October 02, 2014
The Michigan Court of Appeals has found that, when considering whether a person is entitled to personal protection insurance in relation to a parked vehicle, a court must first consider whether the injury meets one of the requirements provided by MCL 500.3106, before then considering whether the person is entitled to benefits pursuant to MCL 500.3105. As a result, if a person cannot establish that her injury meets one of the requirements of MCL 500.3106, the injury cannot arise out of the use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle for purposes of MCL 500.3105.
In Kalo v Home Owners Ins Co, (Unpub, COA No. 316442), plaintiff suffered injuries when she was attempting to close the rear door of a U-Haul truck. Plaintiff was standing on a ladder, pulling on a fabric strap attached to the door with one hand while attempting to free the latch with the other hand. As plaintiff pulled on the strap she lost her balance and fell off the ladder. Plaintiff sought no-fault benefits from defendant and defendant denied her request pursuant to MCL 500.3106 and MCL 500.3105. Plaintiff filed suit and the Circuit Court granted summary disposition in favor of plaintiff. Defendant appealed.
Plaintiff’s argument on appeal, based on Miller v Auto-Owners Ins Co, 411 Mich 633 (1981), was that she can collect no-fault benefits pursuant to MCL 500.3105(1) without consideration of MCL 500.3106. The Court of Appeals rejected this argument holding that a claimant who sustains injury involving a parked motor vehicle must, as a threshold matter, satisfy one of the statutory exceptions to the parked vehicle exclusion. In so doing, the Court held that the idea that an injury claim based on “maintenance” of a parked motor vehicle does not need to satisfy any of the statutory exceptions is no longer good law.
From that critical holding, the Court proceeded to conclude that none of the available and applicable statutory exclusions in MCL 500.3106 apply to this case. Plaintiff was not injured as a result of physical contact with “equipment permanently mounted on the vehicle” where the truck door’s strap and latch are part of the vehicle itself, not equipment “mounted on the vehicle.” Nor was plaintiff injured while “entering into” the vehicle. Accordingly, since the U-Haul truck clearly was parked, and no statutory exception to the parked vehicle exclusion applied, the Court concluded that defendant was entitled to summary disposition on plaintiff’s personal protection insurance claim.
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REGISTER NOW! | BUCKEYE SEMINAR | October 23, 2014
GREATER COLUMBUS CONVENTION CENTER
400 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST / REGISTRATION
9:00 – 9:05 a.m. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Speaker: SUSAN M. WILLIAMS, ESQ.
9:05 – 9:50 a.m. 2014 NO-FAULT LAW UPDATES
Speaker: SAMANTHA E. DRAUGELIS, ESQ.
9:50 – 10:35 a.m. TIPS & STRATEGIES IN DEFENDING PROVIDER SUITS:
CLAIMS THROUGH TRIAL
Speaker: MARK L. NAWROCKI, ESQ.
10:35 – 11:05 a.m. HOME MODIFICATION & TRANSPORTATION AGREEMENTS:
MCCA REQUIREMENTS POST ADMIRE
Speaker: SUSAN M. WILLIAMS, ESQ.
11:05 – 12:00 p.m. DEPOSITIONS OF CLAIM STAFF:
WHY WOULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU?
Speaker: JOHN W. WHITMAN, ESQ.
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
RETURN EVALUATION FORMS
Comprehensive written materials will be distributed to all program attendees.
To register: contact Eileen Carty: ecarty@garanlucow.com
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Garan Lucow Miller is hosting a U of M Tailgate
U of M v Indiana
When: Saturday, November 1, 2014
Game Time: 3:30 pm
Tailgate starts: 12:00 pm (Noon)
Where: Michigan Stadium
1201 South Main Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Tailgate Location: Hospitality Area C
Enter off of West Stadium Blvd – Gate 1
Tailgate does NOT include tickets to the game
Please RSVP to Eileen Carty at ecarty@garanlucow.com
Hope you can join us!
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GARAN LUCOW MILLER WELCOMES NEW ASSOCIATES!!
A very special welcome to Nicholas Caponigro, who has joined GLM in our Troy office and Eric Smith who has joined GLM in our Grand Blanc office.