Wayne County Circuit Court; Docket 78-836-010-CK; Unpublished
Judge Roland L. Olzark; Written Opinion
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Exception for Unreasonably Parked Vehicles [§3106(1)(a)]
Exception to General Priority for Non-Occupants [§3115(1)]
Determination of Involved Vehicle [§3115]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In a written Opinion, Judge Olzark held that the insurer of an automobile which struck two illegally parked cars which in turn injured a nearby pedestrian who did not have any applicable no-fault coverage, was the insurer that was liable to pay benefits to plaintiff under the terms of §3115(1) of the statute. It does not make any difference that the moving automobile did or did not actually strike the injured plaintiff. There was a causal connection between the operation of the driven motor vehicle and the injuries sustained by the plaintiff, which causal connection was more than "incidental, fortuitous or but for." This causal connection rendered the driven motor vehicle a vehicle that was "involved" in the accident under the terms of §3115(1).
The issue of whether or not the insurers of the illegally parked automobiles ought to contribute to the payment of no-fault benefits was held to involve disputed issues of fact Insurers for the illegally parked automobiles argued that the injury which occurred was not within the scope of harm which the no parking ordinance was intended to prevent Thus, the vehicles were not parked so as to cause an unreasonable risk of the harm which occurred, as provided in §3106(c). As such, the illegally parked vehicles should not be considered "involved in the accident." Judge Olzark held that whether these parked vehicles were parked in such a way as to cause unreasonable risk is a matter to be determined by the trier of fact.
