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A panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals has welcomed a challenge to the availability of the open and obvious defense to self-service retail stores on the theory that merchandise displays intentionally distract shoppers from hazards. In the first published appellate decision in over a year discussing the open and obvious defense, the court questioned whether the open and obvious defense applies in the retail store setting, and requested that the Court of Appeals convene a special panel of appellate judges to resolve the issue.
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision to deny first-party no-fault benefits to an injured driver who had been specifically named on the subject insurance policy as an excluded driver.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the principles set forth in the 1959 Supreme Court decision of Keys v Pace allow an insurer to avail itself of the defense of fraud in the application for insurance, even if the claimant is an injured third party and the fraud could have been easily ascertainable.
In Johnson v State Farm Fire and Casualty Co, the Michigan Court of Appeals addressed for the first time in Michigan whether a vandalism exclusion in a property insurance policy encompasses a claim arising from an arson fire.
Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and held that a "dishonest and criminal acts" exclusion in Secura's fire insurance policy was not inconsistent with MCL 500.2833 or former MCL 500.2832...
In an unpublished decision decided June 26, 2008, plaintiff Proto-Cam ("P-C") purchased a parcel of real estate and, with it, an owner’s title insurance policy from defendant Transamerica.
On April 29, 2008, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued the unpublished decision in the business insurance/no-fault case of Christina Sisk-Rathburn v Farm Bureau General Insurance Company of Michigan
On February 28, 2008, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary disposition entered by the Wayne County Circuit Court in favor of the insured (Vernor’s Dollars Discount, Inc.) and, instead, entered judgment in favor of Fremont Insurance Company.