Government Employees Insurance v. Lane

401 A.2d 765, 264 Pa. Super. 615, 1979 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2031
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 6, 1979
Docket2080
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 401 A.2d 765 (Government Employees Insurance v. Lane) 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
Government Employees Insurance v. Lane, 401 A.2d 765, 264 Pa. Super. 615, 1979 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2031 (Pa. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinions

HESTER, Judge:

This is an appeal from the lower court’s June 8, 1976 Order1 denying Appellant’s Petition to Confirm an Arbitrators’ Award dated October 23, 1975 and remanding the award to the Arbitrators for correction so as to actually reflect their findings and decision of October 23, 1975.

The facts are as follows: Appellees (Lanes) filed an uninsured motorists claim in accordance with the provisions of the “Protection Against Uninsured Motorist” section of their automobile liability policy which had been issued by Appellant (GEICO). On August 20, 1975 and, in compliance with the appropriate policy provisions, a hearing was convened before an American Arbitration Association panel of three, all of whom were attorneys.

[618]*618On October 23, 1975, the Arbitrators entered an award in favor of the Lanes which provided in relevant part:

Government Employees Insurance Company shall pay to Leonard Lane and Sydria Lane, the sum of Twenty Thousand ($20,000.00) Dollars.

Several days following the issuance of the Award, Arbitrator Simone received a telephone call from Appellees’ counsel who inquired as to the intentions of the Arbitration Board in the issuance of said Award (R. 71a-72a, 77a-78a).

As a result of his conversation with Appellees’ counsel, Arbitrator Simone, on October 28,1975, wrote a letter to the American Arbitration Association advising them that “there is an error in the ‘Award of Arbitrators’ . . . and the ‘Award’ should be amended” to Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) for each of the Appellees, for a total Award of Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00). (Exhibit R-8, R. 148a).

Thereafter, on November 21, 1975, Appellant (GEICO) filed a Petition to Confirm the Award (The $20,000 Award) and have same reduced to judgment; which Petition to Confirm was opposed by Appellees contending that the intended award was $20,000 for Leonard Lane and $20,000 for Sydria Lane, or a total of Forty Thousand ($40,000) Dollars.

On February 11, 1976, GEICO’S Petition to Confirm was argued and on March 2, 1976, the lower court directed that the Arbitrators’ Depositions be taken to determine whether there was error or ambiguity in the Arbitrators’ Award.

Subsequently, on March 16, 1976, all three Arbitrators (and one of the Arbitrator’s associates) were deposed and additional exhibits submitted. Also deposed was an employee of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the Regional Director of the Philadelphia office of the AAA.

After a review of the record, the lower court entered its June 8,1976 Order wherein the court found that “there was, indeed, an error or ambiguity in the preparation, issuance, execution and transmittal of the Arbitrators’ Award.” Thus, GEICO’S Petition to Confirm Award was denied and [619]*619the matter remanded to the original panel of Arbitrators to correct the award so as to accurately reflect their findings and decision of October 23, 1975.

Thereafter, under date of June 25, 1976, the Board of Arbitrators filed its “Corrected Award of Arbitrators” (emphasis added) which provided in relevant part:

1. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY shall pay to LEONARD LANE the sum of TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($20,000.00).
2. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY shall pay to SYDRIA LANE the sum of TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($20,000.00).

It is from the June 8, 1976 remand order that GEICO has appealed raising the interesting issue of whether or not and, under what circumstances, the Court of Common Pleas had jurisdiction and authority to remand an Arbitrators’ Award to be corrected when the Court concludes that there has been an error or ambiguity in the preparation, issuance, execution, and/or transmittal of the original award.

Appellant posits that the lower Court erred in failing to confirm the October 23, 1975 Arbitrators’ Award (in the total sum of $20,000.00), and further erred in permitting the issuance and filing of the “corrected” Arbitrators’ Award dated June 25, 1976 (in the total sum of $40,000.00). Appellant contends that the “corrected” Arbitration Award should now be vacated on the basis that (1) the Arbitrators’ authority had fully expired following the issuance and transmittal of the October 23, 1974 Award; (2) that the lower court was without authority (or subject matter jurisdiction) when it permitted the original Award to be corrected; (3) that the lower court based its re-submission of the original Arbitration Award on an incorrect standard of evidence; and finally (4) that the procedure used by the Appellees’ counsel by personally contacting the Chairman of the Panel of Arbitrators in order to obtain a clarification of said original Award, which contact ultimately led to the Board’s filing of the “Corrected Award”, was so improper and irregular so as to demand that said “Corrected Award” be voided.

[620]*620It is this court’s opinion that Appellant’s first three (3) contentions above stated are without merit and, absent the personal telephone communication between Appellees’ counsel and Arbitrator Simone following the issuance of the October 3, 1975 Award, the judgment of the lower court would be affirmed. However, because of technically improper conduct on the part of Appellees’ counsel in contacting Arbitrator Simone, which direct contact ultimately led to the issuance of the Corrected Award, (which Corrected Award, however, accurately reflected the Arbitration Board’s actual, original intentions), we are compelled sua sponte to take the extraordinary measure of declaring the entire Arbitration procedure in the instant case void ab initio and therefore remanding same to the American Arbitration Association for the purpose of the selection and convention of a new panel of Arbitrators who shall thereafter schedule and then conduct a full and complete hearing as in the first instance.

The Accident Claims Arbitration Rules direct:

Section 27. Communication with the Arbitrator: There shall be no direct communication between parties and the Arbitrator other than at oral hearings. Any other oral or written communication from the parties to the Arbitrator shall be directed to the AAA for transmittal to the Arbitrator. (Emphasis added) (Appellant’s deposition Exhibit 2-A, R. 208a)

At his deposition, Attorney Simone, the Chairman of the three (3) panel Board of Arbitrators recalled:

Let me say this. That if I did sign it, (the October 23rd Award) and I think that I did, I didn’t study the document when I signed it, I looked at it and I signed it.
Now after sending that off, I received the first notice that I got that there was anything wrong with this award, if it was in fact wrong, was the telephone call from Mr. Ellis who called me up; and I didn’t really want to discuss the case with him, but I did speak to him, I don’t know why he was calling me, but I did say something about your welcome; that I had given it the maximum, [621]*621that the panel had given him the award that he was probably looking for. He was a little bit less than grateful, because he said — he asked me, what was your intention, my intention was to give you 20 apiece,

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Government Employees Insurance v. Lane
401 A.2d 765 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)

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Bluebook (online)
401 A.2d 765, 264 Pa. Super. 615, 1979 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2031, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/government-employees-insurance-v-lane-pasuperct-1979.