Lawsuit challenging Michigan's no-fault auto insurance goes to federal court Thursday

Lawsuit claims Michigan's no-fault auto insurance law is unconstitutional

DETROIT – After years of lots of talking but no legislative action in no-fault insurance reform, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is suing in federal court claiming the high insurance rates violate people’s civil rights.

READ: Lawsuit: Michigan's No-Fault auto insurance law is unconstitutional

A judge will look at the lawsuit Thursday morning and while legally that argument may be a tough sell, it does keep the political pressure up.

Duggan filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, seeking to have Michigan's No-Fault auto insurance law declared unconstitutional.

The mayor filed the suit along with a group of eight other plaintiffs from Michigan last year.

“I think it’s plausible the lawsuit will be dismissed tomorrow or at some point in the future,” Wayne Miller from the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association said.

Miller also teaches a no-fault class at Wayne State’s Law School and chairs the Trial Lawyers committee on auto insurance reform. He thinks Duggan’s lawsuit is more political than legal but it certainly shows Detroit’s mayor isn’t willing to let the auto insurance issue die.

Duggan attempted a legislative fix and partnered with Republicans at the state level but his plans, despite a major push, went nowhere primarily because Detroit Democrats wouldn’t support it.

For years the Legislature has talked no-fault reform since Michigan has the highest auto insurance rates in the country but it’s gotten no action.

This year, once again, the Michigan Senate says it will tackle no-fault reform. Miller, for his part, is hopeful something will really get done this time around.


About the Authors:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.