Miller and Tischler, P.C. Attorneys at Law
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McCormick v Carrier
In Regents of the University of Michigan v. Titan, the Court reversed the infamous Cameron decision. Cameron held that minors and incompetents had no protection against the No-Fault "one year back" rule. Under Cameron, even if the claimant was unable to pursue their claim within a year due to minority or mental incompetence, their claim would be barred. The new Regents decision restores the protections for these most vulnerable members of our society. Now, minors and incompetents (and service providers who claim benefits for treating these injured claimants) will have one year after their disabilities are removed to bring their claims. For minors, this means one year after they turn 18. For incompetents, this means that the one year back rule will never start running until they regain competence. M & T partner Ronni Tischler represented the Regents of the University of Michigan in this critical new holding. To view the opinion in its entirety please click here.
In this published decision, the Court of Appeals held that once a service provider receives notice that its patient has retained counsel in a case where the No-Fault insurer has denied coverage, the provider must pay the attorney the full contingency fee as contracted between the attorney and his/her client if the attorney successfully establishes coverage. To avoid this result, the provider must immediately inform the patient's attorney that it declines the attorney's services. The provider also must take action consistent with that decision. The provider may also want to consider revising its admission documents to make clear that it does not accept the services of any attorney that the patient retains for insurance collections. M & T partner Mark Schreier represented The Detroit Medical Center, who the trial Court characterized as a "constructive party" in the dispute. To view the opinion in its entirety please click here.
The Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court changed its membership for the first time in more than 10 years with the November 2008 election, as Justice Diane Hathaway unseated former Chief Justice Clifford Taylor. The implications of this change are only beginning to be felt. Previously, Justice Taylor was part of a conservative majority that often voted 4-3 in favor of insurance companies and against insurance claimants and their providers. This majority now appears to be reversed with Justice Hathaway joining a new 4-3 majority often voting for insurance claimants. In a few short months at the start of 2009 the new majority has reversed several troubling decisions from the former majority. These include: USF&G v. Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. The Court has now made clear that the “MCCA” does not have the power to approve individual no-fault insurer claims decisions and must therefore reimburse such payments. This should serve to make settlements easier and decrease litigation, thereby saving the system untold millions of dollars. Scott v. State Farm. In this case, the Court made clear that the standard required to prove the relationship between a benefit and a motor vehicle accident is relatively easy to meet, confirming the liberal nature of the no-fault system. We hope that the Court will soon provide relief on two of the worst cases of the Taylor era: Kreiner (holding that the no-fault threshold for tort claims is extremely high and difficult to meet) and Cameron (holding that the no-fault “one year back” statute of limitations has no exception for mental illness or minority). |