Tamara Woodring v. Phoenix Insurance Company

923 N.W.2d 607, 325 Mich. App. 108
Michigan Court of Appeals·Decided June 28, 2018·No. 324128·Published·Cited by 179 cases

Opinions

Ronayne Krause, P.J.

*609*111Defendant appeals as on leave granted, pursuant to an order of remand from our Supreme Court, the trial court's denial of summary disposition in defendant's favor and grant of summary disposition in plaintiff's favor. For purposes of the instant appeal, the facts are undisputed. Plaintiff's employer provided her with a vehicle, which was insured by defendant. Plaintiff went to a self-serve spray car wash in early February, parked but left the vehicle running, began washing the vehicle, and as she worked her way around to the rear of the vehicle, she *112slipped and fell, suffering serious injuries for which she sought benefits under the no-fault act, MCL 500.3010 et seq . It is unknown why plaintiff slipped, or what she slipped on, but she believes it may have been ice. It is undisputed that plaintiff was not entering, occupying, exiting, or touching the vehicle at the time of her fall, although she was using the car wash's sprayer wand. The trial court's denial and grant of summary disposition was based in significant part on the fact that precedent from our Supreme Court, which was confusing, had not clearly overruled precedent from this Court, which was therefore still good law. We agree and affirm.

As an initial matter, the remand order from our Supreme Court reads, in its entirety, as follows:

By order of September 27, 2016, the application for leave to appeal the March 3, 2015 order of the Court of Appeals was held in abeyance pending the decision in Spectrum Health Hospitals v. Westfield Ins. Co. (Docket No. 151419). On order of the Court, the case having been decided on June 30, 2017, 500 Mich. [1024, 897 N.W.2d 166] (2017), the application is again considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REMAND this case to the Court of Appeals for consideration as on leave granted. Among the issues to be considered, the Court of Appeals shall address whether the causal connection between the plaintiff's injuries and the maintenance of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle is more than incidental, fortuitous, or "but for." Thornton v. Allstate Ins. Co. , 425 Mich. 643, 659 [391 N.W.2d 320] (1986). [ Woodring v. Phoenix Ins. Co. , order of the Michigan Supreme Court, entered October 5, 2017 (Docket No. 151414).]

The decision in Spectrum consisted entirely of an order remanding that case to this Court for reconsideration in light of Covenant Med. Ctr. Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. , 500 Mich. 191, 895 N.W.2d 490 (2017). That case addresses whether a healthcare provider has a *113statutory cause of action against an insurer for the payment of PIP benefits; it does not appear to address any issues relevant to the instant appeal.

Plaintiff argues that the issue specified for consideration by our Supreme Court was not argued in the trial court and, therefore, is allegedly unpreserved. It is true that defendant only mentioned the requirement in its brief and provided no supporting argument whatsoever. However, at the motion hearing, defendant did not present an argument to the effect that plaintiff's act of washing her vehicle did not constitute a sufficient causal nexus, but rather that the car wash was "just merely a fortuitous location where the accident happened." Defendant clearly makes a significantly more thorough argument on appeal, but that does not preclude appellate consideration when the issue itself is not wholly novel. See Steward v. Panek , 251 Mich. App. 546, 554, 652 N.W.2d 232 (2002). In any event, because we may not disregard explicit and comprehensible instructions given to us by our Supreme *610Court, plaintiff's argument is misplaced. We will address this issue second.

A grant or denial of summary disposition is reviewed de novo on the basis of the entire record to determine whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Maiden v. Rozwood , 461 Mich. 109, 118, 597 N.W.2d 817 (1999). When reviewing a motion under MCR 2.116(C)(10), which tests the factual sufficiency of the complaint, this Court considers all evidence submitted by the parties in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and grants summary disposition only if the evidence fails to establish a genuine issue regarding any material fact. Id . at 120, 597 N.W.2d 817. The interpretation and application of statutes, rules, and legal *114doctrines is reviewed de novo. Estes v. Titus , 481 Mich. 573, 578-579, 751 N.W.2d 493 (2008).

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Tamara Woodring v. Phoenix Insurance Company, 923 N.W.2d 607, 325 Mich. App. 108 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).

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