A recent ruling may result in a lawsuit involving the City of Linden ending up in the Michigan Supreme Court.

The lawsuit was filed last year by Howard Schrock against both the city and the Genesee County Road Commission involving an incident on Ripley Road in July of 2016. Schrock says he suffered a broken neck and severe spinal cord injury when his bicycle hit a pothole, catapulting him over the handlebars into the roadway. A Genesee County Circuit Court judge ruled that the road commission had jurisdiction over that portion of Ripley Road. The commission then turned to the Michigan Court of Appeals to review the ruling.

In a decision last month, the appeals panel reversed the original ruling and said the City of Linden had retained jurisdiction, pointing out that the city had received state funds for the roadway, in addition to performing maintenance on both lanes on that section of the road.

The Tri-County Times reports that during a Linden Council meeting earlier this month, the city’s attorney indicated that their insurance carrier was interested in potentially filing for a review of the decision by the Michigan Supreme Court, although that has yet to take place. (JK)