Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 217146; Unpublished
Judges Bandra, Wilder, and Collins; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Bona Fide Factual Uncertainty / Statutory Construction Defense
Insurer’s Right to Penalty Attorney Fees for Fraudulent / Excessive Claims [3148(2)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals ruled that plaintiff was not entitled to recover attorney fees under section 3148 of the statute, because the parties agreed that this case involved a factual dispute which precluded summary disposition on the merits, and therefore, a factual uncertainty existed that rendered the defendant’s position not unreasonable. Accordingly, the trial court erred in awarding attorney fees to plaintiff. Moreover, the case involved a legal issue of first impression in Michigan, to-wit, whether a plaintiff-passenger loses his innocent third-party status where the plaintiff has helped an insured make material misrepresentations on an insurance application. Finally, the defendant was not entitled to attorney fees under section 3148(2) because plaintiff’s claim was not “so excessive as to have no reasonable foundation.”