McKenzie v. Auto Club Ins Ass'n

In McKenzie v. Auto Club Ins Ass'n, 458 Mich 214, 225-226; 580 NW2d 424 (1998), the Supreme Court of Michigan held that whether an injury arises out of the use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle under 3105(1) turns on whether the injury was closely related to the transportational function of motor vehicles. Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the requisite nexus between the injury and the transportational function of the motor vehicle was lacking where the plaintiff was injured while sleeping in a camper/trailer attached to the back of the plaintiff's pickup truck. Id., p 226. Further, the proper focus is on the relation between the injury and the use of a motor vehicle as a motor vehicle, Bourne v. Farmers Ins Exchange, 449 Mich 193, 201; 534 NW2d 491 (1995), and first-party no-fault benefits are available where the involvement of the motor vehicle in the injury is directly related to its character as a motor vehicle. Marzonie v. Auto Club Ins Ass'n, 441 Mich 522, 531-532; 495 NW2d 788 (1992). Thus, the connection between the injury and the use of the motor vehicle must be more than incidental, fortuitous, or but for. Id., p 532.