Haynes v. Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation

103 P.3d 101, 337 Or. 659, 2004 Ore. LEXIS 868
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 23, 2004
Docket0201-00624; CA A120056; SC S51097
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 103 P.3d 101 (Haynes v. Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haynes v. Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation, 103 P.3d 101, 337 Or. 659, 2004 Ore. LEXIS 868 (Or. 2004).

Opinion

BALMER, J.

The issue in this case is whether a self-insured entity may be liable for attorney fees in the same circumstances as an insurer. We hold that the answer to that question is yes.

ORS 742.061, the text of which is set out below, generally provides that a person may recover reasonable attorney fees from an insurer if the following sequence of events occurs: (1) the person presents a proof of loss to an insurer; (2) the parties fail to settle the claim within six months; and (3) the person files an action seeking recovery under the insurance policy and obtains a recovery that exceeds any settlement offer.

The question before us respecting the statute’s scope arises under the following facts. Plaintiff Mae Haynes was injured while riding as a passenger in a bus operated by the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (TriMet). Plaintiff submitted a claim to TriMet, and TriMet denied it. Plaintiff eventually filed a complaint and obtained a judgment against TriMet. When plaintiff sought attorney fees under ORS 742.061, TriMet asserted that ORS 742.061 did not apply to it because it was self-insured. An arbitrator agreed with TriMet, as did the trial court and, on plaintiff’s appeal, the Court of Appeals. Haynes v. Tri-County Metro., 190 Or App 555, 79 P3d 353 (2003). We conclude, however, that ORS 742.061 applies to TriMet and that TriMet therefore may be liable to plaintiff for reasonable attorney fees if it failed to settle plaintiffs claim within six months after the claim was submitted, provided that the other requirements of ORS 742.061 were satisfied.

We first describe briefly the procedures that TriMet has established to respond to claims by persons injured on TriMet buses, and then we consider the facts of this case. The Financial Responsibility Law requires the owner of any motor vehicle to be able to “respond in damages” for liability from accidents arising out of the operation of that motor vehicle. ORS 806.060(1). As an alternative to purchasing insurance to cover such liability, an owner may “self-insure” by meeting certain statutory criteria and obtaining a certificate [662]*662of self-insurance from the Oregon Department of Transportation. See ORS 806.130 - 806.140 (describing requirements to obtain self-insurance and certificates of self-insurance). To qualify as a self-insurer under ORS 806.150, the owner must “agree to pay the same amounts with respect to an accident occurring while the certificate is in force that an insurer would be obligated to pay under a motor vehicle liability policy, including uninsured motorist coverage * * ORS 806.130(3) (emphasis added).

TriMet chose to self-insure and, as described in greater detail below, adopted an ordinance in which it agreed to compensate its passengers for injuries caused by uninsured motorists in accordance with the provisions of ORS 742.500 to 742.510. The TriMet ordinance also established a claims procedure for TriMet passengers injured on TriMet vehicles.

We now return to the facts of this case. Plaintiff was riding as a passenger in a TriMet bus when the bus driver took evasive action to avoid a collision with another vehicle. Plaintiff was injured as a result of the bus driver’s evasive action. Plaintiff filed a claim with TriMet to recover compensation for her injuries, but TriMet denied the claim. After more than six months had elapsed since she had asserted her claim, plaintiff filed a complaint in circuit court. In addition to the facts just noted, the complaint alleged that an unidentified vehicle had caused the accident, that plaintiff was uninsured, and that, in those circumstances, the TriMet ordinance required TriMet to provide uninsured motorist (UM) benefits to plaintiff.1 The complaint requested economic damages totaling $4,564.94 and general damages totaling $25,000. In addition, the complaint demanded attorney fees under ORS 742.061 because TriMet had failed to [663]*663resolve plaintiffs claim within six months after she had submitted it. TriMet denied that plaintiff was entitled to recover UM benefits and also asserted that it was not liable for attorney fees because it was not an insurer under ORS 742.061.

The trial court referred the dispute to arbitration, where plaintiff recovered economic damages totaling $4,564.94 and general damages totaling $3,000. The arbitrator declined to award plaintiff her attorney fees, however, concluding that TriMet was not an insurer for purposes of ORS 742.061(1). Plaintiff filed an exception in the trial court, but the trial court agreed with the arbitrator’s decision to deny attorney fees. On appeal, applying statutory definitions of “insurer,” “policy,” and “insurance,” the Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that ORS 742.061(1) did not apply to TriMet because, even if TriMet were an “insurer” under the terms of that statute, TriMet’s UM coverage did not qualify as a “policy of insurance” within the meaning of that statute. Haynes, 190 Or App at 560-61.

PlaintifPs right to recover attorney fees from TriMet turns on the application of ORS 742.061. That statute provides, in part:

“Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, if settlement is not made within six months from the date proof of loss is filed with an insurer and an action is brought in any court of this state upon any policy of insurance of any kind or nature, and the plaintiffs recovery exceeds the amount of any tender made by the defendant in such action, a reasonable amount to be fixed by the court as attorney fees shall be taxed as part of the costs of the action and any appeal thereon.”

ORS 742.061(1) (emphasis added).

This case presents two issues: whether TriMet is an “insurer” for purposes of ORS 742.061

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Haynes v. TRI-COUNTY METRO. TRANSP. DIST.
103 P.3d 101 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
103 P.3d 101, 337 Or. 659, 2004 Ore. LEXIS 868, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haynes-v-tri-county-metropolitan-transportation-or-2004.