Abdusalam was from New York and moved to Minnesota. He had insurance on his vehicle through Progressive Insurance Co. His policy stated that it would not cover any accidents that happened outside of the state of New York.

Abdusalam was driving in downtown Minneapolis when another vehicle ran a red light at high speed and t-boned his car. The vehicle then fled the scene of the crash and was never found. As a result of the crash, Abdusalam suffered injuries to his neck and back and incurred nearly $13,000 in medical bills. When the medical bills were submitted to Progressive for payment under Minnesota No-Fault, they refused to pay. Despite the fact that the insurance company is well-known and writes policies all over the country, they claimed that because their subsidiary did not write policies in Minnesota, they did not have to comply with Minnesota law.

It became necessary for Abdusalam to begin a lawsuit to force the insurance company to pay for his medical bills. Attorney Michael Courtney handled the case. The lawsuit resulted in the insurance company paying for the medical bills, as well as over $3,500 as a penalty for denying Abdusalam’s claim.