Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 78-83; Published
Judges Maher, Brennan, and Bashara; 2-1
Official Reporter Citation: 90 Mich App 640; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Loss of Consortium Claims [§3135]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Legislative Purpose and Intent
CASE SUMMARY:
In a long awaited 2-1 decision, the Court of Appeals held per Judge Maher that claims for loss of consortium may be maintained under the no-fault statute provided that the physically injured spouse has sustained a ''threshold injury" as defined in §3135 of the statute. If such a physical injury has occurred, the other spouse may maintain an action for loss of consortium. As the Court stated "once the threshold is crossed, the parties step from the purely statutory land of no-fault back into the common law, with all its virtues and shortcomings."
Judge Bashara dissented. He argued that there was no logical reason why a party who has suffered no physical injury should be given preference in recovering noneconomic losses over persons with physical injuries which are insufficient to satisfy the threshold.