DOROTHY M PARKS V STATE OF MICHIGAN
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
DOROTHY M. PARKS,
UNPUBLISHED
January 6, 1998
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 200329
Court of Claims
LC No. 96-016211 CM
STATE OF MICHIGAN, STATE HIGHWAY
& TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: MacKenzie, P.J., and Hood and Hoekstra, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Plaintiff sustained personal injuries when she slipped on ice and snow as she stepped on the
portion of a walkway closest to the parking lot at a rest area on I-96, intending to walk to the restroom.
Defendant’s motion for summary disposition based on governmental immunity was granted, and in this
appeal as of right plaintiff asserts that her claim comes within the public building exception, MCL
691.1406; MSA 3.996(106), to governmental immunity. This appeal is being decided without oral
argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E). We affirm.
This case is controlled by the Supreme Court’s decision in Henkey v Grand Rapids, 440 Mich
867; 485 NW2d 487 (1992), where the Court peremptorily reversed this Court’s decision, which had
agreed with precisely the kind of claim which plaintiff here makes. Under the Supreme Court’s Henkey
decision, the public building exception is limited to the building itself and does not extend to walkways
which merely lead to the building. Alternatively, the Supreme Court’s citation to Wade v Dep’t of
Corrections, 439 Mich 158; 483 NW2d 26 (1992) could be interpreted as an assertion that removal
of snow and ice is a problem of maintenance, not design of public buildings, and claims for negligent
maintenance do not avoid governmental immunity. Under either reading of Henkey, plaintiff ’s claim is
clearly barred by governmental immunity.
Affirmed.
-1
/s/ Barbara B. MacKenzie
/s/ Harold Hood
/s/ Joel P. Hoekstra
-2
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