Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 248782; Unpublished
Judges Whitbeck, Jansen, and Bandstra; unanimous, per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Arising Out of / Causation Requirement [3105(1)]
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Transportational Function Requirement [3105(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, decided without oral argument, the Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition in favor of defendant State Farm on plaintiff’s claim for no-fault PIP survivor’s loss benefits. The court held that benefits were not payable because the injuries did not arise out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle, within the meaning of §3105(1) of the Act. In this case, a falling tree limb killed plaintiff’s decedent after she got out of her husband’s truck to help him remove fallen tree branches from the road. In denying benefits, the court stated that whether the vehicle was parked or not parked was immaterial, in that there was no entitlement to PIP benefits because the injury did not arise out of the use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle. The court cited the Supreme Court’s opinion in Morosini v Citizens Insurance Company (After Remand) [RB #2084], as having clearly recognized the principle that whether an injury arises out of the use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle, turns on whether the injury is closely related to the transportational function of motor vehicles. Incidental involvement of a motor vehicle does not give rise to coverage. Applying that principle to the case at bar, the court held, “Here there was no traffic accident. Marshall Slater stopped his vehicle because the road was blocked by a tree. Dawn Slater was outside the vehicle when she was killed by a falling tree branch. Like the assault in Morosini, the falling branch was unrelated to the use of the motor vehicle as a motor vehicle. We therefore conclude that the trial court properly granted State Farm’s motion for summary disposition.”
