Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
November 13, 2015 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
151026 Stephen J. Markman
Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
David F. Viviano
Richard H. Bernstein
KYLE OOSTDYK, a Minor, by his Conservator, Joan L. Larsen,
DAWN BUDD, Justices
Plaintiff-Appellee,
and
SPECTRUM HEALTH HOSPITALS, SPECTRUM
HEALTH CONTINUING CARE, MARY FREE
BED REHABILITATION HOSPITAL, and
GOLDEN RULE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Intervening Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v SC: 151026
COA: 317221
Kalamazoo CC: 2010-000277-NF
AUTO OWNERS INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the December 30, 2014
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not
persuaded that the question presented should be reviewed by this Court. The Court of
Appeals erred by relying on the “almost any causal connection” standard of Scott v State
Farm Mut Auto Ins Co, 278 Mich App 578, 586 (2008). The “almost-any” standard is
discredited and inconsistent with current law to the extent it suggests a plaintiff may meet
the statutory causation requirement without proving the causal connection was “more
than incidental, fortuitous, or but for.” See McPherson v McPherson, 493 Mich 294, 299
(2013). However, denial is warranted because the trial court correctly instructed the jury
that under MCL 500.3105(1), the plaintiff had to prove the causal connection between the
injury and the use of the motor vehicle was “more than incidental, fortuitous, or but for.”
See Thornton v Allstate Ins Co, 425 Mich 643, 646 (1986).
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
November 13, 2015
t1110
Clerk
Kyle Oostdyk v. Auto Owners Insurance Company
Combined Opinion