Saunders v. Detroit Auto. Inter-Insurance Exchange
| Citation | 332 N.W.2d 613,123 Mich.App. 570 |
| Decision Date | 06 May 1983 |
| Docket Number | INTER-INSURANCE,Docket No. 63356 |
| Parties | Delores SAUNDERS and William Saunders, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DETROIT AUTOMOBILEEXCHANGE, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan (US) |
Charfoos, Christensen, Gilbert & Archer, P.C. by Adrienne G. Southgate, Detroit, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Dickenson, Mourad, Brandt, Hanlon & Becker by William V. Taylor, II, Detroit, for defendant-appellee.
Before DANHOF, C.J., and J.H. GILLIS and DEMING, * JJ.
Plaintiff Delores Saunders was a passenger in an automobile owned and driven by her husband, plaintiff William Saunders, and insured by defendant, Detroit Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange (DAIIE). Delores Saunders was seriously injured when she was struck by a projectile, either a rock or a piece of concrete, which was thrown through the open passenger window of the automobile. The source of the projectile was never determined.
Plaintiffs commenced this action seeking personal injury protection (PIP) benefits under the no-fault policy. A jury trial was held and, following the close of plaintiffs' proofs, the trial court granted defendant's motion for a directed verdict. The trial court found that Delores Saunders' injuries resulted from an intentional assault and that, as a matter of law, the injury did not arise out of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle. M.C.L. § 500.3105(1); M.S.A. § 24.13105(1). This Court granted plaintiffs' application for delayed appeal.
In order to obtain PIP benefits under the no-fault act, the injured party must establish a causal connection between the injury sustained and the ownership, maintenance, or use of the automobile. The injury must be foreseeably identifiable with the normal use, maintenance or ownership of the vehicle. Kangas v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 64 Mich.App. 1, 17, 235 N.W.2d 42 (1975).
This Court has held many times that an individual's presence in an automobile at the time an assault occurs does not establish the requisite causal connection. Hamka v. Automobile Club of Michigan, 89 Mich.App. 644, 280 N.W.2d 512 (1979); O'Key v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 89 Mich.App. 526, 280 N.W.2d 583 (1979). However, in Mann v. Detroit Automobile Inter-Ins. Exchange, 111 Mich.App. 637, 314 N.W.2d 719 (1981), the Court noted an important distinction between an ordinary...
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