Lauren A. Frederick and Benjamin A. Demsky obtain a favorable jury-trial verdict in a first-party no-fault case in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court, the Honorable Carol Kuhnke presiding.
The plaintiff was seeking over $375,000 in no-fault benefits, interest, and attorneys’ fees. The plaintiff was injured while operating an uninsured motorcycle he had purchased on the same day of the accident. Though the title to the motorcycle never officially transferred into the plaintiff’s name, the plaintiff still possessed the motorcycle almost 2 years after the accident and had made some changes and repairs to it. He also intended to title, register, and insure it. The jury agreed with the defendant-insurer that the plaintiff had proprietary and possessory usage of the motorcycle; he had the right to use the motorcycle for over 30 days; and, as an owner, he was required to insure it. Therefore, the plaintiff was excluded from receiving no-fault benefits under MCL 500.3113.