Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 123646; Unpublished
Judges McDonald, Brennan, and Jansen; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Liability Policy Exclusions for Owned and Non-Owned Vehicles [§3131]
Liability Exclusions Prohibiting Stacking of Coverages [§3131]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Private Contract (Meaning and Intent)
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals enforced language in an ACIA policy that would prohibit the stacking of liability coverage available under a mother's automobile insurance policy so as to cover her resident son regarding an accident that occurred when the son was operating a vehicle owned by his resident father, which was insured by another insurance company.
The ACIA policy excluded coverage for liability arising from the use of cars owned by resident relatives. This exclusion was accomplished by the manner in which the insurance policy defined the term "insured car." This term was defined in the definitions section as excluding cars (other than those insured by the policy) that are owned by either the person named in the policy or any resident of the household. The Court of Appeals found that the trial court erred in ruling that this "owned vehicle exclusion" was deceptively placed by virtue of the fact that it appeared in the definitions section of the policy. The court noted that the term "insured car" was typed in bold face capital letters indicating it was a word subject to definitions contained in the beginning of the policy and that the definitions section of the policy clearly indicated in even bolder, underlined type that the definitions found therein applied throughout the policy.
The court concluded, "Reading the policy as a whole, we conclude that the relevant language of the policy is clear and unambiguous and therefore could not defeat the reasonable expectations of the insureds."
