Jessica Bitner v. William Shafer ( 2014 )

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
December 19, 2014 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
149516 Michael F. Cavanagh
Stephen J. Markman
Mary Beth Kelly
Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
BONNIE BLACK, as Next Friend of JESSICA David F. Viviano,
BITNER, a Minor, Justices
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v SC: 149516
COA: 312379
Wayne CC: 11-010645-NO
WILLIAM SHAFER, MARY SHAFER, and
IAN GEARHART,
Defendants,
and
ANTHONY SHAFER,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 25, 2014
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall
address: (1) whether this action sounds in ordinary negligence or in premises liability;
(2) the role, if any, of licensor-licensee relationships in this action; (3) the specific nature
of the duty, if any, owed by defendant Anthony Shafer to the plaintiff’s next friend,
Jessica Bitner, with respect to Bitner’s injury, including whether the parties had a legally
significant “special relationship,” see generally, e.g., Williams v Cunningham Drug
Stores, Inc, 429 Mich. 495 (1988); (4) whether a reasonable juror could determine that a
duty was breached; (5) the import of a third party’s criminal act in negligently
discharging a firearm; and (6) causation generally.
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
December 19, 2014
t1216
Clerk