Court Opinion

ID: 9840093
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-15 05:08:01.441403+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:06:26.814311
License: Public Domain

If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to
              revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.

                      STATE OF MICHIGAN

                         COURT OF APPEALS

AMEEN AL-GAHMI,                                                UNPUBLISHED
                                                               September 14, 2023
           Plaintiff-Appellee,

v                                                              No. 361932
                                                               Wayne Circuit Court
SADIK AL-JAHMI, MICHIGAN AUTOMOBILE                            LC No. 21-008780-NI
INSURANCE PLACEMENT FACILITY, and
GREAT AMERICAN ASSURANCE COMPANY
also known as GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE
COMPANY,

           Defendants,

and

AMERISURE MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY,

           Defendant-Appellant.

AMEEN AL-GAHMI,

           Plaintiff-Appellee,

v                                                              No. 361934
                                                               Wayne Circuit Court
SADIK AL-JAHMI, MICHIGAN AUTOMOBILE                            LC No. 21-008780-NI
INSURANCE PLACEMENT FACILITY, and
AMERISURE MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY,

           Defendants,

and

                                           -1-
GREAT AMERICAN ASSURANCE COMPANY
also known as GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE
COMPANY,

               Defendant-Appellant.

Before: GLEICHER, C.J., and JANSEN and RICK, JJ.

JANSEN, J. (concurring).

        I concur in the conclusion reached by the majority opinion to reverse the trial court orders
denying the insurers summary disposition, and remand for entry of orders dismissing the claims.
I write separately to admonish the trial court’s use and entry of a form order to resolve summary
disposition, particularly where no oral argument was held. The orders appealed from in these
consolidated cases merely check the box for “DENIED,” do not indicate that a written or oral
decision will be rendered, and include no written explanation or analysis as to why summary
disposition was denied. As such, there is no indication under which subrule of MCR 2.116(C)
summary disposition was even decided. It is well established that the trial court may not weigh
the evidence, make determinations of credibility, or make findings of fact when deciding a motion
for summary disposition. Patrick v Turkelson, 322 Mich App 595, 605; 913 NW2d 369 (2018).
However, the usage of the form order with merely a checklist of possible outcomes is improper
procedure, which the trial court has been cautioned against using before this case. This falls far
short of the trial court’s responsibility to decide motions for summary disposition, and should not
be used in the future.1

                                                             /s/ Kathleen Jansen

1
  In a previous instance where the trial court gave no reason or basis for deciding a motion for
summary disposition, this Court determined that it could not perform its de novo review or rule on
the propriety of the disposition, and therefore vacated the judgment and remanded for further
proceedings. See McKay v Ferensic, unpublished opinion of the Court of Appeals, entered
September 22, 1998 (Docket No. 1998). See also McPartlin v RK Equipment Repair, Inc,
unpublished opinion of the Court of Appeals, entered July 6, 2023 (Docket No. 359584) (“[T]he
trial court offered no explanation whatsoever for its decisions on the motions. When no
explanation is provided, the parties have no idea why the trial court ruled as it did, the attorneys
are hamstrung in trying to present issues for appellate review, and this Court is forced to analyze
the rulings of the trial court without the benefit of any reasoning to support the decisions before
us. Surely there is a better way, and we trust that the trial court will provide much more support
for its decisions in the future.”).

                                                -2-