Trip & fall on stairs; Claim under MCL 554.139; Whether defendant was a lessor; MCL 554.139(1); Allison v AEW Capital Mgmt, LLP; Distinguishing between negligence & premises liability; Buhalis v Trinity Continuing Care Servs; Common-law negligence; Composto v Albrecht; Premises liability; Goodwin v Northwest MI Fair Ass’n; Duty; Hoffner v Lanctoe; Invitee status; Stitt v Holland Abundant Life Fellowship; Breach; Lowrey v LMPS & LMPJ, Inc; Open & obvious danger; Lugo v Ameritech Corp, Inc; Special aspects; Estate of Trueblood v P&G Apts, LLC; Inadequate lighting; Singerman v Municipal Serv Bureau, Inc

The court held that the trial court erred by denying defendant-condo association’s motion for summary disposition of plaintiff’s claim under MCL 554.139, as well as her premises liability claim. Plaintiff sued defendant for injuries she sustained when she tripped and fell on a dark stairway as she was retrieving her mail. On appeal, the court agreed with defendant that the trial court erred by denying its motion for summary disposition of plaintiff’s statutory claim, noting there was no evidence that defendant leased either the unit or the common areas to plaintiff. Because defendant “is not a lessor, MCL 554.139 does not impose any duty upon” it. The court also agreed with defendant that the trial court erred by denying its motion for summary disposition of plaintiff’s negligence claim. First, because plaintiff’s claim was based on defendant’s “duty as the possessor of the building in which she fell,” it was a claim of premises liability, not negligence. Second, because “an average person would perceive the potential danger of traversing a darkened stairway; that same average person, if concerned that a trespasser was lurking downstairs, would be unlikely to forgo a lighted stairway and instead venture down a darkened stairway at night for the purpose of retrieving one’s mail.” As such, the open and obvious condition was not unavoidable, and the trial court “erred by determining that an issue of fact existed regarding the open and obvious nature of the darkness.” Reversed and remanded for entry of summary disposition in defendant’s favor.