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No. 132218
| Mary Ellen McDonald, |
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Donald M. Fulkerson |
Plaintiff-Appellee, |
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(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Genesee - Ransom, R.) |
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| Farm Bureau Insurance Co, |
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Anthony S. Kogut |
| Defendant-Appellant. |
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| __________________________________________ |
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Plaintiff-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
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Background
Mary Ellen McDonald was injured in a November 29, 2001 auto accident while riding in a car driven by her husband, who had auto insurance with Farm Bureau Insurance Company. The policy, which included underinsured motorist coverage, contained an endorsement stating that “[n]o claimant may bring a legal action against the company more than one year after the date of the accident.” On May 10, 2002, McDonald’s attorney notified Farm Bureau by mail that McDonald had a claim for underinsured motorist benefits. Farm Bureau denied the underinsured motorist claim on December 10, 2002, on the basis that the one-year period of limitations provided for in the contract had passed. McDonald then sued, seeking to recover underinsured motorist benefits. Farm Bureau asked the circuit court to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis of the statute of limitations, but the circuit court denied Farm Bureau’s motion. The policy’s one-year limitations period was unreasonable and unenforceable as a matter of law, the court stated. Moreover, Farm Bureau’s dilatory conduct estopped it from asserting the policy’s one-year limitation; in addition, the time limit was equitably tolled by May 10, 2002 letter sent by the plaintiff’s attorney until Farm Bureau officially denied the claim, the court held. Also, the policy’s limitations period is ambiguous, the court concluded. The Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished opinion. Farm Bureau appeals.
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