abutting slabs. None were observed at the curb ramps in the intersections at issue here.

Moreover, as of May 2018, none of the ramps showed signs of deterioration. All concrete slabs were level and abutting one to the other, and level with abutting curbs and abutting gutters in every instance. The expansion joints between slabs, gutters and curbs were evenly spaced and uniform. Bollinger testified that shifted concrete is easily identifiable by visible cracking, distortion of joints, and changes in elevation resulting in uneven abutting slabs. But there was no heaving, shifting, buckling, cracking or settling observed by any witness that would indicate that the ramp slopes exist in a different state today than they did in 2007. The City witnesses reasonably inferred that the condition of the ramps has not changed since 2007 and that the inter-curb slopes found were those as the ramps had been constructed. Mr. McCulloch of the WCRC could not recall changes in elevation or uneven abutting slabs. He did not measure slopes on his April 2018 inspection of the one set of crossings he did look at.

There has been no showing of an intervening cause that the several abutting, disconnected, separately poured sections of flat and sloped concrete, curbs and gutters all settled, heaved, or otherwise shifted simultaneously in identical proportion creating the illusion of solid original construction. The WCRC did not present a witness having personal knowledge of the curb ramps having been in any different condition or having personal knowledge that the ramps were ADA-compliant when installed.

Chelsea has not altered or otherwise manipulated the structure of the curb ramps installed by WCRC in 2007 under permit or otherwise.

It is more likely than not, therefore, that the WCRC failed to comply with the requirements of MDOT specification R-28-F when in 2007 it constructed the curb ramps at the intersection of Old US-12 and Wilkinson Street, the intersection of Old US-12 and Lane Street, the intersection of Old US-12 and Arthur Street, and the intersection of Old US-12 and Taylor Street/Old Manchester Road.

Finally, the WCRC has created an ongoing condition by throwing sand onto the roads and gutters along Old US-12 throughout the winter months. The sand regularly washes along the gutters and into the ramps by rainwater and snow melt. The WCRC does not sweep Old US-12 *736or remove the sand deposited by it. Chelsea does not spread sand on its streets or on M-52, which it maintains under contract with MDOT.

II. Evidentiary Issues

The WCRC contests the admissibility of the Grawi and Clark depositions. The plaintiffs offered those under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 32(a)(4)(B) (allowing use at trial when "the witness is more than 100 miles from the place of hearing or trial or is outside the United States, unless it appears that the witness's absence was procured by the party offering the deposition") and Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(1) (former testimony of an unavailable witness). Plaintiffs' counsel represented at trial that both witnesses were not in Michigan at the time of trial, and all parties had an opportunity to examine them at their discovery depositions.

Counsel for the WCRC took Grawi's deposition in another lawsuit after the trial proofs in this case were concluded. Grawi testified there that she moved to Florida in January 2018 and was no longer employed by AACIL. She acknowledged that she returned to Michigan from time to time for personal and business reasons. However, she was not in the state in late May and early June 2018 when the trial in this case was held. She testified, though, that plaintiffs' counsel told her that she would not be required to return to Michigan for the adjourned trial date, since she did not have other business in the state at the time. She stated that coming to trial then might have caused her difficulty if she could not get time off work, and she would have to bear the travel expense. Counsel for the WCRC then filed a motion to strike Grawi's deposition testimony, but he disregarded the requirement of E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(a), which requires that he confer with his counterpart before filing such a motion.

The refusal of WCRC counsel to make any effort to comply with the local rule is disturbing, betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the meet-and-confer requirement of LR 7.1, and would justify dismissal of the motion, even if it had merit. It is apparent from the filings, however, that plaintiffs' counsel did not "procure" Grawi's absence from trial. He had arranged for her to be present for trial when it was originally scheduled for April 30, 2018. At the final pretrial conference held on April 25, the Court adjourned the trial to May 29, 2018. Plaintiffs' counsel asserted in his response to the WCRC's motion that he in fact told Grawi that she did not have to show up at trial on April 30, because the trial had been adjourned. Nor can it be said that plaintiffs' counsel engaged in willful misconduct or that he caused Grawi not to attend the trial in person. She moved to Florida on her own and was beyond the geographic subpoena authority of the Court. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(1)(A) (authorizing a Court to issue a subpoena to command the appearance of a witness at trial "within 100 miles of where the person resides, is employed, or regularly transacts business in person"). The essence of defense counsel's accusation is that plaintiffs' counsel apparently told Grawi (correctly) that she did not have to honor a subpoena that required her to appear for a trial being held more than 100 miles from where she then lived. See K.S. v. Detroit Pub. Sch. , No. 14-12214, 2015 WL 6671560, at *1 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 2, 2015) (citing United States ex rel. Pogue v. Diabetes Treatment Centers of Am., Inc. , 444 F.3d 462, 468 (6th Cir. 2006) ). No misconduct occurred by conveying that advice. Rule 32(a)(4)(B) authorizes the use of Grawi's deposition at trial. The WCRC's motion to strike that testimony will be denied.

*737Deborah Clark encountered similar circumstances. She was prepared to testify in person at the April 30 trial. However, she was committed to travel plans, which overlapped with the adjourned trial date on May 29. She was 2,000 miles from the courthouse, and therefore was unavailable.

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Bluebook (online)
391 F. Supp. 3d 720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mote-v-city-of-chelsea-mied-2019.