The Governmental Tort Liability Act (GTLA); Gross negligence claim; MCL 691.1407(2); MCL 691.1407(8)(a); Tarlea v Crabtree

Holding that defendant-police officer’s (Khazaali) conduct did not rise to the level of gross negligence, the court reversed the trial court’s denial of her summary disposition motion and remanded for entry of an order granting her summary disposition. The case arose from a motor-vehicle crash between a police cruiser operated by “Khazaali, who was on duty and leaving the scene of an emergency call, and a vehicle operated by” nonparty-M. Plaintiffs were passengers in M’s vehicle. The court noted that the “GTLA defines ‘gross negligence’ as ‘conduct so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury results.’” In this case, “Khazaali pulled from a parked position into the roadway and attempted to change lanes without looking and without using her turn signal. She was not traveling at an excessive rate of speed, it was a clear night, and there were few cars traveling on the road at the time. Although her emergency lights were not activated, there is nothing to suggest that there was a need for her to have those lights on when changing lanes. Even viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, Officer Khazaali’s conduct is not so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury results. Thus, although [she] was negligent, her conduct” did not constitute gross negligence. As a result, the trial court erred in denying her summary disposition motion.