Cruz v. Princeton Insurance Co.

972 A.2d 14, 2009 Pa. Super. 49, 2009 Pa. Super. LEXIS 64, 2009 WL 763389
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 24, 2009
Docket3191 EDA 2004, No. 3192 EDA 2004
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 972 A.2d 14 (Cruz v. Princeton Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cruz v. Princeton Insurance Co., 972 A.2d 14, 2009 Pa. Super. 49, 2009 Pa. Super. LEXIS 64, 2009 WL 763389 (Pa. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

OPINION BY

BENDER, J.:

¶ 1 This matter comes before us on remand from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for consideration of whether plaintiffs Jacqueline Nieves Cruz and Oscar Cruz (the Cruzes) adduced evidence sufficient to raise a question of material fact concerning the harm element of their claim for Abuse of Process. The Cruzes argue, and we conclude, that the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, does raise such a question. Accordingly, we reverse the order granting summary judgment and remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings on the Cruzes’ action.

¶ 2 The Cruzes commenced this action for abuse of process1 following Princeton Insurance Company’s filing of a petition for appointment of á guardian ad litem that sought to supersede the Cruzes’ authority as parents to negotiate a post-trial settlement offer that Princeton made on behalf of its insured, Northeastern Hospital. Defendants Alan S. Gold and Gold, Butkovitz & Robins, P.C., represented Princeton in that process.

¶ 3 In the underlying litigation, reviewed by this Court in Cruz v. Northeastern Hosp., 801 A.2d 602 (Pa.Super.2002), the Cruzes secured a $15,000,000 judgment in favor of their son, Adam Omar Cruz, for injuries he sustained during birth. During our review of this case prior to remand we related the history of the Cruz case as it relates to the litigation now before us. We repeat that history here:

In 1994, Appellants, individually and on behalf of their son, Adam, filed a medical malpractice, action against Northeastern Hospital, Dr. Myung Hyo Shin, and Dr. Robert Cogan, seeking damages for permanent and debilitating injuries Adam sustained when he was born on August 14, 1992. Appellants dropped their individual, claims and, in August 2000, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Adam and against the hospital in the amount of $10,811,431.27.
Princeton, the hospital’s insurer, retained Attorney Gold of GBR to handle the appeal ánd related settlement negotiations. While the appeal was pending before this Court,FN2 the parties' began settlement negotiations before a mediator selected by Princeton. This media[16]*16tor suggested a settlement in the range of $8 to $10 million. Settlement discussions continued through February 2002, but-Appellants rejected Princeton’s offer to settle the case for $7,000,000.
On February 27, 2002, on behalf of his client, Attorney Gold petitioned the court to appoint a guardian ad litem for Adam. The petition alleged in pertinent part:
6. Princeton and the Cruzes have engaged in excessive settlement negotiations with the aid of Abraham Gafni, former judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County as a mediator. The parties have reached an impasse in those negotiations. Princeton Insurance Co. has offered $7,000,000 to the Cruzes. This constitutes sufficient money to support [Adam] for the rest of his life. This money has been turned down.
7. Princeton Insurance Co. believes that a substantial possibility exists that Northeastern Hospital will prevail on the appeal and that the Cruzes may receive no money for [Adam].
8. [Adam’s] medical expenses would then become a burden on the taxpayers of this Commonwealth.
9. [Adam] would not have the opportunity to have the full services that he would if his parents accepted the $7,000,000.
10. Princeton Insurance Co. respectfully requests that this Court appoint a guardian ad litem to evaluate the settlement demand and to represent the interest of [Adam] in this litigation.
11. Princeton believes that the parents have had a substantial disagreement among themselves concerning how to handle this litigation and whether to accept the settlement offer of Princeton Insurance Co. made on behalf of Northeastern Hospital.
12. Further, a potential conflict of interest exists between plaintiffs’ counsel and the interests of the minor client, [Adam], particularly in light of disagreement among his parents with respect to the settlement offer.
13. The appointment of a guardian ad litem will insure that the interest of the child will be protected. The guardian ad litem would pursue the litigation on behalf of [Adam] and evaluate settlement offers.
Petition for Appointment of Guardian Ad Litem For Adam Cruz[.] The trial court denied the petition on March 7, 2002, and, shortly thereafter, Appellants accepted in principle Princeton’s settlement offer of $7,100,000. This offer was ultimately approved by the trial court on September 5, 2002.
On May 22, 2003, Appellants filed a complaint in the instant action for abuse of process against Appellees alleging that, by improperly filing the petition for appointment of a guardian ad litem, Ap-pellees caused them “extreme emotional distress, fear, upset and anxiety that their parental rights could be terminated” and that they “became so fearful of subsequent assaults on their parental rights that they agreed to the settlement offer of $7,000,000 rather than to continue with negotiations.” Complaint, 5/22/03, at 5. On this latter contention, Appellants have since dropped any damages claim that, as a result of the filing of the guardianship petition, they were [17]*17coerced into prematurely settling the case.FN3
Appellees filed separate motions for summary judgment, which the trial court granted in separate orders on October 18, 2004. Appellants’ motion for reconsideration was denied, and this timely appeal followed.

Cruz v. Princeton Ins. Co., 925 A.2d 853, 854-856 (Pa.Super.2007).

¶ 4 Following oral argument, a panel of this Court found that the trial court had erred in granting summary judgment, reasoning that the evidence adduced in discovery raised an issue of material fact concerning the extent to which Princeton and its counsel commenced the guardianship action for the improper purpose of forcing the Cruzes to settle the underlying malpractice litigation for less than the amount of the outstanding judgment. See Cruz v. Princeton Ins. Co., 3191 EDA 2004, 3192 EDA 2004 (Pa.Super. March 14, 2006) (withdrawn). Subsequently, however, this Court granted reconsideration en banc and, following Reargument, a Majority of the en banc panel rejected the rationale of the original merits panel, concluding that the evidence did not raise a question of material fact concerning the propriety of Princeton’s use of the guardianship action. Judge Orie Melvin filed a Concurring Opinion agreeing with the Majority’s affirmance of the trial court’s order, but suggesting that regardless of the propriety of Princeton’s motives, the evidence failed to establish a question of material fact concerning whether the Cruzes had sustained emotional harm as a result of the filing of the guardianship action. Id. at 12 (Orie Melvin, J. concurring).

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Cruz v. Princeton Insurance Co.
972 A.2d 14 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
972 A.2d 14, 2009 Pa. Super. 49, 2009 Pa. Super. LEXIS 64, 2009 WL 763389, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cruz-v-princeton-insurance-co-pasuperct-2009.