Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 208950; Published
Judges Gribbs, Smolenski, and Gage; Unanimous; Opinion by Judge Gage
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 239 Mich App 291; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
When Claimants Can Receive PIP Benefits Through the Assigned Claims Facility [§3172(1)]
When PIP Claims Through the Assigned Claims Facility May Be Reduced by Benefits from Other Sources [§3172(2)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous published Opinion by Judge Gage, the Court of Appeals held that where plaintiff obtained PIP benefits from the Assigned Claims Facility because the identity of the hit and run motor vehicle operator could not be ascertained following the accident, the assigned insurance company, Citizens, was obligated to continue paying such benefits, even after the point in time where the injured party determined the identity of a higher priority insurer, i.e., the insurer of the hit and run automobile.
Plaintiff was injured while assisting another motorist whose vehicle was stuck in the snow in a parking lot. After the vehicle was freed from the snow, it ran over plaintiff’s leg and the operator left the scene of the accident without identifying himself. Because plaintiff did not have a no-fault insurance policy, or reside in a household with someone who had a no-fault policy, under the priority provisions of section 3115(1), his PIP benefits would normally be paid by the motor vehicle involved in the accident. Because the operator of that vehicle left the scene without identifying himself, plaintiffs claim was properly assigned to the Assigned Claims Facility pursuant to section 3172(1), which provides that the Assigned Claims Facility is the insurer of last resort where "no personal protection insurance applicable to the injury can be identified."
More than one year following the accident, plaintiff discovered the identity of the operator of the vehicle, and entered into a settlement with the insurer, Allstate, for his noneconomic damages. Citizens, shortly thereafter, ceased paying assigned claims benefits because it believed that plaintiff had identified a higher priority insurer. Plaintiff filed action against both Citizens and Allstate, and the trial court granted summary disposition in favor of the plaintiff, finding that Citizens was obligated to continue paying pursuant to the Assigned Claims Facility, and that Citizens could then seek indemnification from Allstate. Subsequently, the trial court modified its order, finding that Allstate did represent a higher priority insurer than Citizens, and Citizens was therefore no longer obligated to continue paying benefits under the Assigned Claims Facility.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals held that there was no provision in the assigned claims provisions of the No-Fault Act that would allow the assigned claims insurer to cease paying assigned claims benefits in the event that it subsequently discovers a higher priority insurer.
The court further held that the statutory language of 3175(1)(2) provides a different recourse than unilaterally terminating the assigned claims insured's receipt of benefits. The statutory language of 3175(2) provides that:
"the insurer to whom claims have been assigned, shall preserve and enforce rights to indemnity or reimbursement... this section shall not preclude an insurer from entering into reasonable compromises and settlements with third parties against whom rights to indemnity or reimbursement exist."
The court held:
"This statutory language plainly demands that the assigned claims insurer must promptly reimburse the assigned claims insured for his losses, while providing for the assigned claims insurer the right and the duty to seek reimbursement from and enter settlements with any appropriate third parties, which category would include subsequently identified higher priority insurers."
The Court of Appeals held that section 3172(2) nowhere contemplates; however, that the assigned claims insurer shall be completely relieved of its responsibility to pay benefits should another benefit source exist.
