Standing; Nuisance arising from the violation of a zoning ordinance; Damages of a special character; Federal Communication Commission (FCC)

Finding that the trial court did not err in determining plaintiffs did not have standing, the court affirmed “the trial court’s orders granting summary disposition to defendants under MCR 2.116(C)(7) (governmental immunity) and (C)(8) (failure to state a claim).” But because “the trial court’s orders did not properly address some of the defendants” in this case, it remanded for the trial court to do so. The case involved “plaintiffs’ challenge to a contract between T-Mobile Central LLC and the Wyandotte School District. The contract allowed T-Mobile to lease space on the Washington Elementary School building and install a wireless communications facility. Plaintiffs, who live near the school, objected to the installation. They believed exposure to wireless radiation could cause or exacerbate medical problems and diseases, and alleged that the equipment interfered with their quiet enjoyment of their properties and decreased the values of their homes. Plaintiffs eventually filed suit alleging nuisance per se and private nuisance.” To demonstrate that they could show “damages of a special character,” plaintiffs focused “on the alleged health risks caused by radio frequency radiation.” In this respect, they relied on an FCC “wireless radiation exposure emission limit was too low. But plaintiffs, on appeal, ‘stress that they do not challenge the adequacy of the FCC emission guidelines for wireless radiation[.]” Plaintiffs could not “concede that the FCC guidelines are adequate while simultaneously claiming special damages by way of radio frequency radiation from a facility that adheres to those same guidelines. As for the other alleged damages plaintiffs raised below regarding aesthetics and property value depreciation, they make no arguments relating to either of these points on appeal.” Consequently, they abandoned these arguments. “Plaintiffs have not identified any other ‘damages of a special character’ that would endow them with standing.” Because they “lacked standing, the trial court correctly dismissed the case.”