Glenn v. Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority

2017 WL 5615821 (Mich Ct App, Nov. 21, 2107). Governmental immunity protects communities from being sued for their day-to-day work. But what if they receive money for a function that looks like a business? In this case, plaintiff sought damages alleging that she fractured her ankle exiting a waterslide at a Family Aquatic Center located in a Metropolitan park operated by the Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA). To avoid the HCMA’s governmental immunity from tort claims, plaintiff alleged that the HCMA operated the Aquatic Center as a self-contained and self-functioning, for-profit waterpark under the proprietary function exception to governmental immunity. The circuit court denied the HCMA’s motion for summary disposition. RSJA filed an appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals and obtained a decision reversing the circuit court judgment and securing the dismissal of all claims against the HCMA.