Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 146455; Published
Judges Shepherd, Holbrook, Jr., and MacKenzie; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 202 Mich App 55; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Allowable Expenses for Home Accommodations [§3107(1)(a)]
Health Insurance Liens Regarding Auto Tort Claims [§3116]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam published Opinion, the Court of Appeals, construing §3107(1), held that in a case where the no-fault insurer agreed to contribute to the expense of construction of special housing for a quadriplegic insured, it was proper for the trial judge to order title to the home held in trust for the child's lifetime.
The plaintiff was injured when she was age 6 and rendered a quadriplegic. Her physicians determined that she required special housing accommodations to meet her long term needs. The parties stipulated that State Farm would provide funds toward the purchase of four vacant lots and that State Farm would also supply the largest proportion of the expense of constructing the house. (State Farm agreed to pay $239,782 and plaintiff would pay $68,561.)
The parties reserved for later determination the issue of ownership interest in the house to be constructed. The trial court in addressing this issue held that legal title to the new home would be held by an independent neutral corporate trustee and that the trustee would hold the real estate in trust for the injured plaintiff during her lifetime. The court also ordered that plaintiffs would not be required to contribute the existing equity in their present home toward the purchase of the new home, although it was apparent that the entire family of the injured plaintiff would be living in the new home. The court also ordered that taxes and insurance would be paid pro rata by the parties in proportion to their contribution toward the purchase of the home, but that maintenance and utility charges would be ordered to be paid by plaintiff’s family so long as other members of plaintiff’s family resided in the same home.
On appeal, plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in refusing to transfer ownership of the house to the injured plaintiff. They contended that she should have title to the property because the residence is a reasonable accommodation required under §3107(l)(a). The Court of Appeals held that in order to comply with §3107(l)(a), it is not required that title to the home be transferred to the injured plaintiff. As long as State Farm satisfies its statutory obligation to pay for all reasonable charges incurred for plaintiff’s accommodations, then State Farm should be allowed to choose the least expensive, adequate means of providing these items. The court held that declining to award the injured plaintiff unencumbered legal title to a home in which State Farm has a $250,000 investment simultaneously operates as a cost containment measure which benefits the no-fault insurance system.
The Court of Appeals also rejected plaintiffs' argument that the trial court erred in ordering that they contribute to the utilities and maintenance of the home, since it would thus relieve State Farm of the responsibility to maintain and keep the new residence habitable for the injured plaintiff. The Court of Appeals held that there is nothing in the no-fault act which requires defendant to pay the costs of housing members of the injured party's family, and therefore, it is reasonable and consistent with the goals of the no-fault act to require the other family members to effectively pay "rent" in the form of maintenance and utilities, so long as they enjoy the benefits of living in the new home.
Finally, the Court of Appeals rejected plaintiffs' argument that, if plaintiff had to reimburse her health insurer out of a possible third-party tort recovery that included medical expenses, then defendant State Farm should be obligated to reimburse the plaintiff for those medical expenses. This argument was rejected because to require any further reimbursement by State Farm to plaintiff would result in a duplicative recovery.
