Wayne County Circuit Court; Docket No. 80-209978-NI; Unpublished
Judge George LaPlata; Oral Opinion
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not Applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In an oral Opinion, Judge LaPlata refused to follow the Court of Appeals decision in Gersten v Blackwell, item number 461, choosing to follow, instead, the holdings of two trial court decisions in Cook v DeBaar, item number 211, and Banks v Cochran, item number 245. Accordingly, the judge ruled that a Wisconsin plaintiff who was injured in Michigan after being in the state for less than 30 days, was entitled to a full tort recovery against a Michigan insured defendant, inasmuch as the plaintiff in such a case would be ineligible to receive first party benefits arising out of the accident. To hold otherwise would be to deny such an out of state plaintiff the right to travel. At the time, Application for Leave to Appeal in the Gersten decision was pending.