Opinion ID: 842398
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: reardon v. dep't of mental health

Text: Nine years after Bush, in Reardon, this Court once again analyzed MCL 691.1406. Reardon, 430 Mich. at 409-410, 424 N.W.2d 248. It considered carefully the first sentence of the statute, imposing a duty to repair and maintain public buildings. Id. at 410, 424 N.W.2d 248. It explicitly reaffirmed the holding in Bush that a building may be defective because of improper design. Id. With regard to the second sentence of the statute, the Court held that the phrase dangerous or defective condition of a public building showed that the Legislature intended that the exception apply in cases where the physical condition of a building causes injury. Id. at 411, 424 N.W.2d 248. The Reardon Court specifically noted that its holding was consistent with Bush: As long as the danger of injury is presented by a physical condition of the building, it little matters that the condition arose because of improper design, faulty construction, or absence of safety devices. Id. at 410, 424 N.W.2d 248. Therefore, when this Court had the opportunity to reexamine its interpretation of MCL 691.1406, it reaffirmed the holding in Bush that defective design is actionable under the public building exception to governmental immunity.