Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #219118; Unpublished
Judges Gage, Cavanagh and Wilder; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Collateral Estoppel and Res Judicata
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals, on remand from the Supreme Court Order vacating its original decision in 1995 (Item No. 1978), once again it considered the issue of interest on an arbitration award. In the original decision, the arbitrators affirmed the trial court decision awarding pre-complaint interest on an arbitration award. The Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals decision and remanded the matter with instructions that the issues of pre-complaint and post-complaint interest on an arbitration award be submitted to arbitration. The arbitrators subsequently awarded plaintiff $650,000. Defendant then filed a motion to vacate the award, arguing that its liability was limited to the $500,000 policy limits of the insurance contract. The trial court entered an Order determining that the arbitrators had exceeded their authority by an awarding an amount in excess of the policy limits and entered a judgment in favor of plaintiffs in an amount consistent with the policy limits.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals determined that whether the insurance company could be liable for an amount that exceeded the underlying insurance policy limits was an issue that should have been raised prior to and during Michigan Mutual’s initial appeal of right from a final judgment. Consistent with the principles of res judicata, the issue was abandoned and not properly before the trial court. Therefore, the trial court’s Order vacating the arbitration award must be set aside and judgment entered on the arbitration award.