Action seeking PIP benefits; Principle that the owner or registrant of an uninsured motorcycle involved in an accident is not entitled to PIP benefits; MCL 500.3113(b); “Owner” & “registrant”; MCL 500.3101(l)(i); Titan Ins Co v State Farm Mut Auto Ins; Constructive ownership; Ardt v Titan Ins Co; Attorney fees; MCL 500.3148(1); Penalty interest; MCL 500.3142(4); Unreasonable refusal to pay a claim; MCL 500.3142(2)

The court held that the trial erred by finding defendant-insurer had a reasonable basis for delaying payment of the benefits at issue in this case, and that plaintiff was not entitled to attorney fees under MCL 500.3148(1). Further, her entitlement to penalty interest remained an open issue. Plaintiff sued defendant on behalf of her sister, Tabroski, who was seriously injured and legally incapacitated in a motorcycle accident in which she was a passenger. The motorcycle was uninsured. Plaintiff alleged defendant unreasonably refused to pay or delayed paying Tabroski’s benefits, and requested penalty interest and attorney fees. The trial court initially granted the portion of defendant’s motion relating to unpaid balances, but denied the portion of the motion relating to guardianship expenses. However, on reconsideration, the trial court granted defendant’s motion and dismissed the case with prejudice. On appeal, the court agreed with plaintiff that the trial court erred by finding the delay in paying Tabroski’s PIP benefits was reasonable. “[D]efendant did not act diligently in investigating plaintiff’s claim. The fact that Tabroski was a passenger on the motorcycle was an insufficient reason to delay defendant’s coverage determination for nearly a full year.” The court also agreed with plaintiff that the trial court erred by dismissing her case with prejudice, in light of the issue of penalty interest on overdue benefits paid by defendant. “[T]he issue of penalty interest was not decided by the trial court’s” orders, and the penalty interest issue remained open, “such that the trial court erred by neither deciding it on a properly-supported motion for summary disposition nor submitting it to a jury for its determination, and by instead dismissing the entirety of plaintiff’s claim with prejudice.” Reversed and remanded.