Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 186664; Unpublished
Judges Corrigan, Michael J. Kelly, and Hoekstra; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not Applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Cancellation and Rescission of Insurance Policies
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict authorizing defendant to rescind plaintiffs no-fault policy ab initio because of a material misrepresentation contained in plaintiffs application for insurance. In this case, the application contained an affirmative representation that plaintiff had not been convicted of a drunk driving offense within 36 months of the application. Although plaintiff had not committed any alcohol related driving offenses within 36 months of the application, she did plead guilty to an earlier alcohol related offense during the 36 month period. Therefore, the statement in the insurance application was false, entitling defendant to rescind the policy because of a material misrepresentation. The court further noted that pursuant to the earlier decision in Lash v Allstate Insurance Company, 210 Mich App 98 (1995), "an innocent misrepresentation may be grounds for rescission."
The court also rejected plaintiff’s argument that the defendant had waived its right to rescind ab initio because defendant, in the insurance application, only reserved the right to cancel the policy prospectively or increase premium in the event of false statements in the application. In rejecting plaintiff’s waiver argument, the court distinguished the earlier decision in Burton v Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company [Item No. 1817] where defendant insurance company had waived the right to rescind ab initio because the insurer had affirmatively elected the remedy of cancellation prior to the accident date and then attempted to change the remedy after the accident date.
