Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #264127 and #264128; Unpublished
Judges Murray, Jansen, and Kelly; 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In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed summary disposition for plaintiffs, finding that even though the injured child’s father had permanent custody over the child and the child’s drivers license listed her father’s former residence as her home address, because she was living with her mother at the time of the accident and had no intent to live elsewhere, she was domiciled with her mother and was entitled to first-party benefits under her mother’s no-fault insurance policy.
In March 2003, plaintiff Jenifer Fontana, a dependant, was seriously injured in an automobile accident. Jenifer’s parents were divorced. The judgment of divorce awarded physical custody of Jenifer to her father. However, at the time of the accident, Jenifer lived with her mother and had no intent to live with her father. Accordingly, her mother’s no-fault insurance provider, Auto Owners, initially provided Jenifer’s first party benefits. However, Auto Owners later determined defendant Maryland Casualty Company/ Zurich, her father’s no-fault insurance provider, was first in priority. Based on the specific facts of the case, the Court of Appeals disagreed, finding the following factors were dispositive of the issue: Jenifer lived with her mother and did not maintain living quarters with her father; Jenifer received her mail at her mother’s address; and the only financial support Jenifer received from her father was her health insurance. In this regard, the court stated:
“We disagree with the trial court and find that the undisputed facts . . . support that Jenifer was domiciled with her mother Stella and did not reside with her father Gene. With regard to the first factor, Gene indicated that when Jenifer moved out in November 2002, it was permanent. . . . With regard to where the person lives, it was undisputed that Jenifer was living with Stella at the time of the accident . . . and did not have a room kept for her at Gene’s house. . . . With regard to the other relevant factors, the undisputed facts support that Jenifer did not receive mail at Gene’s house and that Jenifer did not have any possessions at Gene’s house. . . . The undisputed facts also support that the only financial support Gene provided during the pertinent time period was health insurance. The only factor supporting domicile with Gene is that Jenifer’s driver license included her father’s former address. However, we do not believe this is enough to support that Jenifer was domiciled with Gene.”
