Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 218225;
Judges Saad, White and Hoekstra; 2-1 (Justice Saad dissenting)
MTLA File No. OP-1494-8. Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Private Contract (Meaning and Intent)
Uninsured Motorist Benefits: Uninsured Motorist Coverage in General
CASE SUMMARY:
In this 2-1 unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and ruled that the claim of defendant Victoria Johnson for uninsured motorist benefits available to her under an insurance policy issued by State Farm was not barred by the policy’s definition of “uninsured motor vehicle.” Victoria Johnson sustained serious injury on the premises of a Meijer’s Gas and Service Station which was located immediately off the main traveled portion of a public roadway. Ms. Johnson was injured when she was pumping gas into her vehicle and an uninsured farm tractor, which was also on the gas station’s premises and situated immediately adjacent to Ms. Johnson, moved forward after the tractor ignition was started, striking Ms. Johnson and causing her to sustain severe injuries. Because the farm tractor was uninsured, Ms. Johnson sought uninsured motorist benefits from her insurer, State Farm. The State Farm policy stated that, “An uninsured motor vehicle does not include a land motor vehicle designed for use mainly off public roads except while on public roads.” The Court of Appeals found this provision to be ambiguous and concluded that even though the farm tractor was designed for use mainly off public roads, the accident occurred on a public road because the gas station was a public place immediately adjacent to a public roadway and had, as its primary purpose, the servicing of motor vehicles using the public roads. In this regard, the Court of Appeals stated:
“Here, the tractor was being used for travel in areas open to the public, and not for work on a farm; and the accident site in the instant case accommodated ongoing public vehicular traffic, as vehicles entered, obtained fuel and departed. The farm tractor was not being put to its ordinary non-public use at the time of the accident. Although the property on which the service station sits is privately owned, the public is invited to drive onto and do business there. The service station is accessed through two public paved entrances and exits and when the instant accident occurred, the farm tractor was on its way out of the station, had been started, was in gear and moved forward.... Although the exclusionary language is susceptible to both parties’ interpretations, we are obliged to strictly construe the exclusionary language against plaintiff insurer. We conclude that the policy language in question is reasonably susceptible to multiple interpretations, including an interpretation that would afford coverage under the instant facts, and is therefore ambiguous. Reversed.”
Judge Saad dissented on the basis that the privately owned gas station was not a public road.
