Cundiff v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

145 P.3d 638, 213 Ariz. 541, 489 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 7, 2006 Ariz. App. LEXIS 132
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedOctober 27, 2006
Docket2 CA-CV 2005-0209
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 145 P.3d 638 (Cundiff v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cundiff v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, 145 P.3d 638, 213 Ariz. 541, 489 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 7, 2006 Ariz. App. LEXIS 132 (Ark. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

BRAMMER, Judge.

¶ 1 Jean Cundiff appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company on her claim for a declaratory judgment that State Farm was not entitled to offset her workers’ compensation benefits against her underinsured motorist insurance (UIM) coverage for injuries she had sustained. Cundiffs UIM coverage contained a provision permitting State Farm to offset benefits Cundiff received from workers’ compensation from any UIM claim she made under her policy. The trial court ruled the offset provision was enforceable under Arizona law. State Farm cross-appeals from *543 the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Cundiff determining that State Farm could not offset all her workers’ compensation benefits and awarding her $11,109.04. We affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of State Farm and reverse its grant of summary judgment in favor of Cundiff.

Factual and Procedural Background

¶ 2 On review of summary judgment, we “view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion for summary judgment and draw all inferences fairly arising from the evidence in that party’s favor.” Phoenix Baptist Hosp. & Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Aiken, 179 Ariz. 289, 293, 877 P.2d 1345, 1349 (App.1994).

¶ 3 Jean Cundiff, formerly a deputy employed by the Pima County Sheriffs Department, was injured while on duty in November 1997. Cundiffs patrol car was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Elizabeth Kozma. Cundiff sustained neck and back injuries and was granted a medical retirement from the sheriffs department just over a year later. This accident was Cundiffs third work-related injury; she had been involved in automobile accidents in 1990 and 1991 that had also injured her spine.

¶ 4 At the time of the 1997 accident, Koz-ma had liability insurance coverage with a limit of $15,000 per person, and Cundiff had a State Farm policy that included UIM coverage with a $25,000 limit. Cundiff received workers’ compensation benefits following the accident, including preretirement disability benefits of $11,109.35, medical expenses of $18,695.48, 1 and postretirement benefits of $482.95 per month. By settlement agreement, Cundiff also received the policy limit of $15,000 from Kozma’s liability insurer, all of which was paid to her attorney and her workers’ compensation insurer pursuant to a lien imposed under A.R.S. § 23-1023(C).

¶ 5 Cundiff then sought payment of $25,000 in UIM benefits under her State Farm policy. State Farm contended the $15,000 payment from Kozma’s insurer had fully compensated Cundiff and refused to pay any UIM benefits under its policy. As she was entitled to do under the policy, Cundiff requested arbitration of her claim. Before arbitration, State Farm informed Cundiff it was entitled to offset her workers’ compensation payments against any amounts payable under the UIM coverage of her policy, relying on the policy provision that stated: “Any amount payable under this coverage shall be reduced by any amount paid or payable to or for the insured under any worker[s’] compensation, disability benefits, or similar law.”

¶ 6 At the arbitration hearing, Cundiff asserted she had $140,000 in damages. The parties agree Cundiff had included the $18,695.48 in medical costs already paid by her workers’ compensation insurer in her list of damages but also had reduced her request for lost wages by $11,109.35, the amount of her preretirement disability benefit. The arbitrator awarded Cundiff “$40,000 as full compensation for her claim against [State Farm].” 2 The arbitrator also concluded her retirement had not been caused by the accident with Kozma but, rather, by “the preexisting condition in [her] cervical spine.”

¶ 7 State Farm originally took the position that, considering Cundiffs postretirement workers’ compensation benefits as part of its offset, she had been fully compensated by her workers’ compensation insurer. After some negotiation, State Farm offered Cundiff $10,000 to fully settle the UIM claim, reasoning that, if the postretirement benefits were excluded, Cundiff had received $29,828.41 in workers’ compensation benefits, 3 which left approximately $10,000 in remaining damages *544 under the arbitration award. Cundiff rejected the settlement offer. State Farm subsequently paid Cundiff that amount without requiring that she release her claim against it.

¶8 Cundiff then filed this action against State Farm for breach of contract and for a declaratory judgment that she and a putative class were “entitled to the full benefits of their uninsured and underinsured [motorist] coverage upon their claims without an offset” of any workers’ compensation benefits. After Cundiff filed the action, State Farm paid her an additional $195.48 to correct an “apparent math error” in its earlier payment to her. State Farm counterclaimed for a declaratory judgment that the offset provision “lawfully prevents double recovery by an insured for a single loss,” which the trial court later dismissed pursuant to stipulation.

¶ 9 After lengthy pretrial litigation, including motions for summary judgment filed by both parties, the trial court issued its judgment in October 2005. The court ruled “the offset provision is enforceable by State Farm as long as it does not interfere with [Cun-diffs] right to receive full compensation for her loss.” The court also determined “[t]he arbitrator’s award of $40,000 represents the full compensation to which [Cundiff] is entitled for her loss.” The court reasoned that the offset provision only permitted State Farm to offset duplicated benefits and “the arbitrator was not presented with any claims for lost wages already paid by workers’] compensation, [so] his award could not have included such wages.” Thus, the court concluded State Farm could not offset “the $11,109.04 in [preretirement] disability benefits.” 4 The court also found, pursuant to the parties’ agreement, evidence of Cundiffs medical bills had been presented to the arbitrator, the award included $18,695.48 in medical bills, and State Farm could offset those bills because they already had been paid by Cundiffs workers’ compensation insurer. The court awarded $11,109.04 to Cundiff. This appeal and cross-appeal followed.

Cundiffs Appeal

¶ 10 On appeal, Cundiff contends solely that State Farm’s offset clause violates the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage statute, A.R.S. § 20-259.01, and thus, is unenforceable. On appeal from summary judgment, we review questions of law, such as the meaning and effect of statutes, de novo. Parrot v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 212 Ariz. 255, ¶ 7, 130 P.3d 530, 532 (2006).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
145 P.3d 638, 213 Ariz. 541, 489 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 7, 2006 Ariz. App. LEXIS 132, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cundiff-v-state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-arizctapp-2006.