BILLY KEHOE V PAMELA GARRISON
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
BILLY KEHOE,
UNPUBLISHED
December 19, 2000
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 216195
Wayne Circuit Court
LC No. 98-800941-NO
PAMELA GARRISON and ROBERT
GARRISON,
Defendants-Appellees.
Before: Bandstra, C.J., and Fitzgerald and D. B. Leiber*, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Plaintiff appeals as of right the order granting defendants’ motion for summary
disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) in this slip-and-fall negligence case. We affirm. This
appeal is being decided without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
Plaintiff, a licensee, fell on a step located in the back of defendants’ garage. Defendants
moved for summary disposition, asserting that the danger was open and obvious, and they owed
no duty to plaintiff. Plaintiff argued that the unusual nature of the step presented a question of
fact for trial regarding defendants’ duty. The trial court granted defendants’ motion.
Summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) is appropriate if there is no genuine issue
of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Gibson v Neelis,
227 Mich App 187, 190; 575 NW2d 313 (1997). When reviewing such a motion, this Court
must consider the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party and determine
whether there exists a genuine issue of material fact on which reasonable minds could differ or
whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.
A landowner has a duty to protect licensees from unreasonable dangers of which they
may be unaware. DeBoard v Fairwood Villas Condominium Assn, 193 Mich App 240, 242; 483
NW2d 422 (1992). The open and obvious danger principle establishes awareness and the ability
to avoid the danger. Haas v City of Ionia, 214 Mich App 361, 362; 543 NW2d 21 (1995).
* Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.
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In Bertrand v Alan Ford, Inc, 449 Mich 606; 537 NW2d 185 (1995), the Supreme Court
applied the open and obvious danger doctrine to steps. The Court stated:
In summary, because steps are the type of everyday occurrence that people
encounter, under most circumstances, a reasonably prudent person will look
where he is going, will observe the steps, and will take appropriate care for his
own safety. Under ordinary circumstances, the overriding public policy of
encouraging people to take reasonable care for their own safety precludes
imposing a duty on the possessor of land to make ordinary steps “foolproof.”
Therefore, the risk of harm is not unreasonable. However, where there is
something unusual about the steps because of their “character, location, or
surrounding conditions,” then the duty of the possessor of land to exercise
reasonable care remains. If the proofs create a question of fact that the risk of
harm was unreasonable, the existence of duty as well as breach become questions
for the jury to decide. [Id. at 616-617.]
Here, the trial court found that there was nothing unusual about the steps that would
require the landowner to exercise reasonable care. Although the steps included a platform
section, the risk was open and obvious. The nature of the steps was readily discoverable on
casual inspection. The trial court properly granted summary disposition to defendants. Novotney
v Burger King Corp (On Remand), 198 Mich App 470, 476-477; 499 NW2d 379 (1993).
We affirm.
/s/ Richard A. Bandstra
/s/ E. Thomas Fitzgerald
/s/ Dennis B. Leiber
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