Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket No. 47520; Published
Judges Riley, Kaufman, and MacKenzie; Unanimous
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: 101 Mich App 683; Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Entitlement to PIP Benefits: Arising Out of / Causation Requirement [§3105(1)]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not Applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this unanimous Opinion by Judge MacKenzie, the Court of Appeals denied no-fault benefits to a motorcyclist who sustained bodily injury when his motorcycle skidded on a wet license plate laying in the road on an exit ramp, causing the plaintiff to crash into a guardrail. The motorcyclist sought no-fault benefits under his automobile insurance policy. The Court of Appeals applied the "causal connection" test to determine the availability of no-fault benefits under §3105 of the Act. In holding that the injuries did not arise out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle, the Court stated, "Plaintiff does not allege that the accident occurred immediately after the license plate fell off the car but that it occurred at least two days after the car had lost its license plate. The fact that the license plate had once been attached to an automobile does not supply a sufficient causal connection between ownership, operation, or maintenance of a motor vehicle and the injury under the Kansa analysis. Plaintiff has merely shown that his accident was incidentally or fortuitously related to the ownership, use or maintenance of a motor vehicle."
