Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (PWDCRA); Court of Claims Act (COCA); MCL 600.6431; COCA notice requirement; Christie v Wayne State Univ; Six-month notice period; MCL 600.6431(4); “Personal injuries”; Employment discrimination; Chiravuri v University of MI; Sovereign immunity waiver; Notice of intent (NOI); Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); Michigan State Police (MSP); Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA)

The court held that a PWDCRA employment-discrimination claim against the state is a claim for “personal injuries” under MCL 600.6431(4), so the COCA’s six-month notice period applied. Plaintiff, an MSP employee, alleged his PTSD was improperly factored into defendant’s decision to demote him by three ranks after an investigation into a promotion scandal. He filed his NOI about nine months after the discipline appeal hearing. The trial court denied defendant’s summary disposition motion, concluding the one-year notice period applied. On appeal, the court held that “personal injuries” is a legal term of art and includes “any invasion of a personal right,” not only physical harm. It reasoned the PWDCRA guarantees the civil right to obtain employment without disability discrimination, and plaintiff’s claim therefore fit within the definition of “personal injury.” The court rejected plaintiff’s reliance on Christie because the plaintiff there never filed any notice, so “the timing of her claim or notice was not relevant” and the Supreme Court did not decide which COCA subsection applied. It also declined to follow Chiravuri’s conclusion that ELCRA claims are governed by § 6431(1), reasoning that earlier cases cited § 6431(1) only because no notice had been filed at all, and Chapter 63’s definition of personal injury did not control Chapter 64 COCA claims. Because plaintiff filed notice beyond six months, “the trial court erred by failing to dismiss” his PWDCRA claim. Reversed and remanded for entry of summary disposition for defendant.