In Jeffrey-Moise v Williamsburg Town Houses Cooperative, Inc., a published Michigan Court of Appeals opinion, the Plaintiff was a member of a cooperative and slipped and fell on a community-maintained sidewalk, severely injuring her ankle. She sued the cooperative, which filed a summary disposition motion. When the trial court denied the motion, the cooperative filed an application for leave to appeal, which was granted.
The cooperative argued, relying on Francescutti v Fox Chase Condominium Assn (discussed in this post) that as a member of the cooperative, the Plaintiff was not entering on "the land of another" and thus could not maintain a premises liability claim. The court noted that, unlike a condominium where the co-owners have an undivided interest in the general and limited common elements, ownership of a share in a cooperative gives the owner the right to enter into an occupancy agreement with the cooperative to occupy a housing unit in the cooperative. The occupancy agreement prohibited the owner from modifying the common areas and provided that the cooperative association retained control over the mintenance of the common areas. Thus, the Plaintiff could assert a premises liability claim.
However, the court held that the trial court erred in not granting the cooperative summary disposition under the “open and obvious” doctrine because there were sufficient indicia of a potentially hazardous condition to put the plaintiff on notice of the possibility of black ice.
The court also held that MCL 554.139 was not violated in this instance because, while there was snow and ice on the walkway, the walkway itself was fit for the use intended.