Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 218262;
Judges Griffin, Jansen and Gage; Unanimous
MTLA File No. OP-1496-3. Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Nature and Scope of PPI Benefits (Property Damage and Loss of Use)[3121(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling that no-fault property protection insurance benefits (PPI benefits) were not payable when a fire occurring during the act of repairing a vehicle burned down a house. In this case, the fire originated in the garage of a residence. In the garage was an automobile upon which the homeowner was doing engine work. Near the car, the homeowner had placed a kerosene heater for warmth. During the repair process, gasoline from the vehicle spread along the garage floor and ignited the kerosene heater causing a large fire. Plaintiff State Mutual was the homeowner’s insurance company which paid for the property damage and filed a subrogation action against defendant Allstate who was the vehicle insurer. Plaintiff claimed defendant was liable to pay property protection insurance benefits under section 3121 of the Act. Defendant filed a motion for summary disposition which was granted by the trial judge. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court and ruled that summary disposition was proper for the defendant because the accidental property damage did not arise out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle as required by section 3121. On the contrary, the court held that, “the fire was caused by the use of the portable kerosene heater and that the negligent use of the kerosene heater was unrelated to the normal maintenance, repair, and use of the motor vehicle as a motor vehicle.” The court further stated that the issue in this case was indistinguishable from the earlier opinions in Auto-Owners Insurance Company v Citizens Insurance Company [Item No. 1481] and Central Mutual Insurance Company v Walter [Item No. 839]. These cases applied the causation tests that were utilized in the pre-no-fault case of Kangas v Aetna Casualty Insurance Company, 64 Mich App 1 (1975) and the Supreme Court’s opinion in Thornton v Allstate Insurance Company [Item No. 935]. With regard to that causation test, the Court of Appeals stated, “In the present case, the circuit court correctly applied the Kangas/Thornton test by holding that the automobile was a mere situs of the fire and did not cause the property damage.”
