Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
March 9, 2011 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
141559-60 Michael F. Cavanagh
Marilyn Kelly
Stephen J. Markman
Diane M. Hathaway
Mary Beth Kelly
THOMAS LaMEAU, Personal Representative of Brian K. Zahra,
the Estate of John M. Crnkovich, Deceased, Justices
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v SC: 141559-60
COA: 290059, 292006
Oakland CC: 07-083761-NO
CITY OF ROYAL OAK, ELDEN DANIELSON,
and BRYAN WARJU,
Defendants-Appellants,
and
DETROIT EDISON COMPANY and GAGLIO
PR CEMENT CORPORATION,
Defendants-Appellees.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the July 13, 2010
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered. We direct the Clerk to schedule oral
argument on whether to grant the application or take other peremptory action. MCR
7.302(H)(1). The parties shall submit supplemental briefs within 42 days of the date of
this order addressing: (1) whether the presence of the anchored guy wire at issue in this
case was a breach of the City of Royal Oak’s duty to keep the sidewalk in “reasonable
repair” under MCL 691.1402; (2) if so, whether the exclusion to the highway exception
for “utility poles” found at MCL 691.1401(e) removes the wire from the highway
exception; (3) the significance of the fact that the sidewalk was not opened for public
travel by the public defendants and was meant to be barricaded against public use, and
the fact that the public defendants in this case were aware that the barricades were
regularly being set aside or removed by unknown members of the public; (4) whether the
alleged conduct of the individual public defendants can reasonably be considered to
constitute gross negligence; and (5) whether the alleged conduct of the individual public
defendants can be considered “the” proximate cause of the decedent’s injury, particularly
in light of the decedent’s own conduct in this case and his intoxication at the time of
2
injury. Cf. MCL 600.2955a. The parties should not submit mere restatements of their
application papers.
The Michigan Association for Justice, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, Inc., and
Michigan Municipal League are invited to file briefs amicus curiae. Other persons or
groups interested in the determination of the issues presented in this case may move the
Court for permission to file briefs amicus curiae.
I, Corbin R. Davis, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
March 9, 2011 _________________________________________
0302 Clerk