Doherty v. Travelers Insurance

8 Pa. D. & C.4th 180, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 162
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Alleghany County
DecidedJune 25, 1990
Docketno. GD 89-12072
StatusPublished

This text of 8 Pa. D. & C.4th 180 (Doherty v. Travelers Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Alleghany County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doherty v. Travelers Insurance, 8 Pa. D. & C.4th 180, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 162 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1990).

Opinion

JOHNSON, J.,

Plaintiff, Martin J. Doherty, commenced this action in declaratory judgment to recover underinsured/uninsured motorist benefits under a policy of insurance issued by defendant, The Travelers Insurance Company. (See plaintiff’s complaint, generally.)

Injured in an underlying one-car collision, plaintiff was a passenger in the vehicle of Travelers’ named insured when the driver lost control of the car, colliding with a wall. (Plaintiff’s complaint, paragraphs 4, 5 and 6.) Uninsured by any carrier of his [181]*181own, plaintiff sought recovery of third-party liability benefits under the terms of the Travelers policy, and the $25,000 limit of coverage was offered and paid accordingly. (Plaintiff’s complaint, paragraph 11; defendant’s answer and new matter, paragraph 15; defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and/or motion for summary judgment, paragraph 5.) Refusing, however, to accept the tendered sum as final payment of his claim, plaintiff alleged injuries in excess of $50,000, and now seeks additional coverage under the same policy for uninsured motorist benefits. (Plaintiff’s complaint, paragraphs 12 to 14; statement of matters complained of on appeal, count I, paragraph 1.)

Claiming coverage based on the alleged involvement of a second vehicle in events proximately preceding the accident, plaintiff alleged that an unidentified motorist, through indeterminate negligence, caused Travelers’ insured to lose control of her car. (Plaintiff’s complaint, paragraphs 6 and 8.) While no collision occurred between this unidentified motorist and Travelers’ insured, and further documentation does not appear of record, plaintiff asserted coverage under definition section 4 of the Travelers policy wherein an:

“Uninsured motor vehicle means a highway vehicle or trailer of any type: . . . which is a hit-and-run highway vehicle, if neither the driver nor the owner can be identified, which causes bodily injury to an insured by physical contact with the insured or a vehicle occupied by the insured. ” (Plaintiff’s complaint, exhibit A; emphasis in original.)

Undisputedly an insured under liability provisions of the policy, plaintiff asserted de facto coverage by the foregoing section, as the alleged second vehicle cannot be identified and plaintiff is otherwise uninsured. (See plaintiff’s complaint, generally.) Ac[182]*182cordingly, he relies for his claim not on the “unde-rinsured” status of the car in which he was riding, but the legally “uninsured” status of the “phantom” car. (Statement of matters complained of on appeal, count I, paragraph 1.)

The pleadings now having been closed, both parties moved for judgment on the pleadings. Defendant asserts that public policy prohibits collection by a third-party insured of uninsured/underinsured benefits in conjunction with liability coverage under the same policy of insurance. Constrained to adopt the logic of appellate rationale so holding, this court granted defendant’s motion, and simultaneously denied that of plaintiff.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
8 Pa. D. & C.4th 180, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 162, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doherty-v-travelers-insurance-pactcomplallegh-1990.