Tim Edward Brugger II v. Midland County Bd of Road Commissioners
Tim Edward Brugger II v. Midland County Bd of Road Commissioners
Opinion
*310 Defendant, the Midland County Board of Road Commissioners, appeals the trial court's denial *311 of its motion for summary disposition. Because plaintiff's presuit notice complied with the applicable statute, we affirm.
I. FACTS
Plaintiff, Tim E. Brugger II, was injured on April 27, 2013, when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed. He filed suit against defendant, asserting that the crash was the result of large potholes and uneven pavement on a road maintained by the Midland County Road Commission. Governmental immunity does not shield a road commission from liability when it fails to maintain the road in a condition "reasonably safe and convenient for public travel." MCL 691.1402(1).
On August 15, 2013, 110 days after the crash, plaintiff served defendant with presuit notice in accordance with
*390
MCL 691.1404 of the governmental tort liability act (GTLA), MCL 691.1401
et seq
. After suit was filed, the case progressed in typical fashion until this Court issued the decision in
Streng v. Bd. of Mackinac Co. Rd. Comm'rs
,
The trial court denied the motion, concluding that Streng should be given prospective application because, for decades, parties and the courts had understood *312 that the GTLA notice provision controlled. The trial court set forth its opinion from the bench, stating:
From the Court's perspective, I find that the Supreme Court in Rowland [ 1 ] specifically indicated that the GTLA is the notice provision for which road commission cases are subject to being followed and it had done that consistent with a fairly significant long line of cases, two of which they overruled.
However, it was consistent as to what was the proper statutory provision in the Court's perspective is that it was the application of that provision that was found to be inapplicable and, therefore, stricken by the Supreme Court in Rowland .
So, therefore, the Court finds that the circumstances in this case are in compliance with the requirements of the GTLA. And, therefore, that it is-summary disposition on that basis is denied.
However, I will also indicate if the analysis is, in fact, inaccurate and Streng was correctly decided, ... I will find that based upon the criteria that was announced in Bahutski [ 2 ] [sic] as well as the other case that was cited in Rowland that it is, in fact, to be applied prospectively, because there had been no indication that the differentiation was appropriate to provide notice to claimants that were coming forward.
And that it would-it would, in fact, result in manifest injustice to deny claims that had been in compliance with the agreed-with what had been agreed upon as the proper notice provision, but there was a change, from the Court's perspective, a change in the application of that interpretation by the Court of Appeals decision and that occurred after the notice had already been provided in this case.
*313 And, therefore, the Court's ... opinion [is that] it does not prevent the application of the GTLA provision of 691.1404.
Defendant appeals the trial court's ruling, arguing that plaintiff's failure to file a notice consistent with the requirements of the county road act mandates dismissal.
The question before us, therefore, is whether the decision in Streng should apply to all pending cases or only to those cases that arose after it was issued.
II. ANALYSIS
This case presents a highly unusual circumstance. The Legislature has enacted *391 two inconsistent statutes governing presuit notice to road commissions. The GTLA requires that notice be provided within 120 days of the injury. MCL 691.1404(1). In contrast, the county road act allows for a 60-day period. MCL 224.21(3). The statutes also vary somewhat regarding the required content of the notice.
In 1970, the Michigan Supreme Court held that the 60-day notice provision in MCL 224.21(3) violated due process as applied to an incapacitated individual.
Grubaugh v. City of St. Johns
,
Thus,
Crook
-
decided 46 years ago
-was the last time that the viability of the presuit notice provision in
*315
MCL 224.21(3) was directly addressed. And since the
Crook
decision, our courts have routinely applied the 120-day notice requirement of the GTLA when a defendant is a county road commission without any discussion of MCL 224.21(3). See
Streng
,
Plaintiff asks that we reject
Streng
and request a conflict panel under MCR 7.215(J)(2) and (3). We need not do so however because we can decide this case on other grounds. We conclude that
Streng
should be applied prospectively as it is at variance from what was understood to be the law for at least 40 years, and plaintiff's failure to comply with MCL 224.21(3) was the result of "the preexisting jumble of convoluted case law through which the plaintiff was forced to navigate."
Devillers v. Auto Club Ins. Ass'n
,
The rules governing retroactivity are found in
Pohutski v. City of Allen Park
,
*316 (1) the purpose to be served by the new rule, (2) the extent of reliance on the old rule, and (3) the effect of retroactivity on the administration of justice. In the civil context, ... this Court ... recognized an additional threshold question whether the decision clearly established a new principle of law. [ Pohutski ,465 Mich. at 696 ,641 N.W.2d 219 (citation omitted).]
We conclude that
Streng
should be given prospective-only application and that therefore, the 120-day notice provision of MCL 691.1404(1) is applicable to this case. Because our Supreme Court in
Rowland
did not explicitly overrule binding precedent that established the 120-day notice requirement of the GTLA as the governing provision in actions against county road commission defendants, and no case has been decided on the basis of MCL 224.21(3) for at least 46 years, we conclude that
Streng
effectively established a new rule of law departing from the longstanding application of MCL 691.1404(1) by Michigan courts. See
Streng
,
Turning to the three-part test, we first consider the purpose of the
Streng
holding, which was to correct an apparent error in interpreting a provision of the GTLA. As noted in
Pohutski
,
Also relevant is the fact that the confusion concerning the law was not created by plaintiff but, rather, by
*317
the Legislature and the Judiciary. The Legislature adopted two conflicting sets of requirements regarding the timing and content of the presuit notice. And for decades, the Judiciary has decided many presuit notice cases based on the requirements of the
*393
GTLA, with no reference to MCL 224.21(3). The role of the government in creating confusion concerning a legal standard weighs strongly against sanctioning a party for acting in good faith on the basis of the apparent law. For instance, in
Bryant v. Oakpointe Villa Nursing Ctr. Inc.
,
The distinction between actions sounding in medical malpractice and those sounding in ordinary negligence is one that has troubled the bench and bar in Michigan, even in the wake of our opinion in Dorris . 5 Plaintiff's failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitations is the product of an understandable confusion about the legal nature of her claim, rather than a negligent failure to preserve her rights. Accordingly, for this case and others *318 now pending that involve similar procedural circumstances, we conclude that plaintiff's medical malpractice claims may proceed to trial along with plaintiff's ordinary negligence claim. MCR 7.316(A)(7). [ Bryant ,471 Mich. at 432 ,684 N.W.2d 864 .]
There can be no doubt that the "procedural circumstances" in the instant case are, as they were in
Bryant
, the result of "understandable confusion" resulting from conflicting actions by the Legislature and the Judiciary. Accordingly, like the Supreme Court in
Bryant
, we conclude that "plaintiff's ... claims may proceed to trial...."
Because we conclude that Streng applies only to actions arising on or after May 2, 2016, we affirm the trial court's denial of defendant's motion for summary disposition. As the prevailing party, plaintiff may tax costs under MCR 7.219.
M.J. Kelly, J., concurred with Shapiro, P.J.
As I stated in the majority opinion,
Streng v. Bd. of Mackinac Co. Rd. Comm'rs
,
Streng
presented a highly unusual circumstance in that there were two statutes that set forth
inconsistent
requirements for a notice of claim against a county
*319
road commission. The Court in
Streng
concluded
*394
that it had to choose one statute over the other, and it elevated MCL 224.21(3), the provision within the county road act, MCL 224.1 et seq., over MCL 600.1404, the provision within the governmental tort liability act, MCL 691.1401 et seq.
Streng
,
Streng
, however, did not consider
Apsey v. Mem. Hosp.
,
Until
Apsey
was decided in 2007, courts had not relied on or even cited MCL 600.2102(4) during the 23 years that the courts had been reviewing the adequacy of notices of claim.
4
Instead, the bench and bar had, since the adoption of the affidavit-of-merit requirement, consistently relied on and enforced the MCL 565.262 notary requirements. Following the
Apsey
decision, medical malpractice defendants all over the state moved to dismiss pending cases because the affidavit of merit lacked
*395
certification of the notary's qualifications from the local court. Many of these cases were subject to dismissal with prejudice because the period of limitations had run, and in
Scarsella v. Pollak
,
Ultimately, however, the Supreme Court in
Apsey
rejected the idea that one of the two conflicting statutes had to prevail over the other. Instead, it concluded that in passing two statutes designating proper procedure, the Legislature had provided "alternative method[s]" to accomplish the task.
Apsey
, 477 Mich. at 134,
As Justice YOUNG stated in his concurrence:
This is a case in which the majority and the dissent offer two compelling but competing constructions of [two statutes], and, in my view, neither construction is unprincipled. Both sides invoke legitimate, well-established canons of statutory construction to justify their respective positions. In short, this is a rare instance where our conventional rules of statutory interpretation do not yield an unequivocal answer regarding how to reconcile the provisions of the two statutes that appear to conflict. [ Id. at 138-139,730 N.W.2d 695 ( YOUNG , J., concurring).]
After inviting the Legislature to "dispel much of the confusion generated" by the two statutes, Justice YOUNG concluded that "until that time, I favor a resolution that is least unsettling and disruptive to the rule of law in Michigan"; for that reason, he concurred in the reversal of the Court of Appeals.
Id
. at 141,
Apsey unmistakably leads to the conclusion that compliance with the presuit notice requirements of either MCL 691.1404(1) or MCL 224.21(3) is sufficient to proceed to suit. I believe that Streng was wrongly decided and should have adopted that view.
*322
"[T]he general rule is that judicial decisions are to be given complete retroactive effect."
Hyde v. Univ. of Mich. Bd. of Regents
,
In addressing this issue, it is necessary to understand the events that led up to the Streng decision. The following summary, although lengthy, is crucial for understanding the effects of Streng on our jurisprudence and the reasons why it should be given retrospective application.
Our Supreme Court in
Rowland v. Washtenaw Co. Rd. Comm.
,
As of 1969 ... the enforceability of notice requirements and the particular notice requirements in governmental immunity cases was well settled and had been enforced for almost a century. In 1970, however, there was an abrupt departure from these holdings in the Court's decision in Grubaugh v. City of St. Johns ,384 Mich. 165 ,180 N.W.2d 778 (1970). 1 In Grubaugh the Court discerned *396 an unconstitutional due process deprivation if plaintiffs suing governmental defendants had different rules than plaintiffs suing private litigants....
Two years later, in Reich v. State Hwy. Dep't ,386 Mich. 617 ,194 N.W.2d 700 (1972), 2 the Court took Grubaugh one step further and held that an earlier version of MCL 691.1404, which included a 60-day notice provision, was unconstitutional, but this time because it violated equal *323 protection guarantees. The analysis again was that the constitution forbids treating those injured by governmental negligence differently from those injured by a private party's negligence. Leaving aside the unusual switch from one section of the constitution to another to justify an adjudication of unconstitutionality, this claim is simply incorrect. Private and public tortfeasors can be treated differently in the fashion they have been treated here by the Legislature. It does not offend the constitution to do so because with economic or social regulation legislation, such as this statute, there can be distinctions made between classes of persons if there is a rational basis to do so. As we explained in Phillips v. Mirac, Inc. ,470 Mich. 415 , 431-433,685 N.W.2d 174 (2004), legislation invariably involves line drawing and social legislation involving line drawing does not violate equal protection guarantees when it has a "rational basis," i.e., as long as it is rationally related to a legitimate governmental purpose. The existence of a rational basis here is clear, as we will discuss more fully, but even the already cited justification, that the road be repaired promptly to prevent further injury, will suffice.
Considering the same point, Justice BRENNAN in his dissent in Reich pithily pointed out the problems with the majority's analysis:
The legislature has declared governmental immunity from tort liability. The legislature has provided specific exceptions to that standard. The legislature has imposed specific conditions upon the exceptional instances of governmental liability. The legislature has the power to make these laws. This Court far exceeds its proper function when it declares this enactment unfair and unenforceable. [ Reich ,386 Mich. at 626 ,194 N.W.2d 700 ( BRENNAN , J., dissenting).]
The next year, in Carver v. McKernan ,390 Mich. 96 ,211 N.W.2d 24 (1973), 3 the Court retreated from Grubaugh and Reich and, in a novel ruling, held that application of *324 the six-month notice provision in the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act (MVACA), MCL 257.1118, was constitutional, and that the provision was thus enforceable, only where the failure to give notice resulted in prejudice to the party receiving the notice, in that case the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund (MVACF). The reasoning was that while some notice provisions may be constitutionally permitted some may not be, depending on the purpose the notice serves. Thus, if notice served a permissible purpose, such as to prevent prejudice, it passed constitutional muster. But, if it served some other purpose (the Court could not even imagine any other) then the notice required by the statute became an unconstitutional legislative requirement. Thus, the Court concluded that in order to save the statute from being held unconstitutional, it had to allow notice to *397 be given after six months and still be effective unless the governmental agency, there the MVACF, could show prejudice. Whatever a court may do to save a statute from being held to be unconstitutional, it surely cannot engraft an amendment to the statute, as was done in Carver . See, e.g., North Ottawa Community Hosp. v. Kieft ,457 Mich. 394 , 408 n. 14,578 N.W.2d 267 (1998). Notwithstanding these problems, they went unnoticed and the rule now was "only upon a showing of prejudice by failure to give such notice, may the claim against the fund be dismissed." Carver ,390 Mich. at 100 ,211 N.W.2d 24 .
Returning to the Carver approach in 1976, this Court in [ Hobbs v. Dep't of State Hwys. ,398 Mich. 90 , 96,247 N.W.2d 754 (1976) ] 4 held regarding the notice requirement in the defective highway exception to governmental immunity:
The rationale of Carver is equally applicable to cases brought under the governmental liability act. Because actual prejudice to the state due to lack of notice within 120 days is the only legitimate purpose we can posit for this notice provision, absent a showing of such prejudice the notice provision contained in [ MCL 691.1404 ] is not a bar to claims filed pursuant to [ MCL 691.1402 ].
*325 Finally, in 1996, in [ Brown v. Manistee Co. Rd. Comm. ,452 Mich. 354 ,550 N.W.2d 215 (1996) ], 5 this Court reassessed the propriety of the Hobbs decision and declined to overrule it on the basis of stare decisis and legislative acquiescence. [Some alterations in original.]
Relevant to the current appeal, this Court in
Crook v. Patterson
,
In 2007, the Michigan Supreme Court in Rowland corrected this long line of cases that impermissibly engrafted an "actual prejudice" requirement into statutory notice requirements to avoid governmental immunity. In our Supreme Court's words:
The simple fact is that Hobbs and Brown were wrong because they were built on an argument that governmental immunity notice statutes are unconstitutional or at least sometimes unconstitutional if the government was not prejudiced. This reasoning has no claim to being defensible constitutional theory and is not rescued by *326 musings to the effect that the justices '' 'look askance' " at devices such as notice requirements, Hobbs ,398 Mich. at 96 [247 N.W.2d 754 ], quoting Carver ,390 Mich. at 99 [211 N.W.2d 24 ], or the pronouncement that other reasons that could supply a rational *398 basis were not to be considered because in the Court's eyes the "only legitimate purpose" of the notice provisions was to protect from "actual prejudice." Hobbs ,398 Mich. at 96 [247 N.W.2d 754 ]. [ Rowland , 477 Mich. at 210,731 N.W.2d 41 .]
The
Rowland
Court went on to cite a number of purposes for notice provisions, thereby rejecting the long-held notion that the only purpose of a notice requirement in governmental immunity cases was to prevent prejudice. The
Rowland
Court concluded that "[t]he notice provision passes constitutional muster" and rejected "the hybrid constitutionality of the sort
Carver
,
Hobbs
, and
Brown
engrafted onto our law."
Id
. at 213,
After
Rowland
abrogated
Reich
,
Crook
's holding that MCL 224.21 violated equal protection was no longer good law. But even before
Rowland
, it is debatable whether
Crook
was good law;
Brown
decided that MCL 224.21 was unconstitutional but expressly rejected reliance on
Reich
-upon which
Crook
was exclusively decided-because our Supreme Court was "no longer persuaded" by those reasons.
Brown
,
*327
It was in this context that this Court, in 2016, addressed
Streng
. As explained, after
Rowland
was decided, the notice requirements in MCL 224.21 were no longer unconstitutional. This created the question of whether the notice requirements in either MCL 224.21(3) or the GTLA applied to injuries caused by a highway defect on county roads. No published opinion addressed this issue until
Streng
, which held that the notice requirements in MCL 224.21(3) controlled.
Streng
,
The question now before us is whether
Streng
should be given retroactive effect. The Michigan Supreme Court in
Pohutski v. City of Allen Park
,
This Court adopted from Linkletter v. Walker ,381 U.S. 618 ,85 S.Ct. 1731 [,]14 L.Ed.2d 601 (1965), three factors to be weighed in determining when a decision should not have retroactive application. Those factors are: (1) the purpose to be served by the new rule, (2) the extent of reliance on the old rule, and (3) the effect of retroactivity on the administration of justice. People v. Hampton ,384 Mich. 669 , 674,187 N.W.2d 404 (1971). In the civil context, a plurality of this Court noted that Chevron Oil v. Huson ,404 U.S. 97 , 106-107,92 S.Ct. 349 ,30 L.Ed.2d 296 (1971), recognized an additional threshold question whether the decision clearly established a new principle of law. Riley v. Northland Geriatric Center (After Remand) ,431 Mich. 632 , 645-646,433 N.W.2d 787 (1988) ( GRIFFIN , J.).
Guiding this analysis are the principles that prospective-only application is an "extreme measure,"
Wayne Co. v. Hathcock
,
Further, as observed in
Devillers v. Auto Club Ins. Ass'n
,
Even assuming that this Court's resolution of the highly unusual situation faced in
Streng
created new law, I believe that the next two factors weigh in favor of retroactivity. The purpose of the
Streng
holding was to resolve a conflict between two statutes. The
Streng
Court decided that of those two statutes, the Legislature intended for the 60-day notice requirement in MCL 224.21 to control. This purpose is not served by applying the notice requirements of the GTLA-the statute that the
Streng
Court held that the Legislature did
*400
not intend to apply-to control.
8
*330
With respect to the next factor, I do not believe that it is proper to look back at the entire history of reliance on the GTLA notice provision as the majority does. As discussed,
Rowland
abrogated precedent establishing that MCL 224.21 was unconstitutional, which in turn created the question of whether the notice provisions of MCL 224.21 or the GTLA applied in cases such as the one before us.
Rowland
was decided in 2007, and I believe that the proper inquiry is the extent of reliance on the GTLA notice provision following
Rowland
. Orders by the Supreme Court following
Rowland
did not apply MCL 224.21, see
Mauer v. Topping
,
The last factor, however, weighs in favor of plaintiff. Plaintiff attempted to comply with what he believed was the proper statute and filed notice within 120 days of his injury. However, plaintiff was injured six years after Rowland was released. At that time, MCL 224.21 was again constitutional and, as later decided by Streng , applied to claims such as plaintiff's. At the very least, when plaintiff was injured, there was a question *331 whether the notice requirements in MCL 224.21 or the GTLA applied to his claims. Ultimately, in light of the other factors-and guided by the principles that retrospective application is the general rule and prospective-only application is an extreme measure-I would hold that retrospective application is appropriate in this case.
Lastly, the majority contends that "[t]he role of the government in creating confusion concerning a legal standard weighs strongly against sanctioning a party for acting in good faith based upon the apparent law." In support of this assertion, the majority cites
Bryant v. Oakpointe Villa Nursing Ctr., Inc.
,
At issue in
Bryant
was whether the plaintiff's claims sounded in medical malpractice or ordinary negligence.
Id
. at 414,
The distinction between actions sounding in medical malpractice and those sounding in ordinary negligence is *332 one that has troubled the bench and bar in Michigan.... Plaintiff's failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitations is the product of an understandable confusion about the legal nature of her claim, rather than a negligent failure to preserve her rights. [ Id . ]
Had the plaintiff proceeded under the correct understanding of her legal claims, her first complaint would have been filed within the medical-malpractice statutory period of limitations, see
id
. at 418-419,
Contrary to the majority's reading of Bryant , the "understandable confusion" identified in that case had nothing to do with the Legislature or the Judiciary. Rather, Bryant simply recognized that it is difficult to distinguish a medical malpractice claim from an ordinary negligence claim and, therefore, that the plaintiff's confusion with classifying her claims was understandable. Indeed, the general difficulty of determining whether a claim sounds in medical malpractice or ordinary negligence was on full display in Bryant : the first judge at trial decided that the plaintiff's claims sounded in ordinary negligence; after the first judge recused herself, the second judge decided that the plaintiff's claims sounded in medical malpractice; on appeal, two judges on a panel of this Court held that the plaintiff's claims sounded in ordinary negligence, while a dissenting judge believed that the plaintiff's claims sounded in medical malpractice; then, at our Supreme Court, five justices held that two of the plaintiff's four claims sounded in medical malpractice, while two justices dissented and would have held that all of the plaintiff's claims sounded in ordinary negligence. Bryant did not ascribe this difficulty-and the resulting "understandable confusion"-to either the courts or the Legislature. Therefore, Bryant 's holding *333 simply does not support the majority's contention that the role of the government in creating confusion weighs in favor of prospective-only application.
Because Bryant does not support the majority's contention that "the role of the government in creating confusion" supports prospective application, and because the majority does not otherwise support this assertion, I question whether the "role of the government in creating confusion" is a valid consideration for prospective-only application. If it were, it would "strongly" weigh in favor of prospectively applying virtually all cases that deal with the interpretation of an ambiguous statute. When the Legislature enacts an ambiguous statute, it creates confusion in the statute's interpretation, which is ultimately resolved by the courts. Under the majority's reasoning, if a party attempted to comply with an ambiguous statute in good faith but ultimately failed to do so, the well-intentioned-plaintiff's actions would "strongly" weigh in favor of prospective application of the court's interpretation of the ambiguous statute. Therefore, I do not believe that "[t]he role of government in creating confusion concerning a legal standard" has any application to whether a decision should apply retrospectively.
Turning to the concurring opinion, I disagree that
Streng
rested exclusively "upon
*402
the principle of statutory interpretation that between a general and specific statute the more specific statute controls." Rather,
Streng
also interpreted MCL 224.21 and the GTLA
in pari materia
. Specifically,
Streng
cited language from MCL 224.21(2) that provides that liability is governed by the GTLA and language from the GTLA that provides that the " 'liability, procedure, and remedy as to county roads under the jurisdiction of a county road commission shall be as provided in ... MCL 224.21.' "
*334
Streng
,
I also disagree with the concurring opinion's conclusion that
Streng
"could, of course, have reached the opposite conclusion by following the interpretive principle that a later-adopted statute controls over an earlier-adopted conflicting statute." The current version of MCL 691.1402 became effective March 13, 2012, see
Further, the concurring opinion misapplies the holding of
Apsey v. Mem. Hosp.
,
sentence of MCL 565.268 indicates that the [Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgements Act (URAA), *335 MCL 569.261 et seq.] is an additional or alternative method of proving notarial acts. As an "additional" method, the URAA does not replace the prior method. Instead, it is intended to stand as a coequal with it. Because the two methods are alternative and coequal, the URAA does not diminish or invalidate "the recognition accorded to notarial acts by other laws of this state." MCL 565.268. Simply, MCL 600.2102(4) is not invalidated by the URAA. It remains an additional method of attestation of out-of-state affidavits. Because the two methods exist as alternatives, a party may use either to validate an affidavit. [ Apsey , 477 Mich. at 130,730 N.W.2d 695 .]
Clearly, the Apsey Court did not conclude "that in passing two statutes designating proper procedure, the Legislature had provided 'alternative method[s]' to accomplish the task," as the concurring opinion in this case asserts. (Alteration in original.) Rather, the Apsey Court relied on language from MCL 565.268, which explicitly stated that it was "an alternative method," to conclude that the Legislature intended to provide an alternative method.
In contrast to
Apsey
, there is no language in either MCL 224.21 or the GTLA providing that the statute is "an additional method" of providing notice for purposes
*403
of governmental immunity. Without some indication that the Legislature intended for these statutes to be alternative methods for providing notice,
Apsey
simply has no bearing on whether
Streng
was wrongly decided. See
Mich. Ed. Ass'n v. Secretary of State (On Rehearing)
,
Rowland v. Washtenaw Co. Rd. Comm.
,
Apparently, the trial court was referring to
Pohutski v. City of Allen Park
,
The constitutionality of the GTLA notice provision was again addressed in
Hobbs v. Dept. of State Hwys.
,
Rowland , while overruling Brown and abrogating Reich , addressed only the GTLA notice-provision holding and made no mention of MCL 224.21(3) or Crook . It considered only whether the plaintiff had complied with the 120-day notice provision of the GTLA. With Reich abrogated, the Crook holding striking down MCL 224.21(3) was without support and was implicitly overruled. However, it was not explicitly overruled, which may explain why until Streng , the notice requirement in MCL 224.21(3) remained dormant, if not dead, in the eyes of bench and bar.
Dorris v. Detroit Osteopathic Hosp. Corp.
,
"Statutes enacted by the Legislature on a later date take precedence over those enacted on an earlier date."
Baumgartner v. Perry Pub. Sch.
,
The dissent does not dispute that MCL 691.1404 was adopted after MCL 224.21. Nevertheless, the dissent argues that because MCL 691.1402 was amended in 2012, see
The Streng Court should not be faulted for not noting the significance of Apsey because neither party cited it in their briefs.
It appears that the last time any version of MCL 600.2102(4) had been relied on to dismiss a case-see 1915 CL 12502-was in
In re Alston's Estate,
Abrogated by
Rowland
,
Abrogated by
Rowland
,
Abrogated by
Rowland
,
Overruled by
Rowland
,
Overruled by
Rowland
,
To the extent that Rowland did not explicitly overrule Brown 's holding that MCL 224.21 was unconstitutional, Rowland clearly rejected Brown 's reasoning with regard to that issue by explaining that there were numerous reasons, besides preventing prejudice, to find a rational basis for a notice requirement.
Plaintiff's strongest argument that
Streng
created new law is that the
Rowland
Court applied the 120-day notice provision from the GTLA rather than the 60-day notice provision from MCL 224.21. See
Rowland
, 477 Mich. at 219,
[t]he Rowland Court made no mention of MCL 224.21, nor did it discuss the reasoning in Brown ... regarding the notice period.... Rowland expressed neither approval nor disapproval regarding that choice but simply focused on the lack of statutory language in MCL 691.1404 allowing exceptions to the time limit. [ Streng ,315 Mich. App. at 459-460 ,890 N.W.2d 680 .]
Therefore, the
Rowland
decision provides no help to plaintiff because MCL 224.21"was not discussed by the Supreme Court and implicit conclusions are not binding precedent."
Galea v. FCA U.S. LLC
,
The majority states that the purpose of Streng "was to correct an apparent error in interpreting a provision of the GTLA." I do not believe that Streng resolved any error in the interpretation of the GTLA because, both before and after Streng , the notice provision of the GTLA has been interpreted to be a 120-day notice requirement.
Also notable, the concurring opinion of Justice Young in Apsey , which the concurring opinion in this case cites, was a concurrence in result only. Five justices agreed with the majority, and one wrote a dissenting opinion. It is unclear why the concurring opinion in this case takes the position that the reasoning of one justice, which was not adopted by a single other justice, "unmistakably leads to" any conclusion grounded in the jurisprudence of this state.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.