Plаintiff appeals as of right orders by the trial court granting defendant’s motions for summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(4), (7), and (8). We affirm.
In March 1986, plaintiff was a prison inmate. Plaintiff was a member of a work crew from the Department of Corrections under the supervision of Norman Stone. On March 25, 1986, plaintiff’s work crew was involved in the renоvation of a state building into a correctional facility. Plaintiff was paired with another inmate, Tom Knox. Because Knox had more experiencе than plaintiff, Knox directed plaintiff’s work. Knox instructed plaintiff to go to the attic of the building to install a vent pipe. The attic was illuminated by a single bulb. The attic floor was not visible because it was covered with insulation. Plaintiff was walking toward what appeared to be the hole that had previously been drilled when he slipped on a heating duct and fell approximately twelve feet through a drop ceiling. Plaintiff broke two bones in his wrist, and his right heel was shattered. Afterward, it wаs determined that plaintiff had been moving in the wrong direction; if he had been in the correct area, he would have been walking on a solid surface.
On May 2, 1991, plaintiff filed a complaint *712 agаinst defendant and Stone in the Court of Claims. Plaintiff alleged that his injuries were the result of a defect in a public building, gross negligence, nuisance, and violations of 42 USC 1983 аnd the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. On February 11, 1993, defendant and Stone moved for summary disposition. The trial court granted the motion with respect to all counts except the alleged public building defect. The trial court also dismissed Stone as a defendant.
After the release of Smith v Michigan, unpublished memorandum opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued June 25, 1993 (Docket No. 134714), defendant renewed its motion for summary disposition. The trial court found Smith indistinguishable from the present case with regard tо the issue of accessibility and accordingly granted defendant’s motion for summary disposition. The order incorporating this ruling was entered on October 20,1993.
This Court rеviews de novo as a question of law an order granting or denying summary disposition.
Turner v Mercy Hosps & Health Services of Detroit,
MCR 2.116(C)(7) tests whether a claim is barred because of immunity granted by law. In order , to survive a motion for summary disposition based on governmental immunity, thе plaintiff must allege facts justifying the application of an exception to
*713
governmental immunity.
Johnson v Wayne Co,
A summary disposition motion brought pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(8) tests the legal sufficiency of the рlaintiffs complaint and should be granted only if the claims are so clearly unenforceable as a matter of law that no factual development, could possibly justify recovery.
Rogalski v Tavernier,
i
Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in holding that the public building exception to governmental immunity did not apply. The public building exception to governmental immunity provides in part:
Governmental agencies have the obligation to repair and maintain public buildings under their control when open for use by members of the public. Governmental agencies are liable for bodily injury and property damage resulting from a dangerous or defеctive condition of a public building if the governmental agency had actual or constructive knowledge of the defect and, for a reasonable time after acquiring knowledge, failed to remedy the condition or to take action reasonably neces-. sary to protect the public against the condition. [MCL 691.1406; MSA 3.996(106).]
The purpose of this exception is to protect the general public from injury by imposing a duty on the government to maintain safe publiс buildings.
Bush v Oscoda Area Schools,
A five-part test determines whether the public
*714
building exception governs a particular case. A plaintiff must prove that (1) a governmental agency is involved, (2) the public building in question is open for use by mеmbers of the public, (3) a dangerous or defective condition of the public building exists, (4) the governmental agency had actual or constructive knowledgе of the alleged defect, and (5) the governmental agency failed to remedy the alleged defective condition after a reasonable рeriod.
Jackson v Detroit,
The public building exception applies only when a building is open for use by members of the public.
Jackson, supra; Taylor v Detroit,
Plaintiff relies on
Green v Dep’t of Corrections,
In Smith, supra, 2 a prisoner was injured while *715 working in the basement of а housing unit in a correctional facility. The basement was inaccessible to the general prison population. The Smith panel concluded that the public building exception did not apply to injuries sustained in a basement not open to members of the public. We, as did the trial court, find the reasoning in Smith to be persuasive.
The рublic building exception is applicable to buildings with limited access, such as schools and prisons. See, e.g., Bush, supra; Green, supra. However, the exception does not apply to buildings that are specifically closed to members of the public. Dudek, supra. Because the building in which plaintiff was injured was not open to the public during renоvations, the trial court properly granted the department’s motion for summary disposition.
ii
Plaintiff next argues that the trial court erred in ruling that Stone was not subject to the court’s jurisdiction because he was not a policy-making state official. We find no error. The Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction to hear claims against the state and any of its departments, commissions, boards, institutions, arms, or agencies. MCL 600.6419; MSA 27A.6419. The jurisdiction of the Court of Claims also extends to suits against state officers when the officer was acting in an official capacity when the acts at issue were committed.
Kell v Johnson,
Plaintiff asserts that because Stone was the supervisor of the renovation project аnd had a great deal of discretion in the management of the project, he should be considered a state officer subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims. We disagree. Stone was the supervisor of the renovation project and, according to his deposition testimony, had a considerable amount of discretion in that role. However, Stone was not an executive officer of a state department or commission. Accordingly, the triаl court did not err in determining that Stone was not a state officer subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims.
hi
Finally, plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in dismissing the tоrt claim and the claim under 42 USC 1983 against Stone. As discussed in the previous issue, the Court of Claims did not have jurisdiction over Stone. However, we briefly note that plaintiff failed to adequately allege that Stone acted in bad faith. Consequently, Stone was entitled to qualified immunity under
Ross v Consumers Power Co (On Rehearing),
Affirmed.
Notes
See also
Andrews v Detroit,
Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in relying on
Smith.
Plaintiff asserts that the trial court improperly treated
Smith
as binding legal precedent. We disagree. The trial court clearly recognized that
Smith
has no precedential value and that it was not required to follow
Smith.
Nevertheless, contrary to plaintiff’s implicit
*715
assertion, a court is free to find the reasoning of an unpublished case persuasive. See
Jackhill Oil Co v Powell Production, Inc,
Because plaintiffs claim arose before July 1, 1986, the Ross test for individual immunity applies, rather than the amended immunity statute, MCL 691.1407; MSA 3.996(107).
Abraham v Jackson,