News 07.16.19

Kerry Lynn Rhoads Successfully Defends Insurance Company at the Trial Court and Again on Appeal

Kerry Lynn Rhoads secured a victory for an insurance client in a multi-count motorist claim at both the Wayne County Circuit Court and in the State of Michigan Court of Appeals.

The matter involved a man driving a moped who was struck by a vehicle. The moped was owned by the plaintiff’s mother, who had personal injury protection and underinsured-motorist coverage for her and her relatives for a number of motor vehicles but not for the moped. 

The plaintiff suffered injuries as a result of the accident and filed multiple claims against Segal McCambridge’s insurance-company client, including a first-party no-fault claim for personal-injury-protection benefits as well as one for underinsured-motorist benefits.

Kerry argued, as the policy provided, that because the plaintiff was driving his mother’s moped at the time of the accident, and that the moped was not insured by the insurance company, underinsured coverage was properly denied. She also argued that the plaintiff’s claim that the policy was ambiguous in what defined a “motor vehicle” was baseless. The Trial Court and Court of Appeals agreed and dismissed the case in favor of the insurance company.