The Michigan Supreme Court has recently held that landlords have a duty to request police involvement when the landlord or its agent is placed on notice of potential criminal acts in a common area of the premises.
The decision (Bailey v Schaaf, decided July 30,2013) involved security guards being advised that a person on the premises was brandishing a pistol and making threats. The security guards did nothing. The plaintiff in the lawsuit was thereafter shot and rendered paralyzed. The Supreme Court held that although there is generally no duty to protect the public from criminal acts of third-parties there is a special relationship created in a landlord/tenant situation that requires a landlord or its agents to act reasonably by requesting police involvement when it has been advised of criminal acts in a common area.
If you have any questions about this holding, contact Attorney Gary Rogers at grogers@fraserlawfirm.com or 517-377-0828.