In Coppola v Edward Rose & Sons, LLC, an unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals opinion, a handicapped tenant slipped and fell in the parking lot of the apartment complex, injuring her hand and shoulder. She sued the landlord and the snowplow contractor claiming that the parking lot was not kept fit for the use intended by the parties as required by MCL 554.139.
The court considered whether the duties imposed by the statute should be measured from an objective standard; i.e., the reasonable person using the parking lot, or from a subjective standard; i. e., the tenant as a disabled person. The court held that the landlord did not owe the tenant a higher standard of care because she was a handicapped person using a handicapped parking space.
However, although the tenant argued she was owed a higher standard of care due to her disability, she cited no authority for that proposition and the court held the argument abandoned on appeal. Because this is an unpublished opinion, the question whether a disabled tenant is owed a higher standard of care remains open to debate.