Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #264776; Unpublished
Judges Smolenski, Owens, and Donofrio; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
One-Year Back Rule Limitation [3145(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion decided without oral argument, the Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition for defendant on plaintiff’s claim for no-fault benefits because plaintiff failed to file her claim within the one-year statute of limitations contained in MCL 500.3145(1). The plaintiff in this case was injured while riding as a passenger in defendant’s vehicle in March 2003. Although plaintiff filed an action for third-party benefits against the driver in October 2003, plaintiff’s counsel did not provide defense counsel with copies of plaintiff’s medical bills until May 2004. Defendant refused to pay the bills because they were submitted after the one-year statute of limitations had run. In affirming, the Court of Appeals agreed defendant was entitled to summary disposition based on the one-year back rule and the Michigan Supreme Court’s recent decision in Devillers v Auto Club Ins. Ass’n, 473 Mich 562; 702 NW2d 539 (2005), where the court held that judicial tolling contravenes the No-Fault Act. In this regard, the Court of Appeals stated:
“Based on the record in this case, the accident occurred on March 9, 2003, and plaintiff incurred all of her medical expenses by the end of March 2003. Although plaintiff sued the driver within the limitation period, she did not sue defendant MEEMIC until July 23, 2004, which was more than one year after plaintiff received her final medical treatment for her injuries arising from the accident. Therefore, under the one-year-back rule in MCL 500.3145(1) and the holding in Devillers, plaintiff cannot recover any personal protection insurance benefits from defendant for her expenses incurred before July 23, 2003.”
