Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #282101; Unpublished
Judges Saad, Bandstra, and Hoekstra; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Determination of Domicile [3114(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court holding, finding defendant Farm Bureau liable for the injured minor’s personal protection insurance benefits where the minor’s family was living in a home owned by a relative who was insured by Farm Bureau at the time of the accident.
Plaintiff Towana Phillip lived in an apartment with four of her children, including Ti’Yanna Dorsey, in Dearborn Heights. In 2004, Ti’Yanna went to Mississippi with her grandmother, Bessie, for the summer. Bessie had a no-fault insurance policy with defendant State Farm. At the end of June 2004, Towana’s lease ended. She planned to move to a house on Mettetal Street in Detroit, which was owned by her father, Maxwell, who had a no-fault insurance policy with defendant Farm Bureau. However, because the house was not habitable, she moved into Maxwell’s house on Penrod Street in Detroit. In August 2004, Bessie and Ti’Yanna were involved in a motor vehicle accident in which Ti’Yanna was seriously injured. Plaintiff sued State Farm and Farm Bureau for benefits. The trial court granted State Farm’s motion for summary disposition, finding that at the time of the accident, Towana was domiciled with her father and, therefore, Farm Bureau was liable for Ti’Yanna’s PIP benefits.
In affirming, the Court of Appeals noted that “every person is domiciled somewhere.” Here, it noted, under MCL 500.3114(1) there are three places Towana and her children could have been domiciled: the apartment, the house on Mettetal Street, and the house on Penrod Street. At the time of the accident, Towana’s lease had expired on the apartment; and the house on Mettetal Street was uninhabitable. Therefore, by default, she and her children were living with her father in the house on Penrod Street. Thus, the house on Penrod Street was where Ti’Yanna was domiciled on the date of the accident and, because Towana’s father, who also lived in the Penrod Street home, was insured by Farm Bureau, the trial court properly found that Farm Bureau was liable for Ti’Yanna’s PIP benefits. In this regard, the court stated:
“Every person is domiciled somewhere. . . . Here, there are, arguably, three places at which Towana and Ti’Yanna were domiciled on August 7, 2004: the Dearborn Heights apartment, the Penrod Street House, and the Mettetal Street house. Towana and Ti’Yanna were not domiciled at the Dearborn heights apartment; Towana had vacated the apartment, and had no intention of returning to the apartment. The house on Mettetal Street was not habitable, a factor we find relevant in determining the domicile of Towana and Ti’Yanna. Because the Mettetal Street house was uninhabitable and Towana and Ti’Yanna had never resided there, Towana and Ti’Yanna were not domiciled at the house on Mettetal Street on August 7, 2004. Thus, by default, the house on Penrod Street, which was where Towana intended to reside until the Mettetal Street house was habitable, was the domicile of Towana and Ti’Yanna on the date of the accident. Under the unique circumstances of this case, the trial court reached the right result, and we affirm the trial court’s order granting summary disposition to State Farm.”
