Bohannon v. Allstate Insurance

118 F.R.D. 151, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29260
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedFebruary 14, 1986
DocketCiv. A. No. CV484-362
StatusPublished

This text of 118 F.R.D. 151 (Bohannon v. Allstate Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bohannon v. Allstate Insurance, 118 F.R.D. 151, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29260 (S.D. Ga. 1986).

Opinion

ORDER

HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.

An evidentiary hearing was held in this case to determine whether the case should proceed as a class action under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Having reviewed the evidence and argument of counsel, the Court has determined that the case should proceed as a class action. The class that the Court hereby certifies consists of those persons who, in connection with a motor vehicle insurance policy sold by the defendant in the state of Georgia, purchased optional no-fault property damage insurance as provided for in O.C.G.A. § 33-34-5(a)(3) (1982) (amended Nov. 1, 1982), who sustained damage to their vehicle as a result of a collision after April 6, 1978, but prior to March 15, 1984, who collected no-fault benefits, and whose insurer, the defendant, was successfully sub-rogated to its insured’s property damage claim against the other party involved in the collision. The prerequisites of Rule 23 for class certification are met, however, only as to the quasi-contractual claim of money had and received and as to the federal civil RICO claim. Accordingly, the Court will certify the class in this action, but the class action may be maintained only as to the issue of money had and received and federal RICO. The remaining issues raised may be pursued by the plaintiff on [153]*153behalf of herself only. The Court anticipates bifurcating for trial the class claims and the plaintiffs individual claims.

BACKGROUND

In 1974, the Georgia legislature enacted the Georgia Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act, 1974 Ga.Laws 113 [hereinafter cited as No-Fault Act], which, for the first time, authorized subrogation by automobile insurers for first party personal injury payments. See No-Fault Act, supra at 119. Subrogation by insurers for property damage claims was also recognized, though that aspect of the No-Fault Act merely paralleled the existing law with respect to collision benefits claims. See, e.g., Vigilant Insurance Co. v. Bowman, 128 Ga.App. 872, 874, 198 S.E.2d 346 (1973).

In 1978, the No-Fault Act was amended to change the provisions relating to subro-gation. 1978 Ga.Laws 2075. Rather than authorizing subrogation, the amended Act disallowed subrogation.

“(1) Insurers and self-insurers providing benefits without regard to fault described in Sections 3 and 4 shall not be subrogated to the rights of the person for whom benefits are provided____”

Id. The benefits described in Section 4 of the Act include optional personal injury protection benefits, as well as optional no-fault property damage benefits. Thus, subrogation to the rights of claimants for no-fault property damage benefits was prohibited under the amended Act. Despite this prohibition, many insurance companies continued to be subrogated after their insureds collected benefits for damage to their automobiles.

In 1984, the No-Fault Act was again amended to change the provisions relating to subrogation. 1984 Ga.Laws 516. Sub-rogation continued to be disallowed as to all benefits under Sections 3 and 4, except subrogation was allowed as to no-fault property damage benefits. Id. at 516-17.

Plaintiff brought this action alleging that her automobile was damaged in a collision after 1978, but before 1984, that she received no-fault benefits under her insurance policy, and that her insurer was sub-rogated, in violation of the 1978 amendment to the No-Fault Act, to her rights against the party that caused the collision. Plaintiff also alleges that she was defrauded by her insurer because it was misrepresented to her that she had no claim against the party that caused the collision. Plaintiff also alleges that the defendant is liable to her for civil penalties under the Georgia and federal RICO statutes. Plaintiff seeks to maintain the suit on behalf of all similarly situated persons.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The named plaintiff in this action, Brenda J. Bohannon, submitted an application for insurance to the Georgia Automobile Insurance Plan through an independent insurance agent.

2. Allstate subsequently insured the car under that application.

3. Her acceptance/rejection form for optional no-fault benefits under O.C.G.A. § 33-34-5(a) had accept and reject boxes for the following coverages:

Additional P.I.P. (with choices of $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000)
Comprehensive (with choices of Actual Cash Value (ACV) or $100 deductible)
Collision (with choices of ACV or $100 deductible)
Loss of Use

4. Plaintiff rejected optional P.I.P. benefits, chose comprehensive coverage with deductible, chose collision with deductible, and rejected loss of use.

5. On September 18, 1980, plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident while driving the insured car. Allstate paid her $1,414.52 for damage to her car.

6. Allstate made a subrogation claim against the insurer of the other car involved in the accident and received $1,514 in payment of the subrogation claim. Allstate subsequently paid to the plaintiff $100 representing her deductible.

7. It is unlikely that plaintiff ever read her insurance policy in connection with her property damage claim against Allstate.

[154]*1548. Plaintiff was represented by an attorney in making her insurance claim in 1980.

9. During the years 1978-1984, Allstate provided coverage based on application forms provided under the Georgia Automobile Insurance Plan, as well as three different application forms that Allstate provided for “non-Plan” insureds. One of the non-Plan application forms contained accept and reject blocks for full coverage collision, full coverage comprehensive, and loss of use, with no options for a deductible. The remainder of the forms used by Allstate have accept and reject blocks for full property damage coverage and for deductible property damage coverage.

10. All of the policies in use during the years 1978-1984 contain property damage coverage without regard to fault denominated collision and comprehensive insurance.

11. Until the enactment of Georgia’s No-Fault Act in 1974, Allstate offered only deductible collision coverage. After March 1, 1975, Allstate began making full coverage collision available in Georgia.

12. Approximately 6,490 of Allstate's insureds suffered property damage to their vehicle, were paid property damage benefits by Allstate, and had their property damage claim subrogated by Allstate during the period January 1,1978 to March 15, 1984.

13. The average property damage claim paid by Allstate during this period was $1,268.92. The average subrogation recovery by Allstate was $1,052.37.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
118 F.R.D. 151, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29260, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bohannon-v-allstate-insurance-gasd-1986.