Oakland County Circuit Court; File No. 88-350655-CZ;
Judge Robert L. Templin; _________
Official Reporter Citation: ________; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not Applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In an Opinion rendered from the bench, the court ruled that an uninsured motorist coverage exclusion for injury to an insured person while occupying an owned automobile not insured under the policy, did not apply when the insured person was injured while riding a motorcycle not insured under the policy. The court's ruling is consistent with the established rule that insurance policy exclusions are to be narrowly construed in favor of coverage.
The key issue in this case was whether the undefined term "automobile" in an "owned vehicle" exclusion (which excludes coverage for injuries caused by or sustained in a vehicle owned by the insured person but not covered under the policy) included motorcycles. The Court of Appeals is split on this issue in published opinions: A pre-no-fault case, Weaver v Michigan Mutual Liability Company, 32 Mich App 605 (1971) narrowly construes the term "automobile" in a policy exclusion so as not to include a motorcycle. A contrary holding was reached in Ziegler v Goodrich (Item No. 1072). The court in this case followed Weaver and granted summary disposition in favor of the insured person.