CORY LEE THEIS V LAMAR MILLER
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
CORY LEE THEIS,
UNPUBLISHED
June 17, 2004
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 246197
Washtenaw Circuit Court
LC No. 00-000575-NO
LAMAR MILLER and MARK ALLEN,
Defendants-Appellants.
Before: Neff, P.J., and Zahra and Murray, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Defendants appeal as of right the order denying their motion for summary disposition
under MCR 2.116(C)(7), based on a claim of governmental immunity. We affirm. This appeal
is being decided without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
According to the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint, plaintiff was injured in an incident
at Maxey Boys Training Center. Defendants were employees of the training center, and plaintiff
was housed at the center. Plaintiff alleged that defendants decided the residents should engage in
physical combat, and ordered them to bring mattresses into the TV room. The physical matches
were not supervised, and defendants encouraged the residents to injure their opponents. While
engaged in these activities, plaintiff was flipped onto his head by another resident, and suffered a
fractured neck. Plaintiff alleged that defendants then failed to obtain medical attention for his
injuries, and plaintiff was dragged or carried back to his room.
A motion for summary disposition is reviewed de novo to determine if the moving party
is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Sewell v Southfield Pub Schools, 456 Mich 670, 674;
576 NW2d 153 (1998). In reviewing a motion under MCR 2.116(C)(7), a court must consider
all documentary evidence submitted by the parties. However, the contents of the complaint must
be accepted as true unless specifically contradicted by the affidavits or other appropriate
documentation submitted by the movant. Id. In this case, no evidence was submitted with
defendant’s motion. As a result, the allegations within the complaint were accepted as true for
purposes of deciding the motion.
MCL 691.1407(2) provides that an employee of a governmental agency is immune from
tort liability if the following are met:
-1-
(a)
The officer, employee, member, or volunteer is acting or
reasonably believes he is acting within the scope of his or her authority.
(b)
The governmental agency is engaged in the exercise or discharge
of a governmental function.
(c)
The officer’s, employee’s, member’s, or volunteer’s conduct does
not amount to gross negligence that is the proximate cause of the injury or
damage. As used in this subdivision, “gross negligence” means conduct so
reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury
results.
To avoid governmental immunity, the employee’s conduct must be the proximate cause
of the injury, and not merely a proximate cause. Robinson v Detroit, 462 Mich 439, 462; 613
NW2d 307 (2000). The proximate cause is the most immediate, efficient, direct cause preceding
the injury. Id.
Given the facts alleged in the complaint, a reasonable juror could find that defendants’
actions were the proximate cause of the injury. The injury may have been proximately caused by
the use of mattresses that allowed plaintiff’s neck to strike the floor, rather than the actions of
plaintiff’s opponent. Plaintiff also alleged that defendants actively encouraged the participants to
injure each other, and ordered the matches to take place. In addition, defendants were allegedly
directly responsible for the denial of medical treatment after plaintiff suffered his initial injury.
Defendants’ actions, as alleged in the complaint, appear to be the only proximate cause of any
injury that resulted from the denial of treatment.1
Affirmed.
/s/ Janet T. Neff
/s/ Brian K. Zahra
/s/ Christopher M. Murray
1
We note, as did the trial court, that discovery may reveal facts different than those alleged in
the complaint.
-2-
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