Phillips v. Mirac6/7/2002
Plaintiff also challenged in the trial court the damages cap provision of subsection 401(3) on the basis that it violates the right under the Michigan Constitution to equal protection. Specifically, plaintiff maintained, and continues to maintain on appeal, that the strict scrutiny review standard applies because the fundamental right to a jury trial is involved. Under this standard, plaintiff concludes that subsection 401(3) violates equal protection because defendant cannot prove that the damages cap serves a compelling interest. Plaintiff concludes, in the alternative, that the statute cannot survive the substantial relationship test and also "flunks" the rational basis test. Defendant contends, to the contrary, that subsection 401(3) does not violate equal protection because it is rationally related to the purpose of protecting the viability of the automobile rental business in Michigan.
The Michigan Constitution guarantees the right to equal protection: " o person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws." Const 1963, art 1, ยง 2. "This constitutional guarantee requires that persons similarly situated be treated alike." Wysocki v Felt, 248 Mich App 346, 350; 639 NW2d 572 (2001). Our first task in determining whether subsection 401(3) violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection is to ascertain the proper level of review to apply. Crego v Coleman, 463 Mich 248, 259; 615 NW2d 218 (2000). If the legislation creates an inherently suspect classification, such as race, ethnicity, and national origin, or affects a fundamental right, the "strict scrutiny" test applies. Crego, supra; Vargo v Sauer, 457 Mich 49, 60; 576 NW2d 656 (1998); Proctor, supra at 469. Other classifications that are suspect, but not inherently suspect, such as gender and mental capacity, are subject to the intermediate level "substantial relationship" test. Proctor, supra; Neal v Oakwood Hospital Corp, 226 Mich App 701, 717; 575 NW2d 68 (1997). However, social or economic legislation is generally examined under the "rational basis" test. People v Perlos, 436 Mich 305, 331; 462 NW2d 310 (1990); Wysocki, supra at 354; Proctor, supra.
Here, the legislation does not create an inherently suspect classification nor is the fundamental right to a jury trial implicated, as explained above, and thus strict scrutiny is not required. Thus, we reject plaintiff's contention that strict scrutiny is appropriate. Nor is the heightened scrutiny of the substantial relationship test necessary. In other cases, this Court has held that classification schemes created by various tort reform legislation are social or economic legislation subject to the rational basis test. Wysocki, supra at 366; Stevenson v Reese, 239 Mich App 513, 517; 609 NW2d 195 (2000); Neal, supra at 718; Heinz, supra at 300. Because the statute in question falls into that category, the rational basis test must be applied.
Our Supreme Court has recently explained the rational basis test:
Under rational-basis review, courts will uphold legislation as long as that legislation is rationally related to a legitimate government purpose. To prevail under this highly deferential standard of review, a challenger must show that the legislation is "arbitrary and wholly unrelated in a rational way to the objective of the statute." A classification reviewed on this basis passes constitutional muster if the legislative judgment is supported by any set of facts, either known or which could reasonably be assumed, even if such facts may be debatable. Rational-basis review does not test the wisdom, need, or appropriateness of the legislation, or whether the classification is made with "mathematical nicety," or even whether it results in some inequity wh
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