Man who broke leg in corn maze gets new day in court

ALLEGAN (AP) — Headed to a haunted corn maze during the Halloween season? Watch your step.

The Michigan Court of Appeals gave new life to a lawsuit by a man who fell and broke his leg while trying to get out of a tricky maze during a late-night rain in western Michigan in 2013.

The court said the wet path should be considered open and obvious, a key defense for business owners in slip-and-fall lawsuits. But the court found another important issue — whether Michael Davis and his wife were forced by employees to use that path as their exit from the Witches of New Salem maze in Allegan County community of Dorr.

“The path the employees insisted visitors travel was arguably unsafe. ... The flowing water blocked the only means of exit from the corn maze,” the court said in a 3-0
opinion released last Friday.

The appeals court reversed a decision by an Allegan County judge who had dismissed the lawsuit in favor of the owner, Jeffrey Lenhart. The ruling means Davis can take the case to trial unless the state Supreme Court intervenes.

“It was a nasty injury. It never completely heals. He’s an adult in his early 40s,” said Davis’ attorney, Brian Lawson.

The maze, meanwhile, is ready for another season, complete with witches and zombies or a milder, no-ghoul maze during daylight.