Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 92904; Published
Judges M. J. Kelly, Sawyer, and Knoblock; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 160 Mich App 326; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not Applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Motor Vehicle Code (Civil Liability of Owner) (MCL 257.401)
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam published Opinion, the Court of Appeals upheld summary disposition in favor of the defendant owner of a motor vehicle, holding that the owner liability statute, MCLA 257.401, creates liability against an owner of a vehicle only for negligent operation of that vehicle, and not for intentional acts of the non-owner/driver.
Plaintiff was injured when defendant Mitchell Kipf intentionally rammed his automobile into plaintiffs vehicle. The complaint alleged liability against Kipf, together with the owner of the vehicle, his mother, Juanita Hatcher, under the owner liability statute, MCLA 257.401. Although Hatcher had consented to the use of her vehicle by Kipf, in her motion for summary disposition she asserted that the only claim brought against her was an allegation of intentional tort by her son who was driving the car, for which she was alleged to be vicariously liable under the owner liability statute.
In affirming the trial court dismissal of the action, the Court of Appeals held that the express terms of the owner liability statute created liability "for any injury occasioned by the negligent operation of such motor vehicle, and did not create liability for intentional torts of the operator of the vehicle." The court presumed that the Legislature was aware of the distinction between negligence and intentional torts and chose not to create ownership liability for injuries arising out of the intentional acts of a non-owner.
[Editor's Note: The above case was inadvertently omitted from prior summaries.]
