Consult the advance sheets and bound volumes of the official reports for final revisions and proper pagination. This case arises from disputes over fire losses suffered by defendant Anthony J. Rapp and defendants Julush and Patricia Banks after two separate fires at their respective homes. Rapp and the Banks were all insured by plaintiff at the time of their losses. They hired defendant Allied, which is owned by defendant Lappin, to adjust their losses. Plaintiff argues the trial court erred in granting summary disposition to defendants because the fact that Lappin had previously served as adjuster on these claims meant that he could not be an independent appraiser as required by the statute.
Statutory construction is a question of law that is reviewed de novo on appeal.
A trial court's grant of summary disposition is also reviewed de novo. A motion for summary disposition is properly granted when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The current statutory provision that governs appraisal of property in insurance cases in Michigan was enacted in 1990, and provides that, if the insurer and insured cannot agree on the value of the loss, a written demand may be made that the amount of the loss is to be set by appraisal. If the two appraisers are unable to agree on the amount of the loss, they submit their differences to the umpire. Once any two of the three agree in writing on an amount, that amount becomes set and final.