Drop a letter in the address; your notice is defective

Kirstin F. Kelly and conservative Republican judges struck another blow for the insurance industry this week when they overturned a Circuit Court judge's decision and dismissed an injury claim brought by Patrick Thurman.  Thurman had fallen after tripping on a cracked sidewalk.  He gave the statutorily-required notice of injury to the City of Pontiac, however, he simply identified the location as 35 Huron, Pontiac, Michigan.  There is a 35 E. Huron and a 35 W. Huron.  The trial judge deemed the notice more than sufficient, particularly after comparing photographs of the two sites.  The higher court reversed him and permanently dismissed Thurman's case, not because the sidewalk was "reasonably safe" but rather because he hadn't timely given notice of the "exact location" where he fell:  it was too much to ask the City to check both sides of the street at E. and W. Huron.  Our system of "justice" has evolved into a display of semantic and logical nonsense.