Opinion
No. 122785.
July 11, 2003.
Leave to Appeal Denied.
No. 122785; Court of Appeals No. 230507.
I respectfully dissent. Rather than deny leave to appeal, I would reverse in part the judgment of the Court of Appeals. Despite concluding that there was no support for plaintiff's allegation that he contracted with the individual defendant Joseph Vaglica, the Court nonetheless determined that Vaglica could be held personally liable for the negligent performance of a contract between plaintiff and the corporate defendant. In Williams v. Polgar, 391 Mich 6, 22 (1974), this Court recognized that liability for the negligent performance of a contract arises out of the negligent performance of a contractual duty. If Vaglica was not a party to the contract, and therefore owed no duties under such contract, then he could not have been personally liable for the negligent performance of the contract. I would not allow this contravention of traditional contract principles to stand.
CORRIGAN, C.J., and KELLY, J. We join in the dissenting statement of Justice MARKMAN.