The
Court of Appeals on Friday held that the Michigan Catastrophic Claims
Association (MCCA) is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The
court acted in Coalition Protection Auto
No-Fault (CPAN) v. MCCA, which was directed back to the Appeals Court to
determine if the MCCA is a public body and subject to FOIA. Judge Stephen
Borrello and Judge Donald Owens ruled that even though MCCA is considered a
public body, it is exempt from FOIA because of an amendment made to the
Insurance Code by the Legislature. In dissent, Judge Elizabeth Gleicher said
FOIA does not exempt documents from the MCCA from disclosure and FOIA
authorizes the Legislature to exempt specifically described documents from
disclosure. Judge Gleicher added extending the FOIA exemption to the MCCA violated
the Constitution’s provision in Article 4 Section 25 outlawing amending a
statute by reference.
Whether
the MCCA is subject to public disclosure has been a controversial point in the
discussion of Michigan’s no-fault insurance law discussion. The MCAA adds a
surcharge to all vehicle insurance premiums to fund the state’s unlimited
medical care guarantee to catastrophically injured victims in vehicular
accidents. The fee varies each year, and groups have argued that the MCCA
should be required to show how it calculates this surcharge.