Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #271557; Unpublished
Judges Zahra, Bandstra, and Owens; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Entitlement to No-Fault Benefits: Arising Out of / Causation Requirement [3105(1)]
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Motor Vehicle Involvement [3105(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, decided without oral argument, the Court of Appeals determined that a person who was injured when he fell out of a moving vehicle was entitled to first-party no-fault benefits under MCL 500.3105.
The plaintiff in this case was injured after he attempted to jump into a moving vehicle in order to continue assaulting the driver. The driver swerved, throwing the plaintiff out of the car. The trial court denied defendant Farmers’ motion for summary disposition, concluding the injury was closely related to the transportational function of the motor vehicle under §3105.
On appeal, Farmers argued that because plaintiff’s injuries occurred during an intentional assault, they were not related to the transportational function of the motor vehicle. The Court of Appeals disagreed and affirmed, noting the plaintiff’s injuries resulted from the movement of the vehicle and, therefore, were related to the transportational function of the motor vehicle. In this regard, the court stated:
“We recognize that the occurrence of an assault in a vehicle alone is inadequate to establish the requisite connection. Here, however, plaintiff’s injuries were not merely in a vehicle; they resulted from the movement of the vehicle.”
