Waskowski v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

970 F. Supp. 2d 714, 2013 WL 4833669, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128766
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedSeptember 10, 2013
DocketCase No. 11-12979
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 970 F. Supp. 2d 714 (Waskowski v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Waskowski v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, 970 F. Supp. 2d 714, 2013 WL 4833669, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128766 (E.D. Mich. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

SEAN F. COX, District Judge.

Plaintiff Jaroslaw Waskowski (“Plaintiff’) brings this putative class action against his no-fault automobile insurer asserting a breach of contract claim based on reimbursement of his healthcare-related travel expenses. The matter is currently before the Court on the following motions filed by the parties: 1) Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification (Docket Entry No. 63); 2) Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket Entry No. 64); 3) Defendant’s Motion seeking to exclude Plaintiffs expert report (Docket Entry No. 66); 4) Defendant’s Motion to Strike Statement filed by Plaintiff (Docket Entry No. 82); and 5) Defendant’s Motion to Remove Case from Mediation (Docket Entry No. 80). The motions have been extensively briefed by the parties and the Court finds that oral argument would not aid the decisional process. See Local Rule 7.1(f)(2), U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. The Court therefore orders that the motions will be decided upon the briefs.

As explained more fully below, the Court shall DENY Defendant’s motion seeking to strike Plaintiffs statement of facts. In order to prevail on his breach of contract claim, it is Plaintiffs burden to establish, with a reasonable degree of certainty, that he actually incurred travel expenses that were greater than the amount he was reimbursed by Defendant. In response to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiff relies on a report from his proposed expert. In addition to being untimely, that expert report is not based on sufficient underlying facts or data, but rather, on speculation. The Court shall therefore exclude Plaintiffs expert report. Without that report, Plaintiff has virtually no evidence in support of his individual claim and certainly not sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact for trial. As a result, this Court shall grant Defendant’s Motion for Summary and dismiss Plaintiffs individual claim.

The Court shall also deny Plaintiffs motion seeking class certification because Plaintiff is the only named Plaintiff and, if his own claim is dismissed, there is no named plaintiff who would be adequate to represent the proposed class. In addition, this Court concludes that it is readily apparent that the Motion for Class Certification should be denied in any event-because the claims of the proposed class members are inherently individualized and are therefore not appropriate for class treatment.

Finally, the Court shall deny as moot State Farm’s motion seeking to remove the case from mediation.

BACKGROUND

A. Procedural History

On or about June 15, 2011, Plaintiff, filed this putative class action on behalf of him[716]*716self and others similarly situated, in Ma-comb County Circuit Court. Plaintiffs Complaint asserts claims against his automobile insurer, Defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (“Defendant” or “State Farm”) and two of its employees, Terri Page and Pam Marsh. Plaintiffs Complaint asserts the following claims: 1) “Breach of Contract” (Count I); and 2) “Fraud” (Count II). Defendants removed the action to this Court.

Prior to completion of discovery in this matter, Defendants filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. In an Opinion & Order issued on January 25, 2012 (Docket Entry No. 25), 2012 WL 219576, this Court ruled on that motion. This Court’s Opinion & Order stated the following:

Plaintiffs overall contention is that State Farm uses an unreasonable rate to reimburse its insureds for mileage expenses incurred for the purposes of receiving medical treatment. Plaintiffs complaint alleges breach of contract and fraud, and defines the putative class as follows:
All individuals who are insureds of State Farm in Michigan or otherwise covered by State Farm for first party no fault benefits, and for whom State Farm has paid and/or continues to pay medical mileage for automobile related injuries, at a rate in accordance with State Farm’s policy of adopting the IRS medical and moving mileage rate, excluding State Farm’s directors, officers, and employees, and excluding Plaintiffs’ attorney and staff.
(Complaint at ¶ 7).
According to Plaintiffs complaint, and the undisputed documentary evidence submitted by Defendants, the underlying facts are as follows.
On December 23, 2009, Plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident during which Plaintiff incurred serious injuries, including bulging discs in his cervical spine and lumbar spine, a fractured sternum, fractured ribs, and a torn rota-tor cuff. At the time of his accident, Plaintiff was covered by a no fault automobile insurance policy issued by State Farm.
Under the No Fault Act, personal protection insurance benefits include “[ajllowable expenses consisting of all reasonable charges incurred for reasonably necessary products, services and accommodations for an injured person’s care, recovery, or rehabilitation.” M.C.L. § 500.3107(a). It is undisputed that mileage incurred for medical treatment is an allowable expense to be paid by the insurer under the No Fault Act. See Davis v. Citizens Ins. Co. of America, 195 Mich.App. 323, 328, 489 N.W.2d 214 (1992).
In reimbursing its insureds for mileage incurred for medical treatment, State Farm utilizes the Internal Revenue Service’s ,(“IRS”) medical and moving mileage rate to calculate an insured’s mileage expense, rather than the IRS’s business standard mileage rate. (Complaint at ¶ 9). Generally, the IRS’s business standard mileage rate is considerably higher than the IRS’s medical and moving mileage rate.

(January 25, 2012 Opinion & Order at 2-4).

Notably, this Court’s January 25, 2012 Opinion & Order: 1) dismissed all claims against Terri Page and Pam Marsh; and 2) dismissed Plaintiffs fraud claims. (Docket Entry No.'25). That leaves Plaintiffs breach of contract claim against Defendant State Farm as the only claim in this action.

Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, however, had also asked the Court to dismiss Plaintiff’s breach of con[717]*717tract claim against State Farm. This Court declined to do so and explained:

Plaintiffs insurance agreement with State Farm provides that State Farm “will pay, subject to provisions of the No-Fault Act,” for allowable expense benefits. (Policy at 10, Def s Br., Ex. D) (emphasis in original). Plaintiff asserts that, by using the IRS’s medical and moving mileage rate rather than its business standard mileage rate, State Farm is not fully reimbursing its insureds for expenses incurred for medical treatment because the medical and moving mileage rate does not reflect the true costs of operating a vehicle ... Plaintiff therefore asserts that by violating the No-Fault Act, State Farm has breached its contract with Plaintiff.
The burden of proof of whether a plaintiff is entitled to recover no-fault benefits lies with the Plaintiff. Nasser v. Auto Club Ins. Ass’n, 485 Mich. 33, 49, 457 N.W.2d 637 (1990).

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970 F. Supp. 2d 714, 2013 WL 4833669, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128766, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/waskowski-v-state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-mied-2013.