United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; Case #14-10255
Hon. Linda V. Parker
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not Applicable; Opinion Not Available 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Work Loss Benefits: Calculation of Benefits [§3107(1)(b)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this Federal written Opinion, Judge Linda Parker held that plaintiff was not entitled to compensation for alleged work loss under MCL 500.3107(1)(b), because plaintiff’s alleged loss of income was not “income generated from his personal efforts,” but rather was a mere loss of investment capital.
Plaintiff, a real-estate developer, was injured in an auto accident. He had a no-fault policy with defendant Pacific Indemnity Company. Due to his injuries, plaintiff claimed he could not actively participate in a multi-million-dollar real estate project, and he filed this action to recover his alleged loss of future earnings. Pacific Indemnity moved for partial summary judgment, claiming plaintiff was not entitled to benefits because there was insufficient evidence that his lack of involvement in the project was caused by the accident injuries.
Judge Parker held that plaintiff’s claimed loss of income was not associated with work he would have performed but for his accident, and instead was income resulting from a capital investment.
In reaching this conclusion, Judge Parker said:
“The more than $3 million [plaintiff] claims constitutes a return on the investment of capital, rather than income generated from [his] personal efforts in self-employment or otherwise. The evidence reflects that [plaintiff] primary anticipated contribution to the project was his financial investment, not his personal involvement, skills, attention, or efforts. … In fact, the evidence submitted by Plaintiffs — initially and in their post-hearing supplemental filing — instead reflects that [plaintiff], at most, intended to travel to Dallas to ‘supervise’ someone else’s execution of the rehab of the project or ‘personally watch as the project [was] physically completed.’ … Stated differently, he planned to invest $1 million in the Solaris project, but only if he could keep an eye on his investment.”
Accordingly, Judge Parker granted Pacific Indemnity Company’s motion for partial summary judgment.
