Attorney Jonathan Brown Successfully Obtains Motion for Reconsideration in PIP Benefits Case

Judge Allen (Wayne County) granted motion for reconsideration after initially denying a Motion for summary disposition in a case for personal injury protection (PIP) benefits filed by a medical facility in a case handled by CMDA attorney Jonathan Brown. In granting the motion for reconsideration, Judge Allen reversed its prior denial of the Motion and dismissed the matter with prejudice.

In this case, the underlying claim of the patient was resolved in early 2019 and included a waiver of all future benefits. After resolution of the patient’s underlying claim, a medical facility filed a separate action on behalf of the patient. The issue was whether the facility had advised the insurer of its potential interests prior to resolution of the patients claim. Based on the lack of notice and derivative nature of the patient’s claim, Mr. Brown filed a Motion for summary disposition in lieu of an Answer to the facility’s Complaint. The motion argued that since the facility did not advise the insurer of its potential interests in the patient’s claim prior to the resolution the patient’s claim, its alleged expenses were enveloped in the prior release and the facility was not entitled to recovery of the patient’s medical expenses.

Judge Allen initially denied the Motion and ruled the insurer was provided notice of the facility’s interests prior resolving the underlying patient’s claim. However, it was readily apparent that the Court misidentified documents attached to the Motion from the facility’s ledger, as documents from the insurer’s database. Accordingly, Mr. Brown filed a Motion for reconsideration addressing the error and asking the Court to reconsider its denial of the Motion. On reconsideration, the Court acknowledged the misidentification of documents attached to the Motion, reversed its own ruling, and dismissed the case of the medical facility with prejudice.

The dismissal of this case eliminated needless legal spend for the client in a case where the facility was very obviously precluded from recovery. 

Jonathan D. Brown is an attorney in our Livonia office where he focuses his practice on insurance defense matters, including first-party no-fault, third-party auto negligence, and insurance fraud. Mr. Brown has achieved several successful outcomes for his clients in a variety of complex matters and understands the importance of extensive preparation and knowledge of each case and its unique components. He may be reached at (734) 261-2400 of jbrown@cmda-law.com.