Governmental immunity; Governmental Tort Liability Act (GTLA); Motor vehicle exception; MCL 691.1405; Negligent operation; City bus; Common carrier; Normal incidents of travel; Seldon v Suburban Mobility Auth for Reg’l Transp; Getz v Detroit; Bolton v City of Detroit; Serious impairment; MCL 500.3135; Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT)

The court held that defendants were entitled to governmental immunity on plaintiff’s third-party automobile negligence claim because she failed to show a fact question as to negligent operation of the city bus. Plaintiff was injured when she fell from her seat after boarding a DDOT bus and the driver braked twice to avoid a car that cut in front of him. The trial court denied defendants’ motion for partial summary disposition on the MCL 691.1405 claim. On appeal, the court first held that plaintiff adequately pleaded in avoidance of governmental immunity because the complaint alleged the driver “violated Michigan law and was negligent . . . in the operation of” the bus and that this caused serious impairments. But the court next held that plaintiff failed to produce evidence showing negligent operation. It reasoned that under Seldon, “absent evidence of other negligence pertaining to the operation of a bus,” a passenger generally may not recover for injuries from a sudden stop because such stops are “normal incidents of travel.” The court also noted that a passenger who has boarded a bus “must anticipate that [it] may start before he is seated,” absent a special reason requiring the driver to wait. Plaintiff testified the braking happened about three minutes after she boarded, when her cart was situated and her “buttocks [were] on the bench,” and she offered no evidence supporting allegations that the driver was inattentive or driving too fast. Because she failed to show her claim fell within the motor-vehicle exception, the court reversed and remanded for entry of partial summary disposition for defendants on the third-party negligence claim.