the case went to trial, with pew's legal team arguing that michigan state university was negligent in maintaining the building, specifically citing the public-building exception to governmental immunity. pew's attorneys maintained that, because portions of case hall were open to the public at all hours (like the vestibule), it qualified as a public building at the time of her injury. however, the court, applying principles of stare decisis and drawing heavily from the precedent set by maskery v. university of michigan board of regents, concluded that the building was not "open to the public" as required for the public-building exception to apply. the court noted that while pew could enter the vestibule, access to the remainder of case hall was restricted, akin to maskery's findings. simply put, entry into case hall was limited to those with the proper credentialsresidents and their guests. therefore, it could not be considered a public building in this context. this case, centered around an unfortunate fall through a glass window at 3:00 a.m., invites deeper questions, especially when considered alongside similar window incidents involving supernatural elementssuch as the shattered window event at grace church in saginaw. furthermore, the russick testimony of msus berkey hall shooting, where a professor urged students to "escape out the windows," suggests a recurring pattern of eerie circumstances tied to windows across michigan state university.
United States