Muskegon County Circuit Court; Docket No. 85-20635-CK
Judge James M. Graves, Jr.;
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: _____; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Wage Loss for Temporarily Unemployed Persons / Qualifications [§3107a]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this written Opinion dealing with the temporarily unemployed provisions of §3107a, Judge Graves held that a "voluntary quit" from a previous employment did not deprive plaintiff of the right to seek work loss benefits as a "temporarily unemployed" person when plaintiff suffered disabling injuries after his severance from work. The court specifically rejected application of the Supreme Court's opinion in MacDonald v State Farm (Item No. 754) to this voluntary quit situation. In MacDonald, the Supreme Court held that the phrase "temporarily unemployed" does not include those workers who are physically unable to perform work. Judge Graves noted that the Court of Appeals in the subsequent decision in Smith v League General (Item No. 837) narrowly construed the MacDonald holding, "and refused to equate physical inability to work with incarceration. Such a ruling suggests to this trial court that MacDonald stands only for the proposition that a physical inability to perform work because of a subsequent injury or illness does not constitute temporary unemployment within the meaning of the statute. Thus, the court does not equate a voluntary quit with a physical inability to work." The court also noted that the plaintiff was actively seeking employment prior to his accident during the time that he was gainfully employed which demonstrates "more than just a subjective intent to work somewhere else after leaving [his previous employment]."
