The Brady team recently had a Motion for Summary Disposition granted in a third-party motor vehicle accident case. Plaintiff filed a third-party claim based upon an accident that occurred at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Third Avenue in Detroit and alleged that Defendant’s negligence caused the accident.

After completing the depositions of both Plaintiff and Defendant, the facts showed that Plaintiff made an unlawful left hand turn and hit Defendant. Plaintiff’s initial defense was an allegation that she had a green turn arrow when she made the left hand turn. Therefore, we sent a FOIA to the Michigan Department of Transportation. MDOT responded to the FOIA and confirmed that this traffic light did not have a specific turn arrow light at the time of the accident.

Based upon this information, we prepared a Motion for Summary Disposition based upon liability and argued that all of the evidence supported the fact that Defendant had the right of way as he was driving through an intersection with a green light. On the other hand, we argued that Plaintiff was solely at fault for this accident because Michigan law required that she yield to oncoming traffic before making a left hand turn. Instead, Plaintiff made an unlawful left-hand turn and “t-boned” Defendant.

In Response to the Motion, Plaintiff offered an unsubstantiated and impossible version of events to attempt to create a genuine issue of material fact. However, we were able to address this version of events in our Reply Brief and at the Hearing by relying on the testimony, the MDOT Reports, and the Police Report. Due to the fact that Plaintiff’s version of events was not based upon any evidence, it was our position that Plaintiff had failed to meet her burden of proof. In Michigan, Plaintiff must offer “specific admissible evidence”, not “mere allegations” in order to overcome a Motion for Summary Disposition. Therefore, we requested that the Court grant the Motion and dismiss Plaintiff’s claims.

After extensive oral argument, the Court granted this Motion for Summary Disposition on the basis that Plaintiff failed to bring forth any evidence to support her allegations. Even Plaintiff’s own testimony supported the fact that she was the sole cause of the T-bone accident. The Court acknowledged that there is a high standard that must be met in order for the Court to grant a Motion for Summary Disposition based upon liability, but due to the fact that the evidence in this case was entirely in Defendant’s favor, the Court granted the Motion and dismissed this case.

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