Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
May 30, 2008 Clifford W. Taylor,
Chief Justice
135836 & (23) Michael F. Cavanagh
Elizabeth A. Weaver
BROWNSTOWN CHARTER TOWNSHIP and Marilyn Kelly
MICHIGAN MUNICIPAL LEAGUE Maura D. Corrigan
LIABILITY AND PROPERTY POOL, Robert P. Young, Jr.
Plaintiffs-Appellees/Cross-Appellants, Stephen J. Markman,
Justices
v SC: 135836
COA: 279794
Wayne CC: 07-703166-AV
33rd DC: 06-B-2136
FARM BUREAU INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the January 10, 2008
order of the Court of Appeals and the application for leave to appeal as cross-appellant
are considered, and they are DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions
presented should be reviewed by this Court.
MARKMAN, J., dissents and states as follows:
I would reverse the Court of Appeals and remand the case to the trial court for
further proceedings. MCL 500.3123(1)(a) excludes property damage coverage for motor
vehicles operated on a public highway “unless the vehicle is parked in a manner as not to
cause unreasonable risk of the damage which occurred.” In Stewart v Michigan, 471
Mich 692, 695, 698-699 (2004), this Court considered similar language in MCL 500.3106
to determine that a police cruiser that was parked partially on a roadway to assist the
driver of a stalled vehicle did not present an unreasonable risk of bodily injury because
there was “nothing in the record to suggest that an oncoming northbound driver would
not have ample opportunity to observe, react to, and avoid the hazard posed by the police
cruiser.” Id. at 699. In the instant case, the police cruiser was parked in the left lane at
the top of an incline and around a curve. Another police cruiser was parked on the
opposite shoulder, substantially limiting the area through which a vehicle could pass.
The roadway was icy, it was dark outside, and two other vehicles had spun out near the
scene within the previous 20 minutes. There is a question of fact, I believe, regarding
whether the cruiser in the left lane created an unreasonable risk of the damage that
occurred.
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.
May 30, 2008 _________________________________________
p0527 Clerk