Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 235512; Unpublished
Judges Schuette, Sawyer, and Wilder; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Requirement That Benefits Were Overdue [3148(1)]
Requirement That Benefits Were Unreasonably Delayed or Denied [3148(1)]
Presumption of Unreasonableness
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals upheld an award of attorney fees awarded by the trial court pursuant to 3148 of the No-Fault Act.
Plaintiff sustained injuries in a 1996 car accident. Allstate paid first-party no-fault benefits to plaintiff from the date of the accident through June, 1998, at which time it ceased paying benefits, in part, based upon an independent medical evaluation in which its evaluator determined that at least some of plaintiff’s symptoms related to the auto accident, while some may be independent of the accident.
On the eve of trial, the parties settled plaintiff’s claim for unpaid wage loss and replacement services and all outstanding and future medical bills. The parties reserved for a later decision by the trial court, the question of whether plaintiff was entitled to an award of attorney fees and enforcement of an attorney lien under 3148.
The parties later agreed to submit the matter on briefs with attached exhibits. The trial court awarded attorney fees totaling one-third of the amount of medical bills paid to plaintiff’s medical providers after defendant had been informed on August 15, 2000 of the existence of plaintiff’s counsel’s attorney lien. The trial court specifically found that defendant’s refusal to pay and delay in paying the benefits in question had been unreasonable.
The Court of Appeals rejected defendant’s assertion that the trial court erred in finding unreasonable delay in paying first-party no-fault benefits to plaintiff because there was a factual dispute. The Court of Appeals stated that the insurer must overcome a rebuttable presumption of unreasonableness and justify its delay or refusal of benefits, relying on Beach v State Farm Mutual Insurance Company, 216 Mich App 612 (1996).
The Court of Appeals further held that absent clear error, the court will not reverse a trial court’s finding regarding an unreasonable refusal or delay in paying benefits.
The court declined to address defendant’s argument that the award of a lien was contrary to the No-Fault Act, because defendant had failed to list this as an issue to be presented on appeal.
