Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 139569; Published
Judges Griffin, Connor, and Corrigan; Unanimous; Opinion by Judge Griffin
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 202 Mich App 637; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Standards for Deductibility of State and Federal Governmental Benefits [§3109(1)]
Other Benefits [§3109(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous published Opinion authored by Judge Griffin, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's ruling that the sums received by a police officer as disability compensation paid by his employer, City of Saginaw, were not governmental benefits subject to offset by plaintiff’s no-fault automobile insurer.
Plaintiff was an employee of the Saginaw Police Department who was permanently disabled from his employment in an automobile accident which occurred during the course of his employment. Plaintiff received a portion of his average weekly wage through workers' compensation benefits. He also received the difference between the workers' compensation pay and his usual weekly wage through disability pension benefits pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement reached between plaintiff’s union and the City of Saginaw. In addition, plaintiff sought wage loss benefits pursuant to §3107(b) of the no-fault insurance act for the difference between the amount paid by workers' compensation and his usual weekly wage.
Defendant claimed that it was entitled to offset from wage loss benefits the amounts plaintiff received as disability pension benefits. Defendant claimed that the disability pension benefits were a governmental benefit which may be offset pursuant to §3109(1) of the no-fault act.
The Court of Appeals, in affirming the ruling of the trial court, held that the disability pension benefits received under a collective bargaining agreement with a municipality are not governmental benefits subject to the setoff provisions of §3109(1), as such benefits were not being paid pursuant to any state or federal law. The court stated in this regard as follows:
"Similarly, in the present case, we find that plaintiffs duty disability pension benefits were not paid pursuant to any state or federal law as required by §3109. As in Spencer v Hardford Accident and Indemnity Co, 179 Mich App 389 (1989), plaintiff’s duty disability benefits were paid pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement and were not received in lieu of workers' compensation benefits."
The court distinguished its prior opinion in Krygel v Detroit, 135 Mich App 187 (1984) (Item No. 740), where benefits received by an injured police officer, payable pursuant to the city's charter, were allowed to be used as a setoff for work loss benefits otherwise payable. Unlike the charter benefits involved in Krygel, which were paid in lieu of workers' compensation benefits, the disability pension benefits at issue in the case at bar were paid pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement and were not received in lieu of workers' compensation benefits. The court further noted that while the disability pension benefits at issue were required under a local ordinance, there is no statutory authority entitling police employees to the receipt of such benefits.
[Author's Comment: This case is consistent with the Court of Appeals opinion in Perkins v Riverside Insurance Company (Item No. 828), wherein the court held that a state police retirement pension payable pursuant to statute did not offset no-fault survivors' loss benefits.]
