Opinion ID: 1830403
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: nawrocki v. macomb co. rd. comm.

Text: On May 28, 1993, plaintiff Rachel Nawrocki was a passenger in a truck driven by her husband. He parked the truck next to the curb on Kelly Road, in Macomb County, [5] and Nawrocki exited from the passenger side onto the grass between the street curb and the sidewalk. She walked the length of the truck and stepped off the curb onto the paved roadway. Nawrocki allegedly stepped on cracked and broken pavement on the surface of Kelly Road and sustained serious injuries to her right ankle, necessitating several operations. Nawrocki sued defendant Macomb County Road Commission, [6] arguing that it negligently failed to maintain Kelly Road in reasonable repair and in a condition safe and convenient for public travel. The MCRC moved for summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(7) and (8), arguing that Nawrocki's claim was barred by governmental immunity because the highway exception did not apply to pedestrians. The circuit court initially denied the motion, relying on Gregg v. State Hwy. Dep't, 435 Mich. 307, 458 N.W.2d 619 (1990), for the proposition that pedestrians traveling on the improved portion of the highway designed for vehicular travel are covered by the highway exception. On the MCRC's motion for reconsideration, the circuit court granted summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(7), on the ground that pedestrians are covered by the highway exception only when their injuries resulted from vehicular accidents, relying on Mason v. Wayne Co. Bd. of Comm'rs, 447 Mich. 130,135, n. 4, 523 N.W.2d 791 (1994). Nawrocki appealed as of right to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed, [7] in reliance on its previous opinion in Suttles v. Dep't of Transportation, 216 Mich.App. 166, 548 N.W.2d 671 (1996), a case subsequently remanded by this Court for further factual findings, Suttles v. Dep't of Transportation, 457 Mich. 635, 578 N.W.2d 295 (1998). We granted Nawrocki's application for leave to appeal. [8]