Lenhart v. Travelers Insurance

596 A.2d 162, 408 Pa. Super. 1, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2229
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 5, 1991
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 596 A.2d 162 (Lenhart v. Travelers Insurance) 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
Lenhart v. Travelers Insurance, 596 A.2d 162, 408 Pa. Super. 1, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2229 (Pa. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

HESTER, Judge:

Judy Lenhart appeals from the April 16, 1990 order entered by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County granting judgment to appellee, Travelers Insurance Company, which is a party in its capacity as assignee of the Pennsylvania Assigned Claims Plan (the “Plan”). The trial court determined that appellee was not liable under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (“MVFRL”), 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1701, et seq. for injuries appellant sustained while a passenger on a bus owned and operated by Trailways Lines, Inc. (“Trailways”). This determination rests on its conclusion that since Trailways was self-insured at the time of the accident, appellant was disqualified from receiving Plan benefits. We disagree with the trial court's conclusion that Trailways was a self-insured and reinstate the arbitration award in favor of appellant.

[4]*4The record reveals the following. On June 5, 1987, appellant was injured in Pennsylvania when the Trailways bus in which she was traveling abruptly stopped to avoid colliding with a car that had entered the lane in which the bus was traveling. The identity of the driver of the car was never discovered. Neither appellant nor anyone in her household owns an automobile. Appellant filed a claim against Trailways seeking recovery for medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. While appellant’s claim was being processed, Trailways was forced into chapter seven bankruptcy. Appellant rejected a compromise of her claim that was offered by Trailways’s trustee in bankruptcy. Instead, she filed a claim with the Plan. She instituted this action against appellee once her claim was denied on grounds that she was ineligible for benefits because she had been injured while an occupant of a vehicle owned by a self-insured. See 75 Pa.C.S. § 1752(a)(5) (parties eligible to recover from the Plan do not include occupants of self-insured vehicles).

After preliminary proceedings regarding Trailways’s joinder as an additional defendant, the case was ordered to arbitration. On August 14, 1989, the arbitrators awarded appellant the sum of $15,000.00. Appellee then filed an appeal to the court of common pleas. It contended that appellant was not eligible to recover against the Plan because she was injured while an occupant of a vehicle owned by a self-insured. The parties agreed to submit the issue to the trial court on briefs and the record, which included certified copies of documents concerning Trailways’s status as a self-insured, various exhibits, and a transcript of the proceedings before the arbitrators. This appeal followed the trial court’s determination that appellant could not recover benefits since she was injured while an occupant of a vehicle owned by a self-insured.

We first address appellee’s allegation that appellant has waived her right to appeal. Appellee suggests that the trial court decided this action on a “case stated” basis, and therefore, the parties are bound by the trial court’s judg[5]*5ment unless they expressly reserved the right to appeal. See Clearfield Bank & Trust Co. v. American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Co., 344 Pa.Super. 588, 497 A.2d 247 (1985). We do not believe that the record supports appellee’s position that this action was submitted on a case stated basis. It is clear that the proceedings were in the nature of cross-motions for summary judgment, and the trial court determined what was clearly a question of law by examining the record and by considering briefs submitted by the parties. The parties did not submit the action on an agreed statement of facts and then request the court to render judgment. Instead, they agreed that the record was adequate to determine the question of law presented, and they submitted briefs on the issue. Accordingly, this was not submitted on a case stated basis, and appellee’s argument is meritless. See Wertz v. Anderson, 352 Pa.Super. 572, 508 A.2d 1218 (1986) (if it is not clear that matter was submitted on a “case stated” basis, court should not construe it as having been).

We also reject appellee’s suggestion that appellant’s failure to file post-trial motions to the order finding in favor of appellee results in waiver of the issues under Pa.R.C.P. 227.1(b). As indicated above, the trial court’s decision was made by considering the record, consisting of the arbitration transcript and various exhibits, and briefs filed by the parties. No evidence or findings of fact were introduced or presented. The note to Pa.R.C.P. 227.1(c) provides in pertinent part, “A motion for post-trial relief may not be filed to orders disposing of preliminary objections, motions for judgment on the pleadings or for summary judgment, motions relating to discovery or other proceedings which do not constitute a trial." (Emphasis added). Since the decision by the trial court was based solely on its consideration of the record, without the introduction of any evidence, it clearly is an order either disposing of what in effect were cross-motions for summary judgment or at the very least, an order entered in a proceeding that did not constitute a trial. Consequently, post-trial motions actually were pro[6]*6hibited under Pa.R.C.P. 227.1. We now address the merits of the issues presented in this appeal.

Initially, we observe that the intent of the legislature in enacting the Plan was to provide coverage to satisfy an eligible injured person’s loss when there is no other source of recovery. The statutory provisions relating to the Plan are contained in 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1751-1757. Section 1754 provides that an eligible claimant may recover against the Plan if he has no other source of applicable uninsured motorist coverage and otherwise is entitled to recover in a tort action against a party who has failed to comply with MVFRL requirements (including payment of the minimum to satisfy judgments).

Section 1752 defines an eligible claimant in relevant part as someone who is a resident of Pennsylvania, injured in a motor vehicle accident in Pennsylvania, and not an owner of a motor vehicle required to be registered. Appellant satisfies those requirements. Section 1752 also contains several disqualifications from receiving benefits. The relevant disqualification is that a claimant is ineligible if injured while an occupant of a vehicle owned by a self-insurer. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1752(a)(5).

We find persuasive appellant’s argument that Trailways never was a valid self-insured under the MVFRL because it never complied with the conditions for such status expressly delineated in its conditional certificate of self-insured status that had been issued by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”). Accordingly, we conclude that appellant is entitled to recover against the Plan since she otherwise was an eligible claimant and since she was not an occupant of a vehicle owned by a self-insured at the time of the accident.

The following facts are not in dispute. Trailways was issued an order from the PUC concerning its right to operate as a self-insured in Pennsylvania. The PUC gave approval to Trailways to operate as a self-insured “subject [7]*7to [five] conditions.” Reproduced record at 19a. Those conditions were:

(i) That Trailways secures certificates of self-insurance from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation pursuant to 67 Pa.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

City of Philadelphia v. F. Galdo
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Vautar, R. v. First National v. Sakmar, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015
Agostinelli, L. v. Edwards, J.
98 A.3d 695 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Vonada v. Long
852 A.2d 331 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2004)
Baughman v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
656 A.2d 931 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
596 A.2d 162, 408 Pa. Super. 1, 1991 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2229, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lenhart-v-travelers-insurance-pasuperct-1991.