Mich. Court Decision Upholds Insurance Code, Insurer Group Says

The American Insurance Association (AIA) today praised a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that it says validates and upholds Michigan’s insurance code by rejecting duplicative methods for enforcement. The ruling was made in the case of McLiechey et al. v. Bristol West Insurance Co.

“The Court rightly discarded this effort by class action lawyers to create a separate enforcement mechanism as a way around Michigan’s insurance laws,” said David Snyder, AIA vice president and assistant general counsel. “It is a common sense ruling that says there are established laws and regulations covering the actions of insurers and those are the standards by which grievances should be judged and any penalties doled out.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Lansing that plaintiffs could not establish a private right of action based on a desired judicial inference of the Insurance Code or that the state’s Consumer Protection Act extends to claims under the insurance laws. In the opinion, Judge Rodgers states the plaintiff’s arguments are “without merit.”

Source: AIA

Topics Carriers USA Michigan