Midland County Circuit Court; Case No. 98-7570-CK-L; Unpublished
Honorable Thomas L. Ludington
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Exclusion for Vehicles Considered Parked [§3106(1)]
Exception for Unreasonably Parked Vehicles [§3106(1)(a)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this written Opinion, Judge Ludington held that a van stopped and facing west in the eastbound lane of traffic, with its headlights on and the engine running and the driver seated in the driver's seat, was not parked for purposes of the parked vehicle exclusion contained in section 3106, which states that accidental bodily injury does not arise out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of a parked vehicle, except unless certain exceptions apply.
Plaintiff’s snowmobile had crashed into the rear-end of the van while it was stopped in the middle of eastbound traffic, facing west while the operator's husband attempted to attach a chain to the van's front-mounted winch. Auto Club contended that the van was “parked” and pursuant to section 3106, accidental bodily injury does not arise out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of a parked vehicle.
Judge Ludington distinguished the Supreme Court case of Willis v State Farm, 437 Mich 205 (1991) (Item No. 1462) on the grounds that in Willis the van that was struck by the snowmobile was in fact unoccupied and parked on the shoulder of the highway. In the instant case, the vehicle was occupied, located on the roadway, with the engine running, and was in the process of being used to winch a pick-up truck from a snow bank.
Judge Ludington further held that even if the van were found to be “parked” within the meaning of section 3106, Auto Club had not identified any factual basis for contending that the van was parked in a reasonable manner when it was located in the lane of oncoming traffic on the blind side of a crest of a hill.
