Wayne County Circuit Court; Docket No. 77-702751-AV; Unpublished
Judge Peter B. Cpivak; Written Opinion
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Nature of Survivor’s Loss Benefits [§3108(1)]
Disqualification for Uninsured Owners or Registrants of Involved Motor Vehicles or Motorcycles [§3113(b)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In a written Opinion identical to the holding in Belcher v Aetna (item number 77), Judge Cpivak concluded that survivors' benefits under §3108 of the no-fault act are not recoverable by survivors of a deceased uninsured motorist who would not have been entitled to PIP benefits had the decedent lived.
The basis of Judge Cpivak's holding was that when §3108 and §3113(b) are read in conjunction with one another it is apparent that the rights of survivors are derivative and can be no greater than the rights the decedent would have had had the decedent lived. The Court further reasoned that the whole no-fault act is conditioned upon the maintenance of insurance and it is intended to protect only those people who maintain this security. Furthermore, the Court referred to the sections of the act which deal with the Assigned Claims Facility (§3171, §3172, §3173, §3177) as further support for the conclusion that only insured motorists and their families are in the protective class of no-fault benefit recipients.