PAULINE DELORES LANCE V LANSING COMM COLLEGE
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PAULINE DELORES LANCE,
UNPUBLISHED
January 8, 1999
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 201201
Ingham Circuit Court
LC No. 96-082299 NO
LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE
FOUNDATION,
Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff
-Appellee,
and
CITY BUILDING MAINTENANCE
Third-Party Defendant
Before: Saad, P.J., and Kelly and Bandstra, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
In this personal injury action, plaintiff appeals by right from a trial court order granting summary
disposition in favor of defendant based on the public building exception, MCL 691.1406; MSA
3.996(106), to the governmental immunity act, MCL 691.1401 et seq.; MSA 3.996(101) et seq. We
affirm.
Plaintiff first argues that the trial court erred in finding that the public building exception did not
apply to her claim. However, plaintiff testified that she slipped and fell on ice located on the tarmac next
to defendant's Aviation Center Building, which she did not see because one of defendant's employees
had turned off the outside lighting. The public building exception is limited to dangers actually presented
by defects in the building itself, and does not apply to areas outside the building, such as sidewalks.
Horace v City of Pontiac, 456 Mich 744, 766-767; 575 NW2d 762 (1998); Henkey v City of
Grand Rapids, 440 Mich 867; 485 NW2d 487 (1992). Furthermore, the negligent supervision of
those responsible for the activation of the outside lighting does not give rise to a claim under the public
building exception. Reardon v Dep’t of Mental Health, 430 Mich 398, 417; 424 NW2d 248 (1988).
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Therefore, because plaintiff does not allege that a defect in the building itself caused her injury, plaintiff is
not entitled to maintain an action against defendant for negligence.
Plaintiff also contends that the trial court improperly refused to allow her to amend her complaint
to allege that the public building exception to governmental immunity would provide a basis for relief.
We acknowledge that a trial court should freely grant a plaintiff leave to amend her pleadings when
justice so requires. Weymers v Khera, 454 Mich 639,658; 563 NW2d 647 (1997). However, under
the facts in the instant case, plaintiff’s proposed amendment would be futile. Plaintiff has already
testified that she did not fall within a public building, but approximately fifteen to twenty-five steps away
on the tarmac. As we said, the public building exception applies only to defects in the building itself.
Horrace, supra at 766-767. Therefore, the trial court did not err in refusing to allow plaintiff to amend
her complaint. Early Detection Center, PC v New York Life Ins Co, 157 Mich App 618, 625;403
NW2d 830 (1986).
We note that plaintiff has also raised the issue of whether defendant’s affirmative defense -- that
a natural accumulation of ice presented an open and obvious danger -- would preclude relief for
plaintiff. As we hold that the trial court properly found that defendant's governmental immunity defense
precluded relief for plaintiff, we need not review this issue. Adam v Sylvan Glynn Golf Course, 197
Mich App 95, 98 (1992).
Affirmed.
/s/ William Henry Saad
/s/ Michael J. Kelly
/s/ Richard A. Bandstra
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