Miller-Davis Company v. Ahrens Construction, Inc.

Order Michigan Supreme Court Lansing, Michigan September 29, 2010 Marilyn Kelly, Chief Justice 139666 & (53) Michael F. Cavanagh Maura D. Corrigan Robert P. Young, Jr. Stephen J. Markman MILLER-DAVIS COMPANY, Diane M. Hathaway Plaintiff-Appellant, Alton Thomas Davis, Justices v SC: 139666 COA: 284037 Kalamazoo CC: 05-000199-CK AHRENS CONSTRUCTION, INC, Defendant-Appellee, and MERCHANT BONDING COMPANY, Defendant. _________________________________________/ On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the August 4, 2009 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall include among the issues to be briefed: (1) whether MCL 600.5839, the statute of repose for “any action” against architects, engineers, or contractors to recover damages for “any injury to property, real or personal,” governs a general contractor’s suit for a subcontractor’s breach of contract, or is instead limited to tort actions; (2) whether this particular case constitutes “any action to recover damages for any injury to property . . . arising out of the defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property;” (3) whether a claim for breach of a construction contract “accrues” under MCL 600.5807(8) on the date of “substantial completion” specified by the parties, the date the party in breach physically ceases work, the date the party in breach certifies that it has completed work, or some other date; and (4) whether, alternatively, the “occupancy of the completed improvement, use, or acceptance of the improvement” under MCL 600.5839 is limited to occupancy, use or acceptance by the owner of the property and whether the Legislature intended the terms “use” and “acceptance” to be otherwise limited in scope. The motion for leave to file brief amicus curiae is GRANTED. 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. September 29, 2010 _________________________________________ y0922 Clerk