Case Name: SANFORD v. CITY OF DETROIT
Court: Michigan Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Michigan
Decision Date: 1985-05-21
Citations: 143 Mich. App. 194
Docket Number: Docket No. 78049
Parties: SANFORD v CITY OF DETROIT
Judges: Before: Bronson, P.J., and Hood and Shepherd, JJ.
Reporter: Michigan appeals reports; cases decided in the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Volume: 143
Pages: 194–206

Head Matter:
SANFORD v CITY OF DETROIT
Docket No. 78049.
Submitted December 19, 1984, at Detroit.
Decided May 21, 1985.
Leave to appeal applied for.
Mary Sanford filed suit against the City of Detroit in Wayne Circuit Court alleging that she was sexually assaulted in an abandoned factory building owned by defendant. Defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that plaintiffs complaint sounded in both negligence and intentional nuisance and that it could not be held liable under either theory. At the hearing on defendant’s motion plaintiff stated that she intended to complain only of defendant’s alleged intentional nuisance, not negligence. The court, Michael L. Stacey, J„ granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment, stating that there was no cause for the lawsuit. Plaintiff appealed. Held:
Plaintiffs complaint sufficiently alleged that a building owned by defendant interfered with the public safety and that defendant failed to take reasonable steps to abate the conditions causing the building to be a threat to public safety. Plaintiff sufficiently pled an intentional nuisance to withstand defendant’s motion for summary judgment.
Reversed and remanded.
Shepherd, J., dissented. He would hold that plaintiff failed to state a claim of intentional nuisance because the danger was created by the assailant, not the building itself or defendant’s alleged failure to secure the building. Aside from the question of governmental immunity, he would affirm because defendant had no duty to the plaintiff, in the absence of any special _relationship such as a landlord/tenant or invitor/invitee rela tionship. He feels that landowners should not be held responsible to victims of crime, unless the Legislature declares so by law.
Refehences for Points in Headnotes
6lA Am Jur 2d, Pleading §§ 71 et seq., 226, 230 et seq.
58 Am Jur 2d, Nuisances § 32.
58 Am Jur 2d, Nuisances § 212 et seq.
58 Am Jur 2d, Nuisances §§ 7, 106 et seq.
58 Am Jur 2d, Nuisances § 1.
6 Am Jur 2d, Assault and Battery § 126 et seq.
57 Am Jur 2d, Negligence § 6.
57 Am Jur 2d, Negligence § 34.
Opinion of the Court
1. Motions and Orders — Summary Judgment —- Failure to State a Claim — Court Rules.
The test, in considering a motion for summary judgment on the ground that the plaintiff failed to state a cause of action, is whether, on the pleadings alone, the plaintiffs claim is so clearly unenforceable as a matter of law that no factual development can possibly justify a right to recovery (GCR 1963, 117.2[1]).
2. Nuisance — Intentional Nuisance.
An intentional nuisance, or a nuisance in fact, is one which becomes a nuisance by reason of circumstances and surroundings; an act may be found to be a nuisance as a matter of fact where the natural tendency of the act is to create danger and inflict injury on person or property.
3. Nuisance — Intentional Nuisance — Knowledge of Actor.
A person’s knowledge at the time he acted or failed to act determines whether the invasion resulting from his conduct is intentional or unintentional for purposes of proving a nuisance in fact; the person must realize, or should realize, that his conduct involves a serious risk or likelihood of causing the invasion and must either act for the purpose of causing it or know that it is resulting or substantially certain to result from the conduct.
4. Nuisance — Public Nuisance.
A public nuisance is an unreasonable interference With a right common to the general public; circumstances that may sustain a holding that an interference with a public right is unreasonable include the following; (1) Whether the conduct involves a significant interference with the public health, the public safety, the public peace, the public comfort or the public convenience, or (2) whether the conduct is proscribed by a statute, ordinance or administrative regulation, or (3) whether the conduct is of a continuing nature or has produced a permanent or long-lasting effect, and, as the actor knows or has reason to know, has a significant effect upon the public right.
5. Nuisance — Possessors of Land — Abatable Artificial Conditions.
A possessor of land is subject to liability for a nuisance for an abatable artificial condition on the land if (1) he knows or should know of the condition and the nuisance or unreasonable risk of nuisance involved, (2) he knows or should know that it exists without the consent of those affected by it, and (3) he has failed after a reasonable opportunity to take reasonable steps to abate the condition or to protect the affected persons against it.
Dissent by Shepherd, J.
6. Nuisance — Definition.
A nuisance is a condition and not an act or failure to act.
7. Assault and Battery — Liability of Property Owners — Special Relationships.
A property owner in Michigan is liable, in limited circumstances, for foreseeable harm to persons on his premises from assaults committed by third parties; however, the duty to prevent the harm hinges upon the existence of a special relationship between the property owner and the injured party, such as a landlord and tenant or invitor and invitee relationship.
8. Negligence — Reasonableness — Jury Question.
The issue in negligence actions of whether the care exercised was reasonable under the circumstances is for the jury to determine.
9. Negligence — Duty — Questions of Law — Summary Judgment.
The existence of a duty in negligence actions is ordinarily a question of law and summary judgment for the defendant is appropriate where the trial judge resolves the legal question of the defendant’s duty against the plaintiff.
Bockoff & Zamler, P.C. (by Glen Hirshberg and John J. Futchko), for plaintiff.
Brenda M. Miller, Assistant Corporation Counsel, for defendant.
Before: Bronson, P.J., and Hood and Shepherd, JJ.

Opinion:
Per Curiam.
Plaintiff appeals as of right from the trial court's April 18, 1984, order granting defendant's motion for summary judgment and dismissing plaintiffs action.
Plaintiff alleged that she was sexually assaulted on March 3, 1979, in an abandoned factory building owned by defendant. Her assailant took her to that location. Plaintiff further alleged:
"5. That it was then and there that the duty and responsibility of the Defendant to maintain their premises in such a manner and in such a condition so as to not endanger the Plaintiffs and similarly situated person's [sic] health, safety, and welfare.
"6. That the City of Detroit, its agents, servants or employees, knew or should have known that the building was vacant and accessible for criminal activity and that it constituted an inherently dangerous condition, but the City of Detroit neglected, failed and refused to adequately secure the building, failed to demolish the empty abandoned building, failed to patrol or guard said premises or take any steps whatsoever, to remove, repair or eliminate this inherently dangerous condition.
"7. That the Defendant, city of Detroit, had reasonable notice that abandoned buildings were used for the purpose of perpetrating activities such as that which the Plaintiff was subjected to; and that Defendant had notice that the aforesaid premises also constituted such a danger; and it knew or should have known that assailants seek places away from the public sight to take their victims, and further, that the aforesaid abandoned building was a nuisance in fact and created an extremely dangerous and hazardous condition for the public, but the Defendant negligently failed and refused to take any steps whatsoever to secure the building, to patrol or guard said premises, or to employ any other means to safeguard the premises from the danger which was the proximate cause of the injuries suffered by the Plaintiff, mary sanford.
"8. The Defendant is liable for the injuries of the Plaintiff as it intentionally created the nuisance in fact which resulted in injuries to the Plaintiff."
In its motion for summary judgment, which defendant stated it brought pursuant to GCR 1963, 117.2(1) and (3), defendant argued that plaintiffs complaint sounded in both negligence and intentional nuisance. Defendant argued that it could not be held liable for negligence under plaintiffs allegations because its acts or omissions were not the proximate cause of plaintiff's injuries. Moreover, defendant asserted that it had not created an intentional nuisance by allegedly failing to secure and maintain the building in which plaintiff was attacked. Finally, defendant argued that plaintiff failed to allege facts supporting any finding that defendant owed a duty of care to plaintiff.
At the hearing on defendant's motion the trial court recognized plaintiffs responsive argument that she only intended to complain of defendant's alleged intentional nuisance, not negligence. Defendant's counsel then presented her argument. In response, plaintiff's counsel briefly argued that proximate cause was not an issue in an intentional nuisance action. Plaintiffs counsel also briefly reiterated some of the allegations in the complaint.
The trial court granted defendant's motion. Plaintiffs counsel asked if there was an explana^ tion. The trial court responded:
"Sure. As a matter of law, there is no possible cause for a lawsuit. If I'm wrong, the Court of Appeals will tell me."
We reverse.
It is clear from the trial court's comments that this motion was granted under GCR 1963, 117.2(1), failure to state a cause of action. In considering such a motion, the test is whether, on the pleadings alone, plaintiff's claim is so clearly unenforceable as a matter of law that no factual development can possibly justify a right to recovery. Arm strong v Ross Twp, 82 Mich App 77, 81-82; 266 NW2d 674 (1978).
An intentional nuisance, or a nuisance in fact, is one which becomes a nuisance "by reason of circumstances and surroundings, and an act may be found to be a nuisance as a matter of fact where the natural tendency of the act is to create danger and inflict injury on person or property". Rosario v City of Lansing, 403 Mich 124, 133; 268 NW2d 230 (1978), quoting 66 CJS, Nuisances, § 3, pp 733-734; McKee v Dep't of Transportation, 132 Mich App 714, 725; 349 NW2d 798 (1984). The knowledge of the actor at the time he or she acted or failed to act determines whether the invasion resulting from the actor's conduct is intentional or unintentional. The actor must realize, or should realize, that his or her conduct involves a serious risk or likelihood of causing the invasion and must either act for the purpose of causing it or know that it is resulting or substantially certain to result from the conduct. 4 Restatement Torts, 2d, § 825, Comment C, p 118; Keiswetter v City of Petoskey, 124 Mich App 590, 597-598; 335 NW2d 94 (1983).
In 4 Restatement Torts, 2d, § 821B, p 87, the American Law Institute defines a public nuisance as follows:
"(1) A public nuisance is an unreasonable interference with a right common to the general public.
"(2) Circumstances that may sustain a holding that an interference with a public right is unreasonable include the following:
"(a) Whether the conduct involves a significant interference with the public health, the public safety, the public peace, the public comfort or the public convenience, or
"(b) whether the conduct is proscribed by a statute, ordinance or administrative regulation, or
"(c) whether the conduct is of a continuing nature or has produced a permanent or long-lasting effect, and, as the actor knows or has reason to know, has a significant effect upon the public rights". (Emphasis added.)
Furthermore, the possessor of land is subject to liability for a nuisance for an abatable artificial condition on the land if,
"(a) the possessor knows or should know of the condition and the nuisance or unreasonable risk of nuisance involved, and
"(b) he knows or should know that it exists without the consent of those affected by it, and
"(c) he has failed after a reasonable opportunity to take reasonable steps to abate the condition or to protect the affected persons against it". 4 Restatement Torts, 2d, § 839, p 161.
Plaintiff alleged that defendant had notice that abandoned buildings were used for crimes such as the one that occurred to plaintiff and knew that the building at issue posed such a danger, yet failed or refused to secure the building or to guard it or to take any steps at all to safeguard the premises from such known criminal activity. These facts sufficiently allege a building that interferes with the public safety and that defendant failed to take reasonable steps to abate the conditions causing the building to be a threat to public safety. Therefore, we find that plaintiff sufficiently pled an intentional nuisance to withstand this GCR 1963, 117.2(1) motion for summary judgment.
Reversed and remanded.