Macomb County Circuit Court; Docket No. 77-351-NI; Unpublished
Judge Edward G. Gallagher
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Exclusion for Vehicles Considered Parked [§3106(1)]
Exception for Occupying [§3106(1)(c)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In order to resolve a priority dispute, Circuit Judge Edward Gallagher had to determine whether or not the plaintiff was an "occupant" of a motor vehicle at the time of his injury. In a written opinion, Judge Gallagher so held. The accident occurred when the plaintiff stopped his vehicle on the side of the road in order to pick up his defective muffler which had just fallen off. While in the process of such recovery, the plaintiff was struck by a motor vehicle proceeding down the highway.
Citing the Supreme Court's decision in Nickerson v Citizens Mutual, 393 Mich 324 (1975), Judge Gallagher ruled that a person need not be in physical contact with a vehicle in order to be considered an occupant thereof. Under the Nickerson analysis, this plaintiff should be considered "an occupant" of his own motor vehicle - especially in light of plaintiff’simmediate prior occupancy of the vehicle and the fact that plaintiff suffered an injury arising out of the use or repair of that vehicle.
