Dean McMaster v. Dte Energy Company

Summary

The Court held that Michigan's adoption of federal motor-carrier safety regulations did not abrogate a shipper's common-law duty of reasonable care. It adopted the shipper's exception, under which a shipper responsible for loading cargo may be liable for hidden loading defects but generally is not liable when the defect was readily observable to the carrier or its agents. Because McMaster observed the pipe's position before and during unloading, and his alternative latent-defect theory was speculative, the Court affirmed summary disposition for DTE on alternate grounds.