No-fault insurer’s action for declaratory relief; Claim for a deduction or set off of worker’s compensation benefits; MCL 500.3109(1); Specht v Citizens Ins Co of Am; The trial court’s jurisdiction; The Worker’s Disability Compensation Agency’s (WDCA) exclusive jurisdiction; MCL 418.841(1); Michigan Prop & Cas Guar Ass’n v Checker Cab Co

The court held that the trial court properly ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to grant defendant-no-fault insurer’s (State Farm) requested declaratory relief and that the WDCA had exclusive jurisdiction. Thus, it affirmed the trial court’s order granting defendants-insured (Leonard) and his employer (Detroit) summary disposition. Leonard, a police officer, was injured in an auto accident involving his patrol vehicle. State Farm paid “first-party no-fault benefits either to Leonard or to his medical providers[.]” It later filed this action seeking declaratory relief, asserting that it “was entitled to a deduction or set off of all workers compensation benefits Leonard may be entitled to pursuant to MCL 500.3109” and that “‘Detroit (i.e., workers compensation) is responsible for payment of any and all benefits, except a small portion of potential wage loss.’” The trial court ruled “that it lacked jurisdiction because the WDCA had exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over Leonard’s pending worker’s compensation claims pursuant to MCL 418.841(1).” A claimant’s entitlement “to worker’s compensation benefits is an issue within the” WDCA’s exclusive jurisdiction. As a result, whether “Detroit is responsible for paying worker’s compensation benefits is also an issue that is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the WDCA, because whether Detroit is responsible for paying worker’s compensation benefits depends on whether Leonard is entitled to receive those benefits.” While State Farm “would be entitled to a setoff or reimbursement for the no-fault benefits it paid to Leonard if [he] receives worker’s compensation benefits for the same injuries under MCL 500.3109(1) [it] is unable to prove its entitlement to a setoff or reimbursement because [his] worker’s compensation claim was still pending at the time of the trial court’s ruling.” Case law requires that, to protect its reimbursement interest while the WDCA claim is pending, State Farm must “intervene in the claim before the WDCA[,]” as no-fault insurers have a right to do.