Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No.96740; Published
Judges Gillis, Murphy, and Gage; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 175 Mich App 569; Link to Opinion
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Exclusion for Parked Vehicles Covered by Workers Comp [§3106(2)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals held that the provisions of recently amended §3106(2) prohibiting payment of no-fault benefits in parked vehicle situations involving loading, unloading and maintenance work where workers' compensation benefits are available should not be applied retroactively to preclude payment of no-fault benefits in an accident occurring prior to the effective date of the statute. Thus, in this case, a truck driver who was injured when a pick-up truck rolled off of a car-carrier semi-truck during the loading of new vehicles onto the semi, was entitled to no-fault benefits under the Act. The car-carrier semi was a motor vehicle within the meaning of the No-Fault Act and plaintiff’s injury occurred during the process of loading the semi with new motor vehicles for purposes of transporting those vehicles. In addition, the pick-up truck that rolled off the semi and struck the plaintiff was considered a motor vehicle even though it lacked a rear bed or box, because otherwise it was designed and equipped for operation on a public roadway. Therefore, the pick-up truck should be regarded as a "motor vehicle" under §3101(2)(c) and as "another vehicle" under §3106(2).