Truck Insurance Exchange v. Farm Bureau General Insurance Co, 332318

On December 8, 2013, Leslie Cadman crashed his car, then rode in his grandson Harry Bradley Jr.’s pickup while awaiting a tow; that pickup was later rear-ended and Cadman was injured.
Truck Insurance Exchange (plaintiff) paid no-fault PIP benefits to Cadman and sued Farm Bureau (defendant) seeking declaratory judgment and reimbursement.
The sole legal question was which insurer was liable under MCL 500.3114: plaintiff (the injured person’s insurer) or defendant (insurer of the vehicle Bradley furnished).
Plaintiff conceded Cadman was Bradley’s relative, domiciled with Bradley, and an occupant of Bradley’s vehicle; only whether the vehicle was “furnished by an employer” remained disputed.
Bradley testified he performed sporadic self-employed handyman/repair work for years, sometimes used the pickup for that work, purchased a commercial policy for the pickup because of hauling needs, and earned small annual amounts from that work.
The trial court granted summary disposition for Farm Bureau under MCR 2.116(C)(10); the Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding Bradley was a self-employed sole proprietor (thus an employer) under MCL 500.3114(3).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the vehicle was "furnished by an employer" under MCL 500.3114(3)	Bradley was not an employer because his handyman work was informal, occasional, and unregistered for tax purposes	Bradley was a self-employed sole proprietor who used the pickup for business and bought commercial insurance for that use, making him an "employer"	Court held Bradley was a self-employed sole proprietor and thus an employer; MCL 500.3114(3) applies, so defendant insurer is liable

Latham v. Barton Malow Co., 480 Mich 105 (summary disposition standard)
Yono v. Dep’t of Transp., 499 Mich 636 (statutory interpretation reviewed de novo)
Celina Mut. Ins. Co. v. Lake States Ins. Co., 452 Mich 84 (self-employed sole proprietor treated as employer and employee under MCL 500.3114)