Kosmalski v. St John’s Lutheran Church
261 Mich. App. 56, 680 N.W.2d 50 (2004)
Premium Feature
Subscribe to Lexplug to listen to the Case Podcast.
Rule of Law:
An unpaid volunteer on church premises for non-commercial purposes, such as providing childcare for a vacation bible school, is classified as a licensee, not an invitee. A property owner's duty to a licensee is to warn of hidden dangers that the owner knows or has reason to know of, which pose an unreasonable risk of harm, if the licensee is unaware of the danger.
Facts:
- St. John’s Lutheran Church held an annual vacation bible school and utilized volunteers to help run the program.
- Marilyn Kosmalski, a minor who was not a church member, accepted her grandmother's invitation to serve as a volunteer playground helper.
- During the vacation bible school, a child Marilyn was supervising ran away from the playground toward the church building.
- Marilyn followed the child to a glass door.
- As the child pulled the door open, Marilyn's extended arm came into contact with the glass pane.
- The glass shattered, causing a severe cut to Marilyn’s forearm from her wrist to her elbow, resulting in nerve damage.
Procedural Posture:
- Plaintiffs Joseph and Kathy Kosmalski, on behalf of their minor daughter Marilyn, filed a premises liability lawsuit against defendant St. John’s Lutheran Church in a Michigan trial court.
- St. John's filed a motion for summary disposition, arguing Marilyn was a licensee and that it did not breach any duty owed to her.
- The trial court granted St. John’s motion for summary disposition, ruling that Marilyn was a licensee and that the church did not breach its duty.
- Plaintiffs appealed the trial court's order to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Premium Content
Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief
You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture
Issue:
Does a person who volunteers to provide childcare at a church's vacation bible school have the status of an invitee, which requires that the premises be held open for a commercial purpose?
Opinions:
Majority - Hoekstra, J.
No. A volunteer providing childcare at a church's vacation bible school is a licensee, not an invitee, because their presence is not for a commercial purpose tied to the owner's pecuniary gain. To establish invitee status, a plaintiff must show the premises were held open for a commercial purpose. Citing Stitt v. Holland Abundant Life Fellowship, the court emphasized that the landowner's reason for inviting a person onto the premises is the primary consideration. Invitee status requires a 'prospect of pecuniary gain' or a 'quid pro quo' for the higher duty of care. Marilyn was a volunteer, and her relationship with St. John’s was of a religious or social nature, not a commercial one, even though childcare services can be commercial in other contexts. Therefore, Marilyn's status was that of a licensee. However, the court also found that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the church breached its duty to Marilyn as a licensee. Evidence, such as minutes from a 1993 church council meeting discussing nonsafety glass, suggested St. John's knew or had reason to know of the hidden danger. Given that children frequently used the door, a jury could find that the nonsafety glass presented an unreasonable risk of harm, and the church had a duty to warn.
Analysis:
This case clarifies the application of Michigan's premises liability law to volunteers at nonprofit or religious organizations. It reinforces the principle from Stitt that invitee status is strictly tied to a 'commercial purpose' involving potential pecuniary gain for the landowner. The decision establishes that providing valuable services as a volunteer does not transform a licensee into an invitee, thereby limiting the scope of duty owed by such organizations. This precedent makes it more difficult for volunteers injured on nonprofit property to prevail in negligence actions unless they can demonstrate the owner knew of a hidden danger and failed to provide a warning.
