SHIRLEY PATTISON V STATE OF MICHIGAN
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
SHIRLEY PATTISON, Personal Representative of
the Estate of MARIE PATTISON, deceased,
UNPUBLISHED
July 27, 2001
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
STATE OF MICHIGAN and DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION,
No. 222949
Court of Claims
LC No. 99-017161-CM
Defendants-Appellees.
Before: Wilder, P.J., and Hood and Griffin, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Plaintiff appeals as of right the Court of Claims’ order dismissing her complaint based on
governmental immunity. We affirm. This appeal is being decided without oral argument
pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
The trial court properly dismissed plaintiff’s complaint based on governmental immunity.
Statutory exceptions to governmental immunity, including the highway exception provided by
MCL 691.1402, are to be narrowly construed, in strict accordance with the statutory language.
Nawrocki v Macomb Co Rd Comm, 463 Mich 143, 158; 615 NW2d 702 (2000). The language of
MCL 691.1402(1) limits the liability to the governmental agency having jurisdiction over the
specific highway, not to any agencies which might be responsible for regulating some aspect of
highway safety. The road in question was under the jurisdiction of the Macomb County Road
Commission rather than defendants, so MCL 691.1402(1) simply does not apply to defendants.
Furthermore, the language of MCL 691.1402(1) specifically limits defendants’ liability to “the
improved portion of the highway designed for vehicular travel” and does not include liability
arising from the failure to install railroad crossing gates, signals, or other safety devices which
fall outside of the improved portion of the highway designed for vehicular travel. Nawrocki,
supra at 173-180.
Affirmed.
/s/ Kurtis T. Wilder
/s/ Harold Hood
/s/ Richard Allen Griffin
-1-
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.
