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Schulz v Citizens Insurance Company; (COA-UNP, 8/3/1999; RB #2087)

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Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 208870; Unpublished   
Judges Doctoroff, Markman, and Sullivan; Unanimous; Per Curiam  
Official Michigan Reporter Citation:  Not Applicable; Link to Opinion alt   


STATUTORY INDEXING:   
Exclusion for Vehicles Considered Parked [§3106(1)]   
Exception for Entering Into or Alighting From [§3106(1)(c)]

TOPICAL INDEXING:   
Not Applicable   


CASE SUMMARY:   
In this unanimous unpublished per curiam Opinion, the Court of Appeals denied no-fault benefits to plaintiff for the reason that plaintiff was not "entering into" her parked vehicle, within the meaning of the parked vehicle provisions of section 3106(l)(c) when she tripped and fell over a parking bumper block on her way to the passenger door of the vehicle.   

Plaintiff sustained her injury while she was walking around the front of her vehicle in an effort to enter the passenger side door. She had turned the corner at the front of the vehicle and, while her hand was touching the hood of the car, she fell as the result of her foot striking a parking bumper block, causing her to fall and fracture her hip. In denying benefits, the Court of Appeals held,

"Although plaintiff may have been on the passenger side of the car when she fell, plaintiff was not near enough to the passenger door to be said to be 'entering into' the car, within the ordinary and generally accepted meaning of the language of the statute. Plaintiff may have intended to enter the car to retrieve personal items, but the express language of section 3106(l)(c) does not include a provision regarding such intent. Therefore, the trial court correctly held that there was no genuine issue of material fact that plaintiff was not 'entering into' her vehicle under section 3106(l)(c) at the time she was injured. Accordingly, the trial court properly granted summary disposition in favor of defendant...."


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