Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 92839; Published
Judges Gribbs, Holbrook, and Lambros; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 165 Mich App 506; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not Applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Private Contract (Meaning and Intent)
Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Underinsured Motorist Coverage in General
Underinsured Motorist Coverage: Setoffs Applicable to Underinsured Motorist Cases
CASE SUMMARY:
This Court of Appeals decision deals with setoffs against underinsured motorist coverage. In this case, the Fanners Insurance policy defined an "uninsured motor vehicle" to include a motor vehicle with liability limits less than the limits carried by the insured under uninsured motorist coverage. The policy also included a setoff that stated, "The amount of bodily injury coverage provided under the uninsured motorist coverage of this policy shall be reduced by the amount of any other bodily injury coverage available to any party held to be liable for the occurrence." In light of this language, the Court of Appeals held that the insurer paying the uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits was entitled to setoff the amounts recovered from the tortfeasor against the uninsured/underinsured motorist policy limits, rather than calculating the setoff against the plaintiff’s total damages. Thus, where plaintiff had $30,000 of uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage and recovered $20,000 from the tortfeasor, plaintiff was only entitled to recover $10,000 in underinsured motorist benefits
[Author's Comment: This case was unintentionally omitted from previous supplements and is added for completeness.]
