Susan Schmunk v. Olympia Entertainment Inc

CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 20, 2018
Docket334321
StatusUnpublished

This text of Susan Schmunk v. Olympia Entertainment Inc (Susan Schmunk v. Olympia Entertainment Inc) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Susan Schmunk v. Olympia Entertainment Inc, (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

STATE OF MICHIGAN

COURT OF APPEALS

SUSAN SCHMUNK, UNPUBLISHED March 20, 2018 Plaintiff-Appellee,

v No. 334321 Wayne Circuit Court OLYMPIA ENTERTAINMENT, INC., LC No. 14-005945-NO

Defendant-Appellant.

Before: K. F. KELLY, P.J., and MURPHY and RIORDAN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

In this negligence action tried before a jury, defendant appeals as of right a final judgment in favor of plaintiff.

I. BASIC FACTS

Plaintiff was at a college hockey tournament at the Joe Louis Arena on March 23, 2013 when she tripped and fell over a dolly that was being pulled by one of defendant’s employees, Darrin Schultz. Defendant provides concession services. The trial court concluded that plaintiff’s claim sounded in ordinary negligence, not premises liability. It also concluded that a question of fact existed as to Schultz’s negligence and plaintiff’s comparative negligence and denied defendant’s motion for summary disposition. The trial court further ruled that plaintiff’s expert, Robert Pachella, was qualified to offer an opinion on human factors that brought about such an accident. The matter proceeded to a jury trial. Surveillance footage from the date of plaintiff’s fall was played numerous times for the jury.

The jury found that defendant was negligent and that its negligence was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury. It found plaintiff comparatively negligent and attributed negligence to defendant at 70% and to plaintiff at 30%. It found that plaintiff sustained damages for past medical expenses in the amount of $28,588.03 and further found that plaintiff would sustain damages for future medical and/or out-of-pocket expenses in the amount of $48,000. The jury found that plaintiff’s past non-economic damages totaled $150,000 and that she would not incur future non-economic damages.

The final judgment reflected an adjusted jury verdict of $158,611.62. Plaintiff was also awarded case evaluation sanctions and attorney fees for a total judgment against defendant in the amount of $246,591.52.

-1- II. DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT

Defendant first argues that the trial court erred when it denied defendant’s motion for directed verdict based on the open and obvious doctrine.

“A directed verdict is appropriately granted only when no factual questions exist on which reasonable jurors could differ.” Aroma Wines & Equip, Inc v Columbian Distribution Servs, Inc, 303 Mich App 441, 446; 844 NW2d 727 (2013), aff’d 497 Mich 337 (quotation marks omitted). “When evaluating a motion for directed verdict, the court must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, making all reasonable inferences in the nonmoving party’s favor.” Locke v Pachtman, 446 Mich 216, 223; 521 NW2d 786 (1994). A trial court’s decision on a motion for directed verdict is reviewed de novo on appeal. Krohn v Home-Owners Ins Co, 490 Mich 145, 155; 802 NW2d 281 (2011). “In doing so, [an appellate court] review[s] the evidence and all legitimate inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Only if the evidence, when viewed in this light, fails to establish a claim as a matter of law should a motion for a directed verdict be granted.” Krohn v Home-Owners Ins Co, 490 Mich 145, 155; 802 NW2d 281 (2011) (quotation marks and footnotes omitted).

“[T]he applicability of the open and obvious danger doctrine depends on the theory underlying the negligence action. The doctrine applies to an action based on premises liability, but not ordinary negligence.” Hiner v Mojica, 271 Mich App 604, 615; 722 NW2d 914 (2006) (citation omitted). Our Court has explained:

Michigan law concerning the open and obvious danger doctrine is derived from § 343A(1) of 2 Restatement Torts, 2d, p. 218, which provides:

A possessor of land is not liable to his invitees for physical harm caused to them by any activity or condition on the land whose danger is known or obvious to them, unless the possessor should anticipate the harm despite such knowledge or obviousness. [Emphasis added. See Bertrand, supra at 610, 537 NW2d 185.]

The confusion that has arisen apparently stems from the Restatement’s reference to “any activity or condition on the land,” thus prompting a misconception that the doctrine applies whenever the alleged negligence involves an activity or condition on the land. However, that language is clearly relevant only if the claim concerns the liability of a possessor of land to his invitees, i.e., premises liability. Likewise, the reference to a “condition on the land” in cases involving licensees is derived from § 342 of 2 Restatement Torts, 2d, p 210, and concerns only liability as a possessor of land, not negligent conduct in general. [Laier v Kitchen, 266 Mich App 482, 491; 702 NW2d 199 (2005).]

Therefore, “Michigan law distinguishes between claims arising from ordinary negligence and claims premised on a condition of the land.” Buhalis v Trinity Continuing Care, 296 Mich App 685, 692; 822 NW2d 254 (2012). Premises liability is distinct from ordinary negligence because “liability arises solely from the defendant’s duty as an owner, possessor, or occupier of the land.”

-2- Id. “If the plaintiff’s injury arose from an allegedly dangerous condition on the land, the action sounds in premises liability rather than ordinary negligence . . .” Id.

Plaintiff’s complaint clearly alleged that Schultz was negligent in his conduct; the focus did not involve a condition on the land.1 Plaintiff claims that Schultz engaged in negligent conduct by attempting to maneuver the cart around her without first ascertaining whether it was safe to do so. Because plaintiff’s claim sounded in ordinary negligence and was not based on premises liability or a condition on the land, the open and obvious doctrine did not apply and the trial court correctly denied defendant’s motion for a directed verdict.

III. DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY DISPOSITION

Defendant next argues that, even if this is considered an ordinary negligence claim, Schultz owed no duty to plaintiff to protect plaintiff from her own inattention.

An appellate court “reviews the grant or denial of summary disposition de novo to determine if the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Maiden v Rozwood, 461 Mich 109, 118; 597 NW2d 817 (1999). “A motion under MCR 2.116(C)(10) tests the factual sufficiency of the complaint.” Id. at 120. This Court has explained:

In reviewing a motion under MCR 2.116(C)(10), this Court considers the pleadings, admissions, affidavits, and other relevant documentary evidence of record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party to determine whether any genuine issue of material fact exists to warrant a trial. Summary disposition is appropriate if there is no genuine issue regarding any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A genuine issue of material fact exists when the record, giving the benefit of reasonable doubt to the opposing party, leaves open an issue upon which reasonable minds might differ. [Barrow v Detroit Election Comm’n, 305 Mich App 649, 661; 854 NW2d 489 (2014) (quotation marks and citations omitted).]

“To establish a prima facie case of negligence, a plaintiff must prove the following elements: (1) the defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty, (2) the defendant breached the legal duty, (3) the plaintiff suffered damages, and (4) the defendant’s breach was a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s damages. Accordingly, a defendant is not liable to a plaintiff unless the defendant owed a legal duty to the plaintiff.” Loweke v Ann Arbor Ceiling & Partition Co, LLC, 489 Mich 157, 162; 809 NW2d 553 (2011).

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Susan Schmunk v. Olympia Entertainment Inc, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/susan-schmunk-v-olympia-entertainment-inc-michctapp-2018.