Premises liability; Sanders v. Perfecting Church; Finazzo v. Fire Equip. Co.; Whether the icy condition was open & obvious; Hoffner v. Lanctoe; Novotney v. Burger King Corp.; Slaughter v. Blarney Castle Oil Co.; Janson v. Sajewski Funeral Home, Inc.; Principle that as a matter of law a snow-covered surface by its very nature presents an open & obvious danger; Ververis v. Hartfield Lanes (On Remand); Special aspects; Lugo v. Ameritech Corp.; Royce v. Chatwell Club Apts.

Holding that the snow-covered icy sidewalk on which plaintiff-Campbell slipped and fell was open and obvious, and that it did not have any special aspects, the court affirmed summary disposition for defendants-property owners. He was visiting his sister at a home she rented from defendants when he slipped and fell on the sidewalk that was connected to the front porch. The fall occurred in early January, and weather reports showed “that the temperature was below freezing in the days before” he fell. The maximum temperature that day “was 31 degrees, and the average temperature was 24 degrees.” Further, plaintiff (a life-long Michigan resident) “observed the wintry conditions when he exited the home. Specifically, Campbell testified that it was snowing outside and that the sidewalk was covered in snow.” In addition, after he fell, one of the individuals who came to help him “was able to see ice in the area” of plaintiff’s fall. Thus, the court concluded that a reasonable person in plaintiff’s “position would have gleaned from the circumstances that the snow-covered sidewalk could be slippery. “ As a result, the trial court did not err in ruling that no question of fact existed as to whether “the alleged hazard was open and obvious.” The court also found no special aspects present. It noted that the “snow-covered ice was avoidable because Campbell was not required or compelled to confront it.” He could have left the house through the back door or walked across the grass, or he could have left at a later time. Further, “the snow-covered ice did not rise to the level of danger posed by ‘an unguarded thirty foot deep pit in the middle of a parking lot.’ . . . Rather, ice is a common condition in Michigan and slipping and falling on it does not create the type of ‘uniquely high likelihood of harm or severity of harm’ contemplated in Lugo.”