Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 46018; Published
Judges R.B. Burns, MacKenzie, and Kallman; Unanimous
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 103 Mich App 33; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not Applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Garage Keeper’s Liability Act (MCL 256.541, et seq.)
CASE SUMMARY:
In a unanimous Opinion by Judge Kallman, the Court of Appeals held that the Garage Keeper's Liability Act (MCLA 256.541) and not the No-Fault Act should control when a fire occurs in the course of a garage keeper's work on a motor vehicle that is insured under the No-Fault Act. The Court held that". . . . we feel constrained to hold that whenever a bailment-for-hire situation is presented, it is the bailment and not the maintenance that governs. To hold otherwise would unnecessarily eviscerate the garage keepers' act and would extend no-fault coverage beyond what we believe the legislature intended. That act protected a vehicle owner from property damages inflicted on the vehicle while in the care and custody of a bailee for hire. The no-fault act, if applicable to a bailment situation, would render that presumption meaningless. We cannot find that the legislature intended to alter the common law of bailments for hire so drastically when it enacted the no-fault act."