Opinion ID: 2053552
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: fiser and its progeny

Text: In Fiser, supra, this Court addressed what immunity is available to a municipality and its police officers from liability for injuries related to an automotive police chase. Specifically at issue was the interpretation and application of the motor vehicle exception to immunity. M.C.L. § 691.1405; M.S.A. § 3.996(105). In the years following Fiser, its analysis has dominated and controlled questions of immunity arising from police pursuits. Fiser arose from a high-speed police chase through a residential neighborhood that ended when the fleeing suspect struck the plaintiff's vehicle. This Court unanimously reversed a summary disposition order, holding that the plaintiff's liability claims fell within the motor vehicle exception. M.C.L. § 691.1405; M.S.A. § 3.996(105). In each of the cases before us, plaintiffs must prove that (1) defendants owed a duty to plaintiffs, (2) defendants breached that duty, (3) plaintiffs suffered damages, and (4) defendants' breach of duty or negligence was a proximate cause of plaintiffs' damages. Fiser, supra at 469-470, 339 N.W.2d 413. Defendants have a duty to exercise toward plaintiffs that care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise while discharging official duties of a similar nature under similar circumstances. Fiser, supra at 470, 339 N.W.2d 413, quoting McKay v. Hargis, 351 Mich. 409, 418, 88 N.W.2d 456 (1958). When applying that standard, a court considers the statutes governing operation of emergency vehicles. M.C.L. § 257.603; M.S.A. § 9.2303, [14] M.C.L. § 257.632; M.S.A. § 9.2332.