Opinion ID: 1817472
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Affirmation of Pre-1965 Governmental Immunity

Text: Subsection 7(1) of the governmental tort liability act, as amended in 1986, provides: Except as otherwise provided in this act, all governmental agencies shall be immune from tort liability in all cases wherein the government agency is engaged in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function. Except as otherwise provided in this act, this act shall not be construed as modifying or restricting the immunity of the state from tort liability as it existed before July 1, 1965, which immunity is affirmed. The second sentence of subsection 7(1) retains preexisting governmental immunity law except where provided otherwise in the act and mandates an historical approach. Hadfield v. Oakland Co. Drain Comm'r, 430 Mich. 139, 147, 170, 422 N.W.2d 205 (1988). By its terms, this provision of subsection 7(1) applies to the state. M.C.L. § 691.1401; M.S.A. § 3.996(101) provides distinct definitions of state and municipal corporation and defines governmental agency to include both. In the context of the first sentence of subsection 7(1), which uses the term governmental agencies, the use of the term the state in the second sentence might be read to indicate that this provision applies only to the state, not to governmental agencies generally. However, in Li v. Feldt (After Remand), 434 Mich. 584, 592-593, n. 8, 456 N.W.2d 55 (1990), which involved tort liability of municipalities, this Court stated that § 7 should be read to put all agencies of government on the same footing with regard to tort liability. This Court noted that the stated purpose of the governmental tort liability act is to make uniform the liability of municipal corporations, political subdivisions, and the state ... when engaged in the exercise or discharge of a governmental function. Id. In Hadfield, supra at 168-169, 422 N.W.2d 205, which involved actions against a county and municipality as well as the state, this Court recognized a trespass-nuisance exception to governmental immunity on the basis of the historical approach mandated by § 7. These authorities indicate that the second sentence of subsection 7(1) applies to all governmental agencies, not just the state, despite the use of the term the state in this provision. The present case does not require this Court to reconsider whether these authorities accord with the statutory language of subsection 7(1). Rather, this Court may assume, without deciding, that this provision of subsection 7(1) applies to municipalities because this provision would not affect the two-inch rule.