Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 136525; Published
Judges MacKenzie, Griffin, and Connor; Unanimous
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 199 Mich App 653; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Work Loss Benefits: Nature of the Benefit [§3107(1)(b)]
Wage Loss for Temporarily Unemployed Persons / Qualifications [§3107a]
Standards for Deductibility of State and Federal Governmental Benefits [§3109(1)]
Social Security Disability Benefits [§3109(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Social Security Disability and Death Benefits
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous published Opinion, the Court of Appeals rendered two holdings regarding plaintiff’s claim for no-fault work loss benefits. First, where plaintiff was only employed part-time as of the date of the accident after having changed jobs frequently over the two year period prior to the accident, plaintiffs wage loss claim was properly evaluated under §3107(b) rather than the temporarily unemployed provisions of §3107a. In so holding, the court noted, "We agree with defendant that the trial court erred in awarding benefits to plaintiff on the basis of the latter statute, §3107a. It is clear from a reading of the two statutes that the Legislature has seen fit to authorize work loss benefits for persons whose work status falls within one of only two categories — employed or temporarily unemployed. Irrespective of the nature of the work being performed, an under-employed person is, by definition, employed. Plaintiff, as an employee of both Manpower and Norm's Restaurant, was employed at the time of the accident. He was therefore entitled to benefits as set forth in §3107(l)(b) and not §3107a."
Second, the court held that the defendant no-fault insurer was entitled to a setoff against work loss benefits for the full amount of social security disability benefits paid to plaintiff, including that portion of the social security disability award that represented attorney fees. The court held that, "Neither the fact that plaintiffs attorney received his fee directly from the Social Security Administration, nor the fact that this money never actually passed through plaintiff’s hands, precludes a setoff for the entire amount of social security disability benefits to which plaintiff was entitled."
