Michigan bills seeks clarity on pothole damage repair claims

A bipartisan Michigan House bill package addresses concerns about pothole repairs.

State law permits drivers to seek damages under $1,000 for defective highways if road agencies are aware, or should be aware, of a roadway defect “and had a reasonable time to repair the defect” before a mishap. A governmental agency must have known about the pothole for 30 days and failed to repair it.

Clarity necessary

House Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee Chair Nate Shannon, D-Sterling Heights, and Rep. Graham Filler, R-St. Johns, are behind a bill package to address conflicting Michigan rules that include different time frames to seek damages for incidents on county-owned roads.

At a recent committee hearing, Filler told the committee that for the past 20 years, courts have recognized 120 days as the time limit for filing notice of claims for pothole repair. In recent years, the state court of appeals modified the time limit to 60 days. A couple of years ago, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that 120 days is the time limit.

He said most counties provide 120 days to file notice but that the Supreme Court ruling needs to be put into statute.

“What we are doing is codifying the Supreme Court decision,” Filler testified. “The clarity is good for Michigan taxpayers. What we don’t want, and the people of the state of Michigan don’t want, is a lack of clarity and confusion when you have the Supreme Court decision out there and a court of appeals decision that disagreed and is causing confusion.”

The pothole bills – HB4940 and HB4941 – are intended to make clear the liability of a county road commission when it fails to maintain a state or county road as required by law.

“This legislation helps protect our counties and county commissions and … ensure the upkeep of Michigan’s infrastructure will continue to be the priority,” Shannon testified. “The contributions by Michigan taxpayers need to be safeguarded and spent for the benefit of priorities like our roads, rather than litigation.”

The committee did not vote on the pothole bills, which are tie-barred. This distinction means both bills must be enacted or neither will become law.

Claim process is not smooth

An investigation by Bridge Michigan, described as a nonpartisan, nonprofit news source, found that drivers are rarely reimbursed for vehicle damage caused by bad roads.

A recent report shows the state and county road agencies have distributed less than $150,000 since 2018 for highway damage claims. LL

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