Michigan Supreme Court Finds Credibility Disputes Over Vehicle Signal Use Preclude Summary Judgment And Clarifies Spoliation Standard
McDuffie-Connor v NSS Construction, Inc.
Order Released: June 11, 2025
MSC Docket No. 166865-6
Wayne County Circuit Court
Per curiam order of the Michigan Supreme Court
Holding: Summary disposition was not warranted where there were factual disputes about whether a truck’s turn signals were operating at the time of the accident. Further, sanctions for spoliation of evidence must be supported by findings at the trial court that the evidence at issue was material and that the party had a duty to preserve the evidence before a lawsuit was filed.
Facts: This wrongful death lawsuit arose from a fatal collision between William Howard McDuffie-Connor's car and a truck operated by Scott Neal in the course of his employment with NSS Construction. Video footage showed the truck began turning right when it collided with the decedent's vehicle, which was in a parking lane attempting to pass the truck on the right. The Circuit Court denied defendant's motion for summary disposition and further granted plaintiff's motion for sanctions for spoliation of evidence based on the defendant’s failure to retain employment and maintenance records. On review, the Court of Appeals vacated the trial court’s denial of summary disposition as well as the order of sanctions.
Key Appellate Ruling:
Factual disputes regarding whether the truck’s turn signal was operating at the time of the accident warranted denial of summary disposition.
Michigan State Police Officer Ryan Wilson's post-crash inspection found all four turn signals were "lighting up but not blinking". Officer Wilson believed these maintenance defects existed before the crash based on his training and experience. Expert witnesses agreed that the turn signals were not functioning properly before the crash. However, defense witnesses testified turn signals were working, creating a credibility determination for the jury.
The Michigan Supreme Court found that a reasonable juror could find that the driver failed to conduct proper pre-trip inspection or knowingly operated vehicle with defective turn signals. The evidence supports a theory that if turn signals lit but didn't blink, decedent may have reasonably believed truck was stopping rather than turning.
MCL 500.3135(2)(b) does not bar recovery because reasonable minds could differ on which driver was more at fault.
The Court concluded that evidence supported that both drivers may bear some fault for the collision. Decedent's passing maneuver may not have been made "under conditions permitting the overtaking and passing in safety", while the driver may have acted without ensuring the turn could be safely made and without functional turn signals. This question of fact precluded summary disposition on this alternate theory of comparative fault.
Sanctions for spoliation of evidence must be supported by a finding that the evidence was material and further, that the custodian of the evidence had a duty to preserve it at the time it was destroyed or lost.
The plaintiff argued that sanctions for spoliation of evidence were warranted where the defendant failed to preserve the employment records for the driver and the maintenance records for the truck. The trial court agreed and sanctioned defendant for the loss of the records. The Court of Appeals vacated the order of sanctions.
The Michigan Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeals should not have reviewed the issue on its merits because the trial court failed to make findings on whether discarded employment and maintenance records were material to plaintiff's claims. Further, the trial court failed to address whether the defendant had duty to preserve evidence before lawsuit was filed.
