In Jeffrey-Moise v Williamsburg Towne Houses Cooperative, Inc., a published Michigan Court of Appeals opinion, a co-op member slipped and fell on black ice while shovelling the snow from her porch, sustaining injuries. She sued the co-op for the injuries sustained. The co-op filed a motion for summary disposition on the issues of liability, which was denied by the trial court, and the co-op appealed by leave.
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case for entry of a judgment for the co-op. After first determining that the plaintiff’s complaint sounded in premises liability, not negligence. The issue then became whether the plaintiff was on the land of another. In a condominium case, Francescutti v Fox Chase Condo. Assn, 312 Mich App 640, 886 NW2d 891 (2015), the court held that a co-owner who slipped and fell on the general common elements could not sue the association on a premises liability theory, because the co-owner owned his proportionate share of the common elements and thus was not on the land of another for purposes of a premises liability claim. Here, however, the court held that membership in the cooperative only gave a right of occupancy of the apartment and use of the common walkways, while the co-op retained posession and control over the common areas, thus making the plaintiff on the “land of another” at the time of the injury.
However, the court went on to hold that the hazard of snow was open and obvious, and that the property was fit for its intended use. The case was remanded to the trial court to enter a judgment in favor of the co-op.