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Northland Insurance Co. v. Sny
Citations: 296 N.W.2d 292; 98 Mich. App. 507; 1980 Mich. App. LEXIS 2770Docket: Docket 45174
Court: Michigan Court of Appeals; July 2, 1980; Michigan; State Appellate Court
Plaintiff Northland Insurance Company sought a declaratory judgment asserting that defendant Sny waived his right to arbitrate a claim for uninsured motorist benefits due to an unreasonable delay in notifying the plaintiff of the related accident. The Saginaw County Circuit Court ruled in favor of the defendant, granting a motion for summary judgment and ordering the parties to proceed to arbitration. On appeal, the plaintiff contended that the circuit court should have evaluated whether the defendant’s conduct constituted a waiver of arbitration rights, rather than deferring this issue to arbitration. The appellate court disagreed, citing GCR 1963, 769.2(4), which states that arbitration should not be refused based on the claim's lack of merit. The court emphasized that public policy favors arbitration, and arbitration clauses should be broadly construed. Applying a three-part test for arbitrability, the court found: (1) an arbitration agreement exists in the contract; (2) the issue in dispute falls within the arbitration clause; and (3) the dispute is not expressly excluded from arbitration by the contract terms. Consequently, the court upheld the circuit court's decision, affirming that the dispute over the defendant's conduct regarding the claim for uninsured motorist benefits is subject to arbitration, and the summary judgment was appropriate. The ruling was affirmed.