Post Acquisition Fraud Can Support Rescission in Michigan
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/doesnt-pay-lie-your-insurer-barry-zalma-esq-cfe and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4000 posts.
Meemic Insurance Company appealed a trial court’s order granting summary disposition in favor of all defendants to its suit for declaratory judgment that it had no duty to defend or indemnify under a no-fault policy issued to its insured, defendant Patricia Musser, in connection with an automobile accident.
In Meemic Insurance Company v. Estate Of Brendon Pearce, et al , No. 352724, Court of Appeals of Michigan (November 23, 2021) the Court of Appeals resolved the issue and returned the case to the trial court.
BACKGROUND
This appeal involves Meemic’s obligation to provide insurance coverage.
Meemic averred its insurance policy was void because of Patricia’s alleged fraud in procuring the policy and her alleged failure to inform Meemic about changes to the members of Patricia’s household.
CONCEALMENT OR FRAUD
Patricia testified that Melissa did not drive the Focus because it had a manual transmission, which Melissa did not know how to operate. According to a Meemic representative, if Meemic had known about Melissa’s alcohol-related conviction, it would not have continued to insure Patricia’s vehicles.
ANALYSIS
The crucial distinction between the two types of post and pre-procurement fraud is when the fraud occurred. Consequently, evidence of fraud obtained during the course of litigation can be used to void an insurance contract as long as it relates to fraud that occurred before litigation began.
POSTPROCUREMENT FRAUD
To be entitled to rescission on the basis of postprocurement fraud, Meemic must demonstrate that Patricia substantially breached the insurance contract. The insurance contract required Patricia, in relevant part, to inform Meemic of any changes to her household as well as any changes to the drivers of her vehicles.
Who drives a vehicle on a regular basis is an integral part of a car-insurance policy. Thus, if Patricia failed to disclose sufficient information, then it amounted to a substantial breach of contract because Meemic no longer knew the actual terms of the contract it had entered into. Such a substantial breach would permit Meemic to rescind the contract.
The trial court’s order granting summary disposition to defendants was reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
ZALMA OPINION
Insurance companies are entitled to rely on the good faith of those they insure to advise the insurer of the risks they are being asked to take. From the evidence discussed by the appellate court Patricia lied about who lived in her residence, what vehicles existed in the residence and who drove the vehicles both before and after the inception of the policy.
© 2022 – Barry Zalma
Insurance Expert May Not Testify to Speculative and Contains Unsupported Conclusions.
Posted on September 18, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v7fmifw-expert-may-only-testify-to-what-experience-supports.html
In Michele A. Over, and The Estate Of Paul R. Over v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and State Farm Fire And Casualty Company, Civil Action No. 23-cv-02243-PAB-STV, United States District Court, D. Colorado (September 14, 2026) Michele and Paul Over sued State Farm Fire and State Farm Auto over hail-damage and stolen-vehicle claims.
The operative dispute concerned State Farm Auto’s motion to exclude or limit opinions from plaintiffs’ insurance-industry expert, Aaron Castillo. Castillo.
Law
The proponent of expert testimony must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that an expert is qualified and that the opinions are helpful, sufficiently grounded, and reliably derived and applied. Experience-based opinions must explain how the...
150 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud
Post 4846
Posted on September 17, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g8rh3JBX and https://lnkd.in/gmkdy-9C, In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
Thomas Addaquay controlled United Consolidated Accounting and Business Services (UC), nominally a check-cashing business.
The government proved a three-stage tax-refund scheme that converted the resulting refund checks into usable funds through ...
Major Fraud Perpetrator Asserts Fifth Amendment Privilege to Avoid Prosecution
Post 5489
Posted on September 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Fraudster Refuses to Answer Questions About His Alleged Fraud
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr and at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr
In Great American Insurance Co. v. Gemstone Property Management, LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-9100 (LJL), United States District Court, S.D. New York (September 8, 2026) Great American Insurance Company alleged that it was defrauded through a scheme in which Subin Associates, LLP recruited individuals to stage construction-site injuries, arranged unnecessary medical treatment and litigation funding, and pursued fraudulent personal-injury claims.
Luis Manuel Garcia Salcedo, resulted in a $6 million settlement. Non-party Jose Hernandez allegedly worked as an assistant manager at Subin, operated Hernandez Associates, and owned litigation-funding companies that shared office space with Subin and provided services to its clients.
After Great American ...
No Breach of Contract no Bad Faith
Post 4568
Posted on October 23, 2026 by Barry Zalma
A Party Cannot Designate One Witness While Submitting An Undifferentiated Product Of That Witness And An Undesignated Collaborator.
Post 4568
In Dustin Cain; Amanda Cain v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, No. 25-60442, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (October 16, 2026) Dustin and Amanda Cain sought homeowners’ insurance benefits after a tree fell on their Mississippi home on August 27, 2022. State Farm concluded that the tree caused only a roof puncture and that other damage resulted from excluded long-term conditions. It paid $10,042.90 and later an additional $3,130.08.
The Cains relied on an engineering report and contractor estimate asserting substantially greater damage, sued for breach of contract and related relief, and designated Sean Fee as their sole expert. Fee’s report and a later repair estimate were jointly authored with Jim Irmiter, but neither document identified which opinions, work, or ...
Blockchain Fraud Detection Loses Protection
Posted on October 22, 2026 by Barry Zalma
John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American Professional Football Coach and Sports Commentator in the National Football League Seeking Patent & Trademark Protection
BLOCKCHAIN FRAUD
Mr. Madden was more than football. He was working to establish a program called “Fraud Protection Systems, Methods, and Computer Programs for Blockchain Financial Transactions.”
In Ex parte John Madden, Appeal 2026-001497, Application 18/495,506, Technology Center 3600, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (October 14, 2026)
The Examiner rejected claims several numbered claims under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
THE LAW
Section 101 makes patentable any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.Laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are implicitly excluded.
THE PATENT TRIAL AND ...
Sovereign Immunity Defeats Suit Against Police Officers
Post 4866
Posted on October 21, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Chad Lightfoot, et al. v. Progressive Direct Insurance Company, et al., Civil Action No. 26-434, United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana (October 9, 2026) Chad Lightfoot was involved in an Orleans Parish automobile accident in 2011 and filed claims with several insurers, including Progressive.
After a related civil dispute, Progressive counsel allegedly submitted a false affidavit stating that Lightfoot had fraudulently received a $50,000 payment. A New Orleans police detective relied on the affidavit to obtain an arrest warrant, and Louisiana State Police Lieutenant Alan Arcana allegedly reported that Lightfoot had received the payment. Lightfoot was arrested in 2015 and charged with theft, insurance fraud, and perjury.
Plaintiffs alleged that no record of the payment existed and that the criminal charges were dismissed on October 15, 2024.
Lightfoot and Geralyn Hawkins filed suit in October 2025 and ...
