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No. 137672
| Shaun Bonkowski, |
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Larry A. Smith |
Plaintiff-Appellant, |
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(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Oakland - Simon, C.) |
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| Allstate Insurance Company, |
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Daniel S. Saylor |
Defendant-Appellee. |
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| __________________________________________ |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellant's Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Plaintiff-Appellant's Reply Brief>>
Plaintiff-Appellant's Supplemental Brief>>
Defendant-Appellee's Brief in Opposition to Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
This is a first-party no-fault auto insurance case arising out of a claim for underpaid attendant care benefits. In 2001, Shaun Bonkowski was hit by a car; he sustained a traumatic brain injury and a spinal cord injury that rendered him a quadriplegic. Ever since the accident, Bonkowski has required round-the-clock care, which Bonkowski’s father, Andrew, has provided. Allstate Insurance Company was Bonkowski’s no-fault insurer. Upon Bonkowski’s release from the hospital, Allstate paid attendant care benefits to Andrew Bonkowski at a rate of $19.00 per hour. But Bonkowski asked Allstate to pay his father at a higher rate, contending that Andrew Bonkowski had been trained to provide skilled, multidisciplinary, in-home care that normally would be provided by multiple healthcare workers. Allstate declined to pay a higher rate and Bonkowski sued. Following a trial, a jury awarded Bonkowski $1,381,114.00 in additional attendant care benefits. The jury also awarded Bonkowski $349,609.67 in no-fault penalty interest under MCL 500.3142, which states that an “overdue payment bears simple interest at the rate of 12% per annum.” With the addition of costs, attorney fees, and judgment interest, the judgment totaled $2,541,146.87. Bonkowski maintained that interest should continue to accrue until Allstate satisfied the judgment, but the trial court refused to impose the 12 percent penalty past the date of the entry of judgment. Both parties appealed, seeking review of various components of the trial court’s rulings. In a published opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed the jury verdict and the trial court’s denial of 12 percent penalty interest through the satisfaction of judgment. The appeals court also reversed the award of attorney fees to Bonkowski and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings concerning the calculation of attorney fees. Bonkowski appeals.
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