Artful Pleadings Won’t Save You: A Premises Case is a Premises Case

Plaintiffs routinely attempt to plead around premises liability in favor of ordinary negligence to avoid defenses that are only applicable to premises liability claims. It is important to use dispositive motions to remove negligence allegations from a true premises liability complaint. Plaintiffs use this strategy to avoid defenses such as possession/ownership, lack of notice, and open and obvious.

Lucarelli v Robertson Bros. Co, although unpublished, affirms the long-held Michigan legal principle that if the injury arises from a condition on the land, then it is a premises liability claim. Artful or vague pleading will not transform a premises liability claim to ordinary negligence.