Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 199615; Published
Judges Markey, Griffin, and Whitbeck; 2-1 (with Judge Griffin Dissenting); Opinion by Judge Markey
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 233 Mich App 38; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Determination of Domicile [§3114(1)]
Resident Relatives [§3114(1)]
Obligations of Admitted Insurers to Pay PIP Benefits on Behalf of Nonresidents Injured in Michigan [§3163(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Reformation of Insurance Contracts
CASE SUMMARY:
In this 2-1 published Opinion by Judge Markey, the Court of Appeals held that Allstate was not required to pay no-fault personal protection insurance benefits under the priority provisions of section 3114(1) and the "non-resident motor vehicle operator" provisions of 3163, in a case where Allstate's insured was a Michigan resident at the time of the automobile accident under an automobile insurance policy issued in Indiana, a state which did not require maintenance of no-fault insurance.
In this unusual case, Allstate's insured, Toni Boothe, had several addresses at which she spent time, including a Michigan address and an address in Indiana. She apparently presented herself to an insurance agent who worked in some manner with Allstate in Indiana and obtained an Indiana automobile insurance policy on her automobile. Based upon the facts presented, the trial court determined that Toni Boothe was a resident of Michigan who was domiciled with the accident victim, also a Michigan resident, and that the accident victim was a resident relative of Allstate's insured, within the meaning of the priority provisions of section 3114. Plaintiff Farm Bureau Insurance Company was the insurer of the owner of the automobile that was occupied by Treneil Boothe, the son of Toni Boothe, and the accident victim.
The trial court determined that Allstate had priority for providing no-fault PIP benefits based upon the priority provisions of section 3114. However, the majority reversed the trial court, finding that Allstate was required to provide no-fault insurance protection, on the basis that Allstate had no obligation to provide coverage under its Indiana policy.
The majority held that because Allstate's insured was not a “non-resident" within the meaning of the "nonresident motor vehicle operators" provisions of section 3163, that section of the No-Fault Act had no application to the facts of this case and could not be used to impose responsibility for payment of PIP benefits on Allstate through its Indiana's policy.
The court further found that while Allstate's insured was a Michigan resident, it could find no reasonable basis in the record to conclude that Allstate violated Michigan law in issuing an Indiana insurance policy to her, because there was no evidence from which one could reasonably determine that Allstate should have known that Toni Boothe was a Michigan resident. The court found that the Indiana insurance policy issued by Allstate in this case was not issued in violation of the No-Fault Act, and therefore, the provisions of MCLA 500.3012 could not be used to reform the Indiana policy.
Justice Griffin in his dissent would find that Allstate was obligated to provide the coverage. Although agreeing that the lower court did not err in finding Toni Boothe to be a Michigan resident and that Treneil Boothe resided in the Michigan household of his mother, within the meaning of section 3114(1), Judge Griffin would hold that the public policy of the state of Michigan compels that the Boothe insurance policy be reformed to comply with Michigan law.
