Estate of Catherine Dawn Skidmore v. Consumers Energy Company ( 2017 )

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
April 14, 2017 Stephen J. Markman,
Chief Justice
154030 Robert P. Young, Jr.
Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
David F. Viviano
In re Estate of CATHERINE DAWN SKIDMORE Richard H. Bernstein
__________________________________________ Joan L. Larsen,
Justices
RALPH SKIDMORE, JR., Individually and as
Personal Representative of the Estate of CATHERINE
DAWN SKIDMORE,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v SC: 154030
COA: 323757
Calhoun CC: 2012-001595-NH
CONSUMERS ENERGY COMPANY,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the May 24, 2016
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in
lieu of granting leave to appeal, we VACATE the May 24, 2016 judgment of the Court of
Appeals and we REINSTATE the January 19, 2016 judgment of the Court of Appeals.
The May 24, 2016 Court of Appeals opinion erroneously considered questions of fact
regarding the plaintiff’s decedent’s (Catherine Skidmore) reasonableness in concluding
that the defendant owed her a duty of reasonable care. As Judge O’Connell correctly
noted in his concurrence/dissent to the May 24 opinion, “the existence of a disputed
question of fact regarding the reasonableness of Catherine’s actions did not affect
whether Consumers owed Catherine a duty.” 315 Mich. App. 470, 494 (2016). To the
extent the January 19, 2016 opinion was unclear on this point, we clarify that questions of
fact regarding the reasonableness of Catherine’s actions in response to the downed power
line are relevant to comparative negligence, but not duty. In all other respects, leave to
appeal is DENIED.
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
April 14, 2017
t0411
Clerk