Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 231451; Unpublished
Judges Saad, Smolenski and Owens; unanimous; per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Not applicable
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Uninsured Motorist Benefits: Arbitration of Uninsured Motorist Claims
CASE SUMMARY: In this unanimous unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court affirmation of an arbitration award on plaintiff’s claim for uninsured motorist benefits because the arbitration panel failed to offset all sums “payable” under workers’ compensation, disability benefits, or similar law.
Plaintiff suffered injuries while driving a vehicle for his employer, defendant American Casualty Insurance Company’s insured. This case returns to the Court of Appeals after reversal of an earlier arbitration award. Park v American Casualty Insurance Company, 219 Mich App 62 (1996) [RB #1883].
The insurance contract provided that any amount payable under the uninsured motorist coverage would be reduced by “all sums paid or payable under any workers’ compensation, disability benefits, or similar law.” The arbitration panel offset only those amounts plaintiff had actually received as of the arbitration hearing date, thereby rendering the term “payable” a nullity according to the court. Plaintiff argued that the term “payable” means only those amounts to which plaintiff has a current entitlement, or those amounts currently due and owing. Defendant contends that the term “payable” refers to any amounts to which plaintiff will be entitled in the future.
In reversing the trial court affirmation of the arbitrators’ award and finding that the arbitration panel committed an error of law substantially affecting the award’s amount, the Court of Appeals held that the term “payable” is unambiguous and refers to benefits that were or will be paid, which encompasses all amounts a beneficiary is entitled to receive, not just those currently due and owing.
