COA reverses eviction after mobile home fire.

Byline: Lee Dryden

An eviction that followed a fire in a mobile home was reversed by a Michigan Court of Appeals panel.

In Cedar Springs Mobile Estates v. Smith (MiLW No. 08-101141, 9 pages), defendant tenant Angela Smith was evicted and ordered to pay nearly $7,000 following a bench trial in district court. The Kent County Circuit Court affirmed, but the appeals court panel reversed in stating that Cedar Springs' only evidence of negligence was speculative and rebutted by Smith.

"The district court could not find Smith financially responsible and therefore could not support a judgment of eviction," the panel stated.

The unpublished per curiam opinion was issued by Judges Brock A. Swartzle, Elizabeth L. Gleicher and Michael J. Kelly.

The case

Smith rented a mobile home and a lot at Cedar Springs. On July 22, 2017, a couch in the living room caught fire, damaging the surrounding area. Cedar Springs paid to repair the fire damage and then attempted to recoup about $5,000 from Smith, the COA opinion stated.

When Smith did not pay that amount in addition to her normal rent payments, Cedar Springs instituted eviction proceedings in the district court and sought damages. The district court ordered Smith's eviction and entered a judgment of $6,997.10. Smith appealed to the circuit court, which affirmed.

The home was uninhabitable after the fire and repairs began. The defendant and her family were able to move back into the home on Oct. 13, 2017. She made payments but a balance remained, prompting Cedar Springs to file a "demand for possession" in district court.

The court would not permit Cedar Springs manager Ranee Dewey to give an opinion about the origin of the fire as she was not an expert, but she was permitted to testify regarding "what she observed." Dewey stated that the fire started in the living room, at the window, where there was an afghan placed over the air conditioner.

Smith testified that she and her husband heard the smoke detector and found "the back of our couch was glowing on the wall." They were unsuccessful in putting out the fire with water or a fire extinguisher.

"They attempted to push the burning couch out the front door, but it became lodged. Smith and her family ultimately fled the mobile home through the back door. Smith denied that anyone placed an afghan on the air conditioner before the fire. The afghan had been on the couch, Smith insisted," the opinion stated.

"If the fire incident report described an afghan...