15th Judicial Court; Docket No. 81-0776; Unpublished
Judge S. J. Elden; Written Opinion
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
General / Miscellaneous [§3135]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this written Opinion, Judge Elden ruled that in order to recover "mini-tort" property damages under §3135(2)(d), a plaintiff must have complied with the statutory mandate and purchased requisite no-fault insurance. This is so even though the defendant was also uninsured. Judge Elden stated, "To be entitled to rights under the no-fault law, a party must fulfill his/her responsibility under that law. In this case, the requirement of maintaining 'no-fault' insurance is prerequisite to recovery under §3135."
[Author's Comment: It should be pointed out that there is nothing in the Act, particularly in the mini-tort provisions, which condition recovery upon purchase of insurance. In fact, §3135(2)(d) limits mini-tort recovery to those situations where "the damages are not covered by insurance."]