Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 121075; Unpublished
Judges MacKenzie, Sawyer, and Jansen; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Wage Loss for Temporarily Unemployed Persons / Qualifications [§3107a]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition in favor of defendant on plaintiff’s claim that he should be classified as a "temporarily unemployed person" within the meaning of §3107a for purposes of calculating work loss benefits.
In granting summary disposition, the court held:
"We hold that the trial court correctly found no genuine issue of material fact on whether plaintiff was 'temporarily unemployed' within the meaning of §3107a. As noted by the trial court, plaintiff admitted that he procured a license to start his own business and had in fact started his own business before the automobile accident. The fact that a business is just beginning to get off the ground, as averred by plaintiff in paragraph five of his affidavit, does not render a self-employed individual 'temporarily unemployed' within the meaning of §3107a. The goal of the no-fault act is to place the person in the same, but no better, position than he was before the automobile accident. We express no opinion on the impact of this type of situation to the computation of wage loss benefits under §3107(b) of the no-fault act."