Opinion ID: 1830403
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: evens v. shiawassee co. rd. comm'rs

Text: On May 18, 1992, plaintiff Brian Evens sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident at the intersection of Newburg Road and Byron Road in Shiawassee County. [9] Traffic on both northbound and southbound Byron Road was regulated by stop signs, posted on both the left and right sides of the roadway. Traffic on eastbound and westbound Newburg Road was not required to stop, but posted traffic signs warned of the approaching intersection. Both Newburg Road and Byron Road were posted with 55 MPH speed limit signs. Evens was driving northbound on Byron Road at the time of his accident. After stopping at the stop signs, Evens entered the intersection, where he collided with a westbound car traveling on Newburg Road, which had the right of way. [10] Evens sued defendant Shiawassee County Road Commissioners, arguing that they negligently failed to maintain the intersection in reasonable repair and in a condition safe and convenient for public travel. Specifically, Evens argued that the SCRC owed him a duty to install additional stop signs or traffic signals at the intersection. [11] The SCRC moved for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(8) and (10), on two separate grounds. First, the SCRC argued that county road commissions could not be held liable for a failure to install traffic signs on the theory that signs are outside the improved portion of the highway designed for vehicular travel and are not covered by the highway exception. Second, the SCRC argued that Evens' intervening negligence of failing to yield to oncoming traffic was the sole proximate cause of his accident, and that the SCRC was therefore relieved of liability. The circuit court granted summary disposition to the SCRC under MCR 2.116(C)(10), holding that the SCRC could not be liable for a failure to install traffic signs, in reliance on the Court of Appeals decision in Pick v. Gratiot Co. Rd. Comm., 203 Mich.App. 138, 511 N.W.2d 694 (1993). The circuit court specifically rejected the SCRC's intervening negligence claim. One year after the circuit court's grant of summary disposition, this Court released its opinion in Pick v. Szymczak, 451 Mich. 607, 548 N.W.2d 603 (1996), which held that governmental agencies had a duty to provide traffic control devices or warning signs at points of special hazard. The Court of Appeals then reversed the circuit court in part, [12] relying on this Court's holding in Pick, and remanded the case with instructions to determine whether the intersection at issue was a point of special hazard. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's denial of the SCRC's motion on the intervening negligence issue. We granted defendant SCRC leave to appeal. [13]