Court Of Appeals Affirms No-Fault Attorney Fees Award And Rejects Insurer’s After-The-Fact Defense
An insurer was not entitled to a new trial based on unpreserved references to a third party’s drunkenness because the verdict was supported by the evidence and any prejudice was cured by jury instructions. The trial court also properly awarded no-fault attorney fees under MCL 500.3148(1), as the insurer’s prior acknowledgment of the injury made its denial unreasonable, and a later record review could not create factual uncertainty retroactively.
Court Of Appeals Clarifies Limits On Treble Damages And Proof Requirements In Conversion Case
The Court of Appeals affirmed the Trial Court’s award of treble damages as to the documented pecuniary losses, reversed the award of trebled investigatory expenses, vacated the awards for investigatory expenses and attorney fees, and remanded for further proceedings.