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No. 121338
| Ann
E. Maskery and Robert Maskery, |
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Robert
Maskery (248) 681-9027 |
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Plaintiffs-Appellees,
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| vs (Appeal
from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Ct
of Claims -- Houk, J.)
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| Board of Regents of the |
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Mary F. Clinton (734) 761-8358 |
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University of Michigan,
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Thomas J. Blessing (734) 764-0304 |
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Defendant-Appellant.
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiffs-Appellees' Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
Background
Ann E. Maskery slipped and fell while on the steps at the entrance
to the Betsy Barbour Residence Hall at the University of Michigan. Maskery
was using a courtesy telephone to gain entry to the locked residence
hall. The plaintiffs, Ann and Robert Maskery, filed a lawsuit in the
Court of Claims against the University of Michigan Board of Regents.
The plaintiffs argued that the residence hall and its adjacent premises
were open for use by members of the general public, and was a public
building. Accordingly, the university was not immune from liability,
the plaintiffs asserted. The university contended that the public building
exception did not apply because the building was a private residence
hall leased to students enrolled at the University of Michigan for their
personal use, and not a building open to the use of the general public.
The Court of Claims held that the public building exception to governmental
immunity did not apply to the residence hall, and granted summary disposition
for the university. In an unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court
of Appeals ultimately ruled that the residence hall was a public building.
The university appeals.
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