Wayne County Circuit Court; Docket No. 81 130 898 CK
Judge Susan Borman
Official Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Nature of Survivor’s Loss Benefits [§3108(1)]
Disqualification for Uninsured Owners or Registrants of Involved Motor Vehicles or Motorcycles [§3113(b)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In a motion for summary judgment, Judge Borman ruled that plaintiff was ineligible to receive no-fault survivor's loss benefits under the provisions of §3113(b) of the Act for the reasons that she was the owner of an uninsured motor vehicle which was being operated by her husband at the time of his fatal automobile accident This section disqualifies from receipt of no-fault benefits, those persons who are the "owner or registrant of the motor vehicle involved in the accident" which was uninsured. The holding in this case is somewhat different than the Supreme Court's opinion in Belcher v Aetna Casualty (item number 247) wherein the person who was killed in the automobile accident was the actual owner of the vehicle. It should be noted, however, that Judge Borman's order specifically refers only to the widow motor vehicle owner and not her minor children who were not owners and were dependents of their deceased father and thus entitled to survivor's loss benefits.