Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 87033; Published
Judges Allen, MacKenzie, and Swallow; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 153 Mich App. 244; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Arising Out of / Causation Requirement [§3105(1)]
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Transportational Function Requirement [§3105(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals dealt with yet another assault-type of case. In this case, the claimant was a police officer involved in the arrest of a drunk driver. The drunk driver resisted arrest, and it became necessary to drag her kicking and screaming and to forcefully put her into the police car. While in the process of loading the drunk into the police car, the officer suffered intense pain and was ultimately diagnosed as having a ruptured lumbar disc.
The trial court, in a declaratory judgment action, ruled that the police officer's injuries occurred after the drunk was removed from her car, and because of the insured's resistance exerted when the police officer was attempting to place the insured in a police cruiser. Thus, in a claim for no-fault insurance benefits against the insurer of the drunk driver's vehicle, the trial court held that the injury was not "foreseeably identifiable with the normal use, maintenance and ownership" of that vehicle. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed and held that the stipulated facts clearly disclosed that the officer's injuries were a result of the insured's deliberate and intentional act of resistance to arrest. Further, the injuries did not occur when the drunk was being unloaded from her insured car, but rather, when she was being loaded into a third party vehicle (the police car) not covered in the policy of insurance.
