Detroit Auto. Inter-Insurance Exchange v. Joseph, INTER-INSURANCE
| Decision Date | 11 February 1976 |
| Docket Number | INTER-INSURANCE,Docket No. 23223 |
| Citation | 241 N.W.2d 221,67 Mich.App. 393 |
| Parties | DETROIT AUTOMOBILEEXCHANGE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. John Charles JOSEPH, Sr. and John Charles Joseph, Jr., Defendants-Appellees, v. Richard H. AUSTIN, Secretary of State, Director of the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund, Intervening Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Mather, Glime & Daoust by Herbert J. Rusing, Mt. Clemens, for plaintiff-appellant.
Lee D. Tout, East Detroit, for Josephs.
Loren D. Bodem, Mt. Clemens, Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Robert A. Derengoski, Solicitor Gen., Carl K. Carlsen, Asst. Atty. Gen., for Austin.
Before BASHARA, P.J., and WALSH and WHITE, * JJ.
In 1970, Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Agency (DAIIE), appellant, issued three automobile insurance policies to Mr. and Mrs. John C. Joseph, Sr., appellees, with each policy containing the then mandatory uninsured motorist coverage of $10,000 per person. On December 12, 1970, the Josephs' son was injured in an accident involving an uninsured motorist. The Josephs presented a claim to DAIIE for medical expenses and injuries. On November 17, 1971, after negotiations with DAIIE, the Josephs executed a document, whereby they stated that they released DAIIE from all liability under the uninsured motorist provisions of a numbered policy (3--0844553--01) in exchange for $8,000.
On January 16, 1974, the Josephs filed a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association claiming compensable damages under the other two insurance policies (1--0844553--02 and 0--0844553--03), that were not mentioned in the 1971 release. DAIIE filed a declaratory judgment action seeking to bar the Josephs from maintaining any action against DAIIE. DAIIE claimed then, and continues to claim on appeal, that once an insured settles a claim for an amount less than the maximum recovery under one automobile insurance policy, the insured cannot seek damages under any other insurance policies. The trial court rejected this argument and dismissed the declaratory judgment action, allowing the Josephs to proceed with the arbitration of their claims.
DAIIE does not, and could not, argue that an insured can never collect under more than one insurance policy. 'Stacking' is clearly permissible. Blakeslee v. Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., 388 Mich. 464, 201 N.W.2d 786 (1972), Boettner v. State Farm Mutual Insurance Co., 388 Mich. 482, 201 N.W.2d 795 (1972). Rather, appellant contends that there can be no 'stacking' until the insured exhausts one policy; the insured cannot proceed with a claim under a second policy until the first policy's recovery maximum is exhausted. It is argued that a release that provides the insured with a sum less than the policy maximum prevents the insured from moving on to the second policy.
Appellant is wrong. Under Boettner and Blakeslee, the Josephs clearly have valuable contract rights under each one of their...
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