Harris v. Auto Club Insurance Association, 835 N.W.2d 356

Brent Harris, a motorcyclist, was struck by a motor vehicle and sought medical coverage from both the motorist’s no-fault insurer (Auto Club Insurance Association — ACIA) and his health insurer (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — BCBSM).
Michigan law (MCL 500.3114(5)(a)) assigns PIP responsibility for motorcycle occupants to the insurer of the motor vehicle involved; ACIA paid Harris’s medical bills after BCBSM retracted earlier payments.
BCBSM’s certificate contains a “Care and Services That Are Not Payable” clause: BCBSM does not pay for services “for which you legally do not have to pay or for which you would not have been charged if you did not have coverage.”
Harris sued ACIA and later amended to name BCBSM; the circuit court ruled ACIA primarily responsible and dismissed BCBSM; the Court of Appeals reversed as to BCBSM, allowing Harris to seek duplicate recovery.
The Supreme Court considered whether Harris — who did not purchase the no-fault policy — may recover the same medical expenses from both ACIA (statutory PIP) and BCBSM (health insurer) given BCBSM’s exclusion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Harris may obtain duplicate recovery from both the no-fault insurer (ACIA) and health insurer (BCBSM) for the same medical expenses	Harris: He "incurred" expenses when treated and thus BCBSM must cover them despite ACIA’s PIP liability; double recovery should be permitted	BCBSM: Its certificate excludes payment for services the insured legally did not have to pay; because ACIA was statutorily liable, BCBSM owes nothing	Held: No double recovery. ACIA was legally liable under MCL 500.3114(5)(a); BCBSM’s exclusion applies, so BCBSM need not pay
Whether the phrase “legally do not have to pay” in BCBSM’s exclusion should be determined at time of treatment or later	Harris: Liability exists at time of treatment because patient becomes obligated when receiving care; Shanafelt supports treating "incurred" as becoming liable on receipt of care	BCBSM: Legal liability must be measured by statutory assignment of PIP responsibility; because statute assigned ACIA liability, Harris never legally had to pay	Held: Legal obligation is determined by the statutory PIP assignment; Harris never legally had to pay ACIA-covered expenses, so exclusion applies

Smith v. Physicians Health Plan, Inc., 444 Mich 743 (insureds can obtain double recovery only when both no-fault and health policies are uncoordinated)
Shanafelt v. Allstate Ins. Co., 217 Mich App 625 (discusses meaning of "incur" as "become liable for" in medical-expense context)
Bombalski v. Auto Club Ins. Ass’n, 247 Mich App 536 (facts involving health insurer payment and no-fault coverage; parties in that case accepted entitlement to uncoordinated PIP)
Auto Club Ins. Ass’n v. New York Life Ins. Co., 440 Mich 126 (addresses subrogation and equitable considerations versus statutory remedies)