TINA LARKINS V LUCILLE BENDER
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
TINA LARKINS,
UNPUBLISHED
May 5, 1998
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 200836
Monroe Circuit Court
LC No. 96-004621 NO
LUCILLE BENDER, d/b/a NORTHFIELD
VILLAGE APARTMENTS,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Saad, P.J., and Wahls and Gage, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
In this slip and fall case, plaintiff appeals as of right from an order granting defendant’s motion
for summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(10). We affirm.
A trial court’s decision regarding a motion for summary disposition is reviewed de novo on
appeal. Marcelle v Taubman, 224 Mich App 215, 217; 568 NW2d 393 (1997). In reviewing a
motion for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10), we consider affidavits, pleadings,
depositions, admissions, and documentary evidence in a light most favorable to the party opposing the
motion. Marcelle, supra, 224 Mich App 216-217.
Plaintiff alleges that the eroded ground next to the sidewalk where she fell constitutes a
dangerous condition and that the open and obvious doctrine does not negate defendant’s duty of
reasonable care. In Eason v Coggins Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 210 Mich
App 261, 263-264; 532 NW2d 882 (1995), we held that “there is no duty to warn of open and
obvious dangers unless the invitor anticipates harm to the invitee despite the invitee’s knowledge of the
defect.” Plaintiff does not dispute that the eroded condition of the sidewalk is open and obvious,
however, she contends that this doctrine does not negate defendant’s duty of reasonable care. In
Bertrand v Alan Ford, Inc, 449 Mich 606, 611; 537 NW2d 185 (1995), our Supreme Court stated
that “if the risk of harm remains unreasonable, despite its obviousness or despite knowledge of it by the
invitee, then the circumstances may be such that the invitor is required to undertake reasonable
precautions.”
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Here, we find nothing that shows the sidewalk upon which plaintiff was injured was
unreasonably dangerous. The sidewalk in question is wholly unremarkable. The affidavit of plaintiff’s
expert landscaper merely stated that the grounds around the sidewalk were poorly maintained; it does
not constitute evidence that the sidewalk was unreasonably dangerous.
Affirmed.
/s/ Henry William Saad
/s/ Myron H. Wahls
/s/ Hilda R. Gage
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