Gongwer News Service
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a student killed in Oxford High School mass shooting can move forward against the state after the Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's dismissal in a decision released Friday.
The 3-0 published decision said the family of Hana St. Juliana had a significantly longer window to file the wrongful death suit than the usual six months allowed for any action alleging personal injury involving the state.
The ruling, publicly released on Friday, in St. Juliana v. State Police (COA Docket No. 370427) reversed the Court of Claims ruling and allows the family of Hana St. Juliana to sue the Department of State Police and State of Michigan.
They allege that the State Police inadequately responded to tips about potential violence at the school leading up to the November 30, 2021, shooting when St. Juliana and three classmates were killed. Seven others were injured.
Attorney Kevin Carlson of Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers, who represents Hana St. Juliana's estate, praised the decision in a statement.
"We are pleased by the Michigan Court of Appeals' decision to reverse the dismissal of our client's case. By allowing this case to proceed, the court is upholding the principles of fairness and leading us closer to a path of justice," he said. "For two years, the State has tried to delay and derail our client's case, going so far as to withhold 91 pages of critical documents that should have been turned over.
“We hope this reversal can finally force the State to face its consequences and instate changes that ensure the tragedy that occurred on November 30, 2021, will never happen again."
The Department of Attorney General said it has received the ruling and is considering its next steps.
St. Juliana's father, Steve, filed notice of intent to sue the state in the Court of Claims on September 22, 2022. This was more than six months after the shooting. He said he only learned of the State Police's alleged involvement in the tip line on July 21, 2022.
St. Juliana argued that while the Court of Claims Act sets a requirement for giving notice of intent to sue within six months of the event giving rise to the claim, the Revised Judicature Act says wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of when letters of authority are issued appointing the personal representative of the estate. Steve St. Juliana was appointed as that representative on February 25, 2022.
The Court of Claims sided with the State Police that the six-month notice requirement in the Court of Claims Act held sway and ordered the case dismissed.
The Court of Appeals, in a per curiam opinion signed by Judge Kathleen Feeney, Judge Stephen Borrello and Judge Anica Letica, said in the absence of the Court of Claims Act declaring the two-year window in wrongful death claims does not apply, it must be presumed the Legislature intended to keep the two-year window in such claims.
"This provision is intended to safeguard plaintiffs' rights in wrongful-death actions, particularly when confronting statutory deadlines," the court wrote.
The case was remanded to the Court of Claims.
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