Justices will look at liability issues in girl's gym death

GWINN, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court said it will hear arguments in a dispute over liability for the death of a 4-year-old girl who was accidentally killed at a school gym in the Upper Peninsula in 2015.

The Court of Appeals last summer ruled in favor of the Gwinn school district and various individuals.

The Supreme Court said last Friday it wants to focus on whether the district has immunity. There is a certain exception in government tort law, but the appeals court said it didn’t apply in this case.

Amarah Filizetti, the daughter of a Gwinn cheerleading coach, died when a 325-pound panel fell on her. Staff were in the process of putting the panel in place to shield a portable stage in the gym.

“Leaning the stage cover panels against the gym wall did not constitute a failure to repair or maintain a public building,” the appeals court said.

The Supreme Court likely won’t hear arguments until late this year or in 2022.