Butterworth Hospital v. Farm Bureau Insurance
Butterworth Hospital v. Farm Bureau Insurance
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff Butterworth Hospital appeals as of right from an order granting summary disposition in favor of defendant Farm Bureau Insurance Company. We reverse.
The facts of this case involving § 3113(a) of the no-fault act, MCL 500.3113(a); MSA 24.13113(a), are undisputed. On August 16, 1993, Floyd Wright, III,
The car had been in disrepair, and Wright’s parents had allowed the insurance on the car to lapse. Before this incident, the vehicle was repaired; however, the insurance was not reinstated. Pursuant to MCL 500.3172; MSA 24.13172, the Assigned Claims Facility named Farm Bureau Insurance Company to handle any no-fault claims arising from the accident. Butterworth Hospital then brought suit for unpaid medical bills for treatment to Wright for injuries arising out of the accident.
Both parties moved for summary disposition. Farm Bureau argued that MCL 500.3113(a); MSA 24.13113(a), which excludes coverage for an individual who “unlawfully” takes a vehicle, precluded coverage because Wright took the vehicle unlawfully. Butterworth argued that § 3113(a) was inapplicable
Section 3113(a) of the no-fault act provides:
A person is not entitled to be paid personal protection insurance benefits for accidental bodily injury if at the time of the accident any of the following circumstances existed:
(a) The person was using a motor vehicle or motorcycle which he or she had taken unlawfully, unless the person reasonably believed that he or she was entitled to take and use the vehicle. [MCL 500.3113(a); MSA 24.13113(a) (emphasis added).]
The phrase “taken unlawfully” is not defined in the no-fault act itself but has been interpreted in Pries-man, a case that addressed nearly the identical issue under very similar facts.
Legislators generally are also parents and sometimes grandparents. Some may have had experience with children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and children of friends who have used a family vehicle without permission. Some may have themselves driven a family vehicle without permission. [Id.]
Accordingly, the lead opinion in Priesman found a “family member” joyriding exception to § 3113(a) of the no-fault act. Id. at 70 (Griffin, J., dissenting).
While recognizing that the lead opinion in Pries-man was signed by only three justices and, therefore, is not binding upon this Court, Cox v Dearborn Heights, 210 Mich App 389, 396; 534 NW2d 135 (1995), we also note that it affirmed the decision of
Farm Bureau maintains that Wright unlawfully took the vehicle for three reasons that distinguish this case from Priesman. First, Wright not only took the car without the approval of the owner, but took it against the express prohibition of the owner and violated MCL 750.413; MSA 28.645 (unlawfully driving away a motor vehicle) or MCL 750.414; MSA 28.646 (use of a motor vehicle without authority but without intent to steal). However, the fact that Wright took it against the express prohibition of the owner does not raise his intent from that of borrowing, or joyriding in, the
Second, Farm Bureau asserts that Wright took the vehicle unlawfully because he took it knowing that he was physically incapable of operating the vehicle safely and was not entitled to be a licensed driver. Farm Bureau argues that Wright was therefore driving recklessly in violation of MCL 257.626; MSA 9.2326 or driving feloniously under MCL 752.191; MSA 28.661. Further, Farm Bureau argues that Wright’s taking of his mother’s vehicle was unlawful because he knew that it was uninsured. Farm Bureau argues that Wright violated MCL 500.3102(2); MSA 24.13102(2), which makes it a misdemeanor to operate a motor vehicle on a public highway knowing that it is uninsured. Each of these arguments raises questions regarding the use of the vehicle by Wright, not the taking. However, it is the unlawful nature of the taking, not the unlawful nature of the use, that is the basis of the exclusion under § 3113(a). Bronson Methodist Hosp v Forshee, 198 Mich App 617, 627; 499 NW2d 423 (1993); State Farm Mut Automobile Ins Co v Hawkeye-Security Ins Co, 115 Mich App 675, 682; 321 NW2d 769 (1982).
Third, Farm Bureau contends that Priesman is distinguishable because Wright is an adult and lived apart from his parents at the time of the accident. As
Additionally, Farm Bureau argues that the most important distinction between Priesman and the present case is that in Priesman the vehicle was insured and the claim was brought against the vehicle’s insurer, whereas in the present case the vehicle was uninsured and the claim was brought through the Assigned Claims Facility.
We reverse.
This Court has addressed § 3113(a) before; however, it has not previously defined the “taken unlawfully” language. In Bronson Methodist Hosp v Forshee, 198 Mich App 617, 625; 499 NW2d 423 (1993), this Court found that the driver had not unlawfully taken an automobile where he was
Notwithstanding our concurring colleague’s opinion, this exception should not be extended to joyriders who taire a car that is owned by a stranger or other nonfamily member. For the reasons stated by Justice Griffin in his Priesman dissent, any joyriding exception seems to be in derogation of the clear language of the statutes. As explained above, the justices of the Supreme Court who recognized a joyriding exception in the Priesman case did so only because of special considerations attendant to the joyriding use of a family vehicle by a family member. Those considerations do not warrant expansion of the exception beyond the family context.
In this case, we note that MCL 500.3172; MSA 24.13172, rather than § 3114, is applicable in determining who will pay the benefits. Subsection 3172(1) provides for payment of personal protection insurance benefits through an assigned claims plan where no personal protection insurance is applicable to the injury.
Farm Bureau also points out that this distinction (that Wright was driving an uninsured vehicle) is significant to Wright’s parents because if Wright is not precluded from obtaining benefits under § 3113(a), then a
Concurring Opinion
(concurring). I agree with the majority that Wright is entitled to no-fault benefits and that the decision of the trial court denying benefits must be reversed. I write separately because I do not believe Wright’s relationship to the owners of the car involved has any bearing on his right to receive the benefits at issue. Essentially, the basis of my disagreement with the majority lies in its desire to limit coverage for people joyriding to only those people related to the owners of the cars taken. I find no basis to limit the exception to the otherwise applicable statutory denial of coverage to only family members who joyride; rather, I would conclude that
Unlike the majority, I find nothing in Priesman v Meridian Mut Ins Co, 441 Mich 60; 490 NW2d 314 (1992), that indicates to me that the Court intended to limit its discussion of joyriding to only family members. Although the joyrider in Priesman was related to the owner of the vehicle, I believe that was merely part of the factual basis of the case and did not establish a limiting parameter for interpreting the Court’s remaining discussion. I read the discussion in Pries-man, in which the Court determined that the legislators intended to except from personal protection insurance benefits only persons injured while driving a car they intended to steal, to be based upon the fact that the driver merely intended to joyride without regard to his familial relationship to the owner of the vehicle involved.
MCL 500.3113(a); MSA 24.13113(a).
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