Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 49054; Published
Judges Gillis, Bashara, and Sanborn; Unanimous; Per Curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 111 Mich App 418; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Disqualification for Nonresidents [§3113(c)]
General / Miscellaneous [§3135]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Legislative Purpose and Intent
CASE SUMMARY:
In this case of first impression, the Court of Appeals unanimously held that the tort limitation provisions of §3135 of the No-Fault Act apply to a cause of action brought against a Michigan resident insured with Michigan no-fault insurance by a nonresident not covered by or required to be covered by no-fault insurance. In so holding, the Court validated the scheme established by the PIP disqualification provisions of §3113(c) and the tort limitation provisions of §3135. Under §3113(c) a person is not entitled to receive no-fault personal insurance protection benefits if, at the time of the accident, the person was not a resident of this state, was an occupant of a motor vehicle not registered in this state and was not insured by an insurer which had filed a certificate in compliance with §3163. Thus, under the holding of the Court of Appeals, out-of-state plaintiffs who fall into the disqualification provisions of §3113(c) may constitutionally be denied no-fault benefits while simultaneously being prevented from pursuing tort remedies for subthreshold injuries. In rejecting plaintiff’s equal protection and due process challenges, the Court of Appeals applied the "reasonable relationship" test.
[Author's Comment: This decision squarely rejects the holdings in two Circuit Court opinions, Cook v Debar (item number 211) and Banks v Cochran (item number 45).]
