Berger v. H.P. Hood, Inc.

424 Mass. 144
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedJanuary 16, 1997
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 424 Mass. 144 (Berger v. H.P. Hood, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berger v. H.P. Hood, Inc., 424 Mass. 144 (Mass. 1997).

Opinion

O’Connor, J.

The facts relevant to this appeal are set forth in Berger v. H.P. Hood, Inc., 416 Mass. 652, 653-654 (1993) (Berger I) as follows: “On August 14, 1981, the plaintiff’s decedent, Gerard P. Berger, was killed in an automobile accident while in the course of his employment as a truck driver for the defendant [H.P. Hood, Inc.]. [American Mobile Corporation], a wholly owned subsidiary of [H.P. Hood, Inc.], owned the tractor-trailer which Berger was operating at the time of his death. [American Mobile Corporation] had leased these vehicles to [H.P. Hood, Inc.], which assumed responsibility for their registration and insurance.

“At the time of the accident, [H.P. Hood, Inc.] self-insured its leased vehicles. To fulfil its financial obligations under the motor vehicle financial responsibility laws (G. L. c. 90, §§ 34A et seq. [1992 ed.]), [H.P. Hood, Inc.] had purchased a motor vehicle liability bond from the Aetna Insurance Company. The bond contained no provision for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. In addition, [H.P. Hood, Inc.] had also purchased an excess liability policy from Ideal Mutual Insurance Company, [Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund’s] predecessor and an umbrella policy from [First State Insurance Company].

“In compensation for her husband’s death, the plaintiff received workers’ compensation benefits from [H.P. Hood, Inc.]. In addition, the plaintiff recovered the maximum amount of money available under the insurance policy of the driver of the automobile that collided with the decedent’s tractor-trailer. She also recovered underinsurance benefits under her husband’s own automobile policy” (footnotes omitted).

In 1984, Ideal Mutual Insurance Company (Ideal), which had provided excess liability coverage to H.P. Hood, Inc. (Hood), became insolvent. The Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund (Fund) is the defendant in Ideal’s stead. G. L. c. 175D, § 1.

The plaintiff filed a complaint seeking underinsured motorist benefits from Hood and American Mobile Corporation (American), and later instituted a second action seeking such benefits ft\ tn Fund and First State Insurance Company (First). The cases were consolidated in the Superior Court. On January 6, 1989, a judge in the Superior Court denied [146]*146motions for summary judgment filed by Hood, American, and Fund, and allowed the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment against those defendants. The judge denied Hood and American’s motion for reconsideration on November 15, 1989, and ordered that “[¡¡judgment shall enter declaring that plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment be allowed [as to Hood, American and Fund] on the issue of the availability of uninsured motorist benefits only.” In December, 1989, the same judge granted summary judgment to First and denied the plaintiff’s cross motion for summary judgment. As a result, Hood and American, joined by Fund, again moved for reconsideration of the summary judgment order against them and, on November 19, 1990, the judge allowed those motions and ordered that the “court’s order of January 6, 1989 and the partial summary judgment of November 15, 1989 be vacated.” The judge’s reasoning was that “[tjhe Workman’s Compensation Statute, G. L. c. 152, § 23, specifically states that an employee’s acceptance of payment under the Act constitutes a release to the insured of any claims or demands at common law. Accordingly, the plaintiff’s claims against Ideal (now against Fund) and First State are barred by the exclusivity provision of the Act.”4 A second Superior Court judge entered separate and final judgment for First on October 17, 1991, and for Hood, American, and Fund on March 4, 1992. The plaintiff appealed from those judgments, and the Appeals Court consolidated the appeals. We then transferred the case here on our own motion, see Berger I, supra at 654 n.7, and concluded as follows:

“We affirm the judge’s order allowing the motions for summary judgment requested by the defendants Hood, First, and Fund on the issue of Hood’s [uninsured motorist] coverage. We vacate the judge’s order allowing American’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of American’s [underinsured motorist] coverage. The case is remanded to the Superior Court for further proceedings on the plaintiff’s claim against American.” Id. at 658.

[147]*147Following remand, the third Superior Court judge to preside in these consolidated actions denied the plaintiffs motions (1) for summary judgment against First and (2) to reinstate partial summary judgment and separate and final judgment against Fund. The judge reasoned that this court’s order in Berger I, “only remanded the case for further proceedings against American” and that the plaintiffs claims against First and Fund were “unambiguously disposed of by the Supreme Judicial Court.” The plaintiff then moved for reinstatement of orders for partial summary judgment as to American. In June, 1994, the same judge denied that motion and made the following relevant observations:

“In support of her motion, plaintiff argues without any persuasive authority that orders for partial summary judgment entered for the plaintiff against American Mobile Corporation (‘American’) in 1989 should be reinstated by virtue of the Supreme Judicial Court’s vacation of a 1990 judgment in favor of American. In the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision, there was no mention of reinstating any prior Superior Court order. . . . The Supreme Judicial Court never ordered that the orders for summary judgment of January 6, 1989 and entry of judgment of November 15, 1989 be reinstated. Moreover, the plaintiff cites no persuasive authority for the proposition that following an appeal, there is such a thing as automatic reinstatement. The only case the plaintiff cites is not on point.”

In September, 1994, the plaintiff moved in the Superior Court for an “Order Reinstating the Prior Orders and Final Judgment of this Court [Superior Court] as to the defendants American Mobile Corporation (American) and its insurer Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund (Fund) or, as this Court may deem appropriate, the entry of Partial Summary Judgment on behalf of the Plaintiffs as to the Defendants, American and Fund and the additional insurer First State Insurance Company (First) on the issue of the availability of UM coverage to provide for the plaintiffs claim.” The judge who had ruled on the other postremand motions discussed above ruled on the plaintiffs second reinstatement of partial summary judgment motion. She ordered that the plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment be allowed as to Amer-[148]*148lean, and that a judgment enter against American in the amount of $10,000. The judge denied the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment as to First and Fund. Final judgments reflecting the judge’s rulings were entered. In her memorandum of decision, the judge stated that the plaintiff’s argument in support of her motion was that “the defendants are liable on various insurance policies for underinsured motorist coverage (‘UM’) benefits. Both Fund and First assert that the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Berger v. H.P. Hood, Inc., 416 Mass. 652 (1993), disposes of plaintiffs claims against them, and alternatively, that under the terms of their policies they are not liable for UM coverage. American argues that it is liable only for the statutorily mandated UM coverage. . . .

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

Related

JOHN A. DESANTIS v. QUIRK CARS, INC. & Another.
Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2023
Wentworth v. HENRY C. BECKER CUSTOM BUILDING LTD.
947 N.E.2d 571 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2011)
Kniskern v. Melkonian
862 N.E.2d 450 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2007)
Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund v. Safety Insurance
787 N.E.2d 555 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2003)
Murphy v. National Union Fire Insurance
15 Mass. L. Rptr. 751 (Massachusetts Superior Court, 2003)
Lee v. International Data Group
769 N.E.2d 761 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
424 Mass. 144, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berger-v-hp-hood-inc-mass-1997.