Ellis v. Royal Insurance

530 A.2d 303, 129 N.H. 326, 1987 N.H. LEXIS 188
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedMay 28, 1987
DocketNo. 85-554
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 530 A.2d 303 (Ellis v. Royal Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ellis v. Royal Insurance, 530 A.2d 303, 129 N.H. 326, 1987 N.H. LEXIS 188 (N.H. 1987).

Opinion

Brock, C.J.

This appeal arises out of two consolidated cases and involves issues of choice of law, the applicability of RSA 264:15,1, to an insurance policy neither issued nor delivered in this State, primary versus excess insurance coverage, allocation of a credit for insurance coverage available from a tortfeasor, and the permissibility of awarding Valerie G. Ellis (Ellis) attorney’s fees, costs, and interest. We affirm in part, modify in part, and reverse in part.

On November 13, 1982, Ellis, a Purolator Courier (Purolator) employee acting within the scope of her employment, was driving a truck owned by Purolator. A collision between the Purolator truck and a pickup truck driven by Manuel Rosa occurred in Wilton, and Ellis was seriously injured. The accident was caused by Rosa’s neg[328]*328ligence. At the time of the accident, three insurance policies, more fully described below, potentially covered Ellis. One policy had been issued to Purolator by Royal Insurance Company (Royal), one had been issued by Concord Group Insurance Companies (Concord) to Ellis, and the other had been issued by Concord to Ellis’s parents. With the consent of Royal and Concord, Ellis settled with Rosa, the tortfeasor, for $25,000, the full amount of coverage available under the automobile liability policy issued to him by Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Insurance Company.

Ellis then filed a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association. She and the insurers agreed that the issues decided in the arbitration proceeding would be limited to two: First, whether Ellis could recover uninsured motorist benefits at all and, second, if she was entitled to such benefits, the amount thereof. The parties further agreed that issues regarding coverage would be litigated after the arbitration proceeding was completed. After a hearing on July 13, 1983, the arbitrator determined that Royal and Concord were obligated to pay uninsured motorist benefits to Ellis in the total amount of $285,000.

Ellis sued Royal and Concord by writ returnable the first Tuesday in November 1983 in order to satisfy the arbitrator’s award. On September 28, 1983, Concord filed a petition for declaratory judgment to determine, inter alia, three issues: First, the amount of uninsured motorist coverage to be provided by Royal; second, which company’s coverage was primary; and third, how the $25,000 credit should be apportioned between the two companies. The actions were consolidated, and the Superior Court (Dalianis, J.) ruled that Royal must provide up to $1,000,000 in uninsured motorist coverage pursuant to RSA 264:15, I, and that Concord’s coverage was primary. Thus, according to the trial court, Ellis was entitled to recover uninsured motorist benefits totaling $260,000 ($285,000 minus the $25,000 tortfeasor credit) plus interest, court costs, and attorney’s fees. The court apportioned the award and costs as follows: Concord was obligated to pay $150,000 (the stacked total coverage provided by the two policies), interest, one-half Ellis’s court costs and one-third of her attorney’s fees. Royal was ordered to contribute $110,000, interest, one-half of her court costs, and two-thirds of her attorney’s fees.

Concord and Royal moved for reconsideration and clarification on various grounds. In an order dated November 14, 1985, the court reconsidered its prior decision and, “in the interests of equity,” decided that each should receive half the tortfeasor credit. Therefore, the court ordered Concord to pay $137,500 and Royal to pay $122,500 to Ellis. The court further stated that Ellis’s counsel was [329]*329entitled to recover from the insurers only those fees generated by the declaratory judgment litigation, and not fees for total time spent. The court ordered that itemized bills be submitted to the insurers, and stated that the remainder of the fee should be collected from Ellis pursuant to the existing contingent fee arrangement.

Both Concord and Royal appealed from the trial court’s orders and both filed opening and reply briefs. Because of the complexity of the case and the intricacy of the issues, our approach will be as follows: We will first set out the issues in as summary a manner as possible, consistent with understanding them, then we will proceed to deal with the several issues in as much detail as is required in separate sections of the opinion. The issues will be considered in the body of the opinion as the logic of the case dictates: (1) choice of law; (2) applicability of RSA 264:15, I, to the Royal policy; (3) primary versus excess insurance coverage; (4) allocation of the $25,000 tortfeasor credit; and (5) attorney’s fees, costs, and interest.

In its cross-appeal, Royal argues that New Hampshire’s choice-of-law rules should be applied in such a way as to give effect to the claimed intent of Royal and Purolator to limit the New Hampshire uninsured motorist coverage exposure to $25,000. Further, Royal contends that, even if New Hampshire’s choice-of-law rules dictate that New Hampshire law should apply, the provision of the statute at issue, RSA 264:15, I, does not apply by its terms to the Royal policy since the Royal policy was neither issued nor delivered in New Hampshire. In addition, Royal argues in response to Concord’s appeal that if the first two issues are decided adversely to it, then the Royal policy provides only excess, and not primary, coverage. Finally, Royal maintains that it is entitled to the full credit for the coverage provided under the tortfeasor’s automobile liability policy.

Concord, however, argues in its appeal that the Royal policy provides uninsured motorist insurance to Ellis on a primary basis both because that is the result dictated by applicable rules of contract construction and because the Financial Responsibility Act precludes the provision of only excess uninsured motorist coverage. Further, Concord argues that the trial court erred in its fifty-fifty apportionment of the tortfeasor credit and advocates a formula by which the credit would be apportioned between the insurers according to how much of the award each insurer is required to pay. Finally, Concord argues that it is not liable for attorney’s fees or costs of the litigation and contends that interest should be calculated only on Royal’s portion of the award.

Ellis’s cross-appeal was rejected as untimely, and her motion to permit late filing was denied by order dated February 20, 1986. However, she was permitted to file a brief and has presented several [330]*330arguments. First, she argues that RSA 264:15, I, is applicable to Royal’s policy. Second, she argues, alternatively, that if the statute does not so apply, then as a third-party beneficiary of the insurance contract, which was intended to comply with New Hampshire statutory requirements, she may so enforce it. Finally, she argues that she is entitled to attorney’s fees under RSA 491:22-b and interest under RSA 524:1-b as against both Royal and Concord. We proceed to our analysis of each of these issues.

I. Choice of Law

The trial court ruled that New Hampshire choice-of-law rules dictate the application of substantive New Hampshire law to this case, citing primarily Consolidated Mutual Insurance Co. v. Radio Foods Corp., 108 N.H. 494, 240 A.2d 47 (1968) and Diamond International Corp. v. Allstate Insurance Co.,

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Bluebook (online)
530 A.2d 303, 129 N.H. 326, 1987 N.H. LEXIS 188, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ellis-v-royal-insurance-nh-1987.