ROBERT HADDIX V JOHN ARLO BENETTI
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
ROBERT HADDIX, Individually and as Next
Friend of BOBBI HADDIX, a Minor,
UNPUBLISHED
August 18, 1998
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v
No. 200394
Oakland Circuit Court
LC No. 96-514526 NI
JOHN ARLO BENETTI,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Cavanagh, P.J., and White and Young, Jr., JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Plaintiff Robert Haddix, individually and as next friend of Bobbi Haddix, appeals as of right from
the trial court order granting defendant’s motion for summary disposition pursuant to MCR
2.116(C)(10). We reverse.
The trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary disposition pursuant to the wrongful
conduct rule. However, in Poch v Anderson, ___ Mich App ___, ___; ___ NW2d ___ (Docket No.
198938, issued 3/27/98), this Court recently clarified that the wrongful conduct rule does not
automatically bar an action when a plaintiff has violated a statute. Violation of a penal statute can be
prima facie evidence of negligence. Michigan has adopted a comparative negligence system, in which a
plaintiff’s negligence merely reduces the amount of her recovery. See id. at slip op p 4. If a complete
cause of action can be shown without the necessity of proving the plaintiff’s illegal act, the plaintiff will
be permitted to recover notwithstanding that the illegal act may be important in explaining the other facts
of the case. See id. at slip op pp 4-5.
In the instant case, plaintiff’s criminal acts, like the plaintiff’s in Poch, are not the source of her
cause of action. Furthermore, plaintiff’s wrongful conduct was not of the type that typically invokes the
rule and bars a plaintiff’s cause of action. See id. at slip op p 5. Accordingly, we reverse the trial
court’s grant of defendant’s motion for summary disposition.
-1
Reversed. Plaintiffs being the prevailing parties, they may tax costs pursuant to MCR 7.219.
/s/ Mark J. Cavanagh
/s/ Helene N. White
/s/ Robert P. Young, Jr.
-2
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
