Storage facility owes no duty to inspect Decedent's property
Basile Lagos owned a 1977 Olds Cutlass which he stored at the Maple Village Self Storage facility in Washtenaw County. He would bike to the facility and work on the car during off-hours. This was so common that he was allowed to be on the premises after closing hours. One night, however, while attempting to re-wire a tail-light, he was trapped in the trunk lid when it closed on him accidentally. He eventually suffocated when he could not release himself.
His family filed a wrongful death claim, alleging that the operators of the storage facility were negligent in failing to inspect Basile's car when it was discovered parked near the rental unit with the keys in the trunk and clothing and tools scattered around it. The Court dismissed the family's claim, holding that the storage facility owed no common law duty to protect or inspect the decedent or his property and that it had not voluntarily assumed any similar duty.