January 14, 2015
On December 9, 2014, the Michigan Court of Appeals approved for publication its opinion in Wyoming Chiropractic Health Clinic v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company; ___ Mich App ___; ___ NW2d ___ (12/9/14). In Wyoming, Auto-Owners argued that Wyoming Chiropractic was not the real party in interest but had improperly asserted the rights of the underlying insured individuals. Auto-Owners asserted, therefore, that Wyoming Chiropractic did not have standing to bring the case under the No-Fault Act.
The Wyoming Court’s opinion outlines several cases in which the Court of Appeals has recognized a third-party’s right to sue on behalf of an underlying insured in the past. The Court specifically referenced cases which determined the following:
The Wyoming Court also noted that recently, in Mich Head & Spine Inst PC v State Farm Mut Auto Ins Co, 299 Mich App 442, the Court of Appeals had reiterated that the No-Fault Act creates an independent cause of action for healthcare providers. Based upon the above cases, the Wyoming Court held that Wyoming had standing to bring a cause of action against Auto-Owners for PIP benefits under the No-Fault Act where Wyoming brought the action “for the benefit of” an insured individual.
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2015 Windy City Seminar
The Windy City Seminar originally scheduled for January 22, 2015, at the Marriott Schaumburg, will be rescheduled due to a delay in obtaining CEU credits. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please watch LawFax for updates and a new date. Thank you.
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