Bear River Mutual Insurance Co. v. Wall

937 P.2d 1282, 316 Utah Adv. Rep. 7, 1997 Utah App. LEXIS 52, 1997 WL 211553
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedMay 1, 1997
DocketNo. 960362-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 937 P.2d 1282 (Bear River Mutual Insurance Co. v. Wall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bear River Mutual Insurance Co. v. Wall, 937 P.2d 1282, 316 Utah Adv. Rep. 7, 1997 Utah App. LEXIS 52, 1997 WL 211553 (Utah Ct. App. 1997).

Opinions

JACKSON, Judge:

Bear River Mutual Insurance Company (Bear River) appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of John and Nancy Wall. The district court ordered Bear River to continue to pay personal injury protection (PIP) benefits to its no-fault insureds, the Walls, despite the insureds’ settlement with and release of the third-party tortfeasor and the tortfeasor’s insurer. We affirm.

FACTS

The material facts in this ease are undisputed. In August 1992, Nancy Wall was in an automobile accident in Colorado. Pursuant to its insurance policy with the Walls, Bear River began to pay the Walls PIP benefits for Nancy Wall’s medical expenses.

Because Nancy Wall’s damages exceeded the statutory threshold limitations controlling tort actions against tortfeasors, see Utah Code Ann. § 31A-22-309(l) (1994), the Walls sought recovery from the tortfeasor. On March 4, 1994, the Walls entered into a settlement with the tortfeasor and the tort-[1284]*1284feasor’s insurer, receiving $16,000 in return for releasing the tortfeasor from “any and all actions, claims and demands whatsoever which claimants now have or may have, whether known or unknown, developed or undeveloped, on account of or arising out of the accident ... which happened on or about the 7th day of August, 1992.” The tortfea-sor’s insurer then issued a single check in the amount of $16,000 to the Walls through their attorney.

Upon learning of the settlement and release, Bear River refused to make further PIP payments to the Walls. Bear River then brought this action for a declaratory judgment in district court. Bear River asked the district court to determine whether, under Utah’s no-fault statute and under its insurance policy with the Walls, it had to pay further PIP benefits to the Walls after the Walls settled with and released the tortfea-sor.1 Both parties moved for summary judgment on the issue.

The district court granted the Walls’ motion for summary judgment, concluding that Bear River was required to pay further PIP benefits to the Walls under the terms of its policy with the Walls. Bear River appeals.

ANALYSIS

A grant of summary judgment is proper when there are no disputed issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Utah R. Civ. P. 56(c). “Since the facts are undisputed here, we examine only issues of law. We review the [district] court’s conclusions of law for correctness, granting them no deference.” American Nat’l Fire Ins. Co. v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 927 P.2d 186, 188 (Utah 1996).

Bear River asserts the district court erred in concluding that the release signed by the Walls did not discharge Bear River from its obligation to continue to pay PIP benefits to the Walls under its policy and under Utah’s no-fault statute. Bear River also asserts the district court erred in determining that the Walls’ release did not extinguish Bear River’s statutory right to seek reimbursement in arbitration proceedings for any PIP benefits paid after the Walls settled with the tortfea-sor.

In arguing that it is not obligated to make-further PIP payments following its insureds’ settlement, Bear River relies on Jones v. Transamerica Insurance Co., 592 P.2d 609 (Utah 1979). In Jones, the Utah Supreme Court held that a no-fault insured was precluded, based on subrogation principles, from asserting a claim against his no-fault insurer for further PIP payments after the insured settled with the tortfeasor. See id. at 612. Bear River also relies on language from a number of Utah cases, including Jones, stating that a primary purpose of Utah’s no-fault statute is to prevent double recovery. See id. at 611. Bear River argues that requiring it to continue to make PIP payments, despite the Walls’ settlement and release, would result in a double recovery by the Walls, in contravention of this purpose of the no-fault statute.2

The Walls, on the other hand, argue that the holding in Jones is not dispositive in this case. Instead, the Walls rely on the supreme court’s analysis and holding in Allstate Insurance Co. v. Ivie, 606 P.2d 1197 (Utah 1980), and subsequent cases. In Ivie, the court concluded that a no-fault insurer that has paid PIP benefits to its insured is not entitled, by way of subrogation, to reimbursement of those funds from a later recovery by its insured against a tortfeasor or the tortfeasor’s insurer. See id. at 1202. Instead, the no-fault insurer must exercise its right under the no-fault statute to seek reimbursement through a binding arbitration proceeding between the insurance companies of the respective parties. See id. at 1203. The [1285]*1285Walls assert that under the supreme court’s analysis in Ivie, PIP benefits are considered separate and distinct from tort claims. They argue that their settlement with the tortfea-sor did not therefore include PIP benefits, and that requiring Bear River to continue to make PIP payments would thus not result in a double recovery.

We agree with the Walls that Jones is not dispositive of this case, as its holding and analysis are inconsistent with Ivie and subsequent Utah Supreme Court cases involving Utah’s no-fault statute.

I. Utah’s No-Fault Automobile Insurance Statute

Utah law requires motor vehicle owners to maintain owner’s or operator’s security. See Utah Code Ann. § 41-12a-301(2) (Supp. 1996). Under Utah’s no-fault statute, Utah Code Ann. §§ 31A-22-302, -306 to -309 (1994 & Supp.1996),3 insurance policies “purchased to satisfy the owner’s or operator’s security requirement of Section 41-12a-301 ... shall ... include personal injury protection.” Id. § 31A-22-302(2). Personal injury protection benefits include benefits for the reasonable value of medical expenses, not to exceed a total of $3000 per person; benefits for loss of income and household services; funeral or burial benefits; and death benefits. See id. § 31A22-307.

In addition to the provisions requiring that automobile insurance policies provide minimum PIP benefits, Utah’s no-fault statute places restrictions on tort actions for personal injuries alleged to have been caused by an automobile accident. Section 31A-22-309 provides that a person covered by PIP benefits cannot maintain an “action for general damages arising out of personal injuries” unless certain threshold requirements are met.4 Id. § 31A-22-309(l). Thus, the statute preserves tort actions in only the more serious cases, including those in which there is death, permanent disability, or medical expenses incurred over $3000. See id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
937 P.2d 1282, 316 Utah Adv. Rep. 7, 1997 Utah App. LEXIS 52, 1997 WL 211553, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bear-river-mutual-insurance-co-v-wall-utahctapp-1997.