Lias v. Erie Insurance Group

30 Pa. D. & C.3d 441, 1982 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 83
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Armstrong County
DecidedNovember 16, 1982
Docketno. 1981-1612
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Pa. D. & C.3d 441 (Lias v. Erie Insurance Group) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Armstrong County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lias v. Erie Insurance Group, 30 Pa. D. & C.3d 441, 1982 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 83 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1982).

Opinion

HOUSE, P.J.,

The case at bar requires us to determine whether or not the No-fault Act applies so as to entitle plaintiff to benefits as a result of the drowning deaths of his parents. The factual background has been stipulated by the parties and is summarized in the following:

[442]*442FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Wilson L. Robinson, date of birth June 17, 1941, and Betty Ellen Robinson, date of birth June 6, 1946, were husband and wife and residents of Brady’s Bend Township, Armstrong County, Pa. They were the parents of two children: Thomas Stuart Robinson, date of birth March 22, 1964, and Amy Lee Robinson, date of birth October 10, 1975.

2. William Robinson was employed by Daman Industries at R. D. 1, East Brady, Pa., with a weekly salary of approximately $340.

3. Ellen Robinson was not employed.

4. On August 14, 1980, at or about 10:30 pm, Wilson L. Robinson, Betty Ellen Robinson and Amy Robinson were traveling on a public highway in their vehicle, a 1970 Ford Pickup Truck.

5. While decedents were traveling in the truck as aforesaid, the vehicle encountered and came into contact with water flooding conditions upon the highway surface and due to the depth and flow of the water, as well as a disabled vehicle in their path, they were unable either to proceed further or to retreat and were trapped in the truck.

6. The water which had obstructed and prevented further operation of the vehicle rose to a point where the occupants were compelled to climb to the hood and/or roof of the vehicle.

7. The water ultimately rose to the point where decedents were swept away and drowned approximately one and one-half hours after the vehicle became immobilized.

8. Plaintiffs, Thomas D. Lias and Betty Mae Lias, are the duly appointed guardians of Thomas S. Robinson, a minor. Said appointment was made by the Court of Common Pleas of Armstrong County on September 3, 1980.

[443]*4439. Defendant, Erie Insurance Group, is a corporation licensed to transact insurance and pursuant thereto conducts such business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with offices at 144 East Sixth Street, P. O. Box 1699, Erie, Pa.

10. Plaintiffs were appointed guardians of said minor because of the death of his father, Wilson L. Robinson, and his mother, Betty Ellen Robinson, on August 4, 1980.

11. At all times material hereto the said Thomas S. Robinson, a minor, resided with and was a member of the household of his natural parents, Wilson L. Robinson and Betty Ellen Robinson.

12. At all times material hereto the said Wilson L. Robinson and Betty Ellen Robinson were insured by Erie Insurance Group which provided security for the said Thomas S. Robinson as a member of his parents’ household in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania No-fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act, 40 P.S. §1009.101, et seq.

13. The said policy of insurance providing such security was in full force and effect on August 14, 1980.

14. At the time of the death of Wilson L. Robinson and Betty Ellen Robinson, the said Thomas S. Robinson, a minor was dependent upon each of them for support.

15. Following the accident hereinbefore referred to, the said Thomas D. Lias and Betty Mae Lias, guardians of Thomas S. Robinson, a minor, gave timely and reasonable notice to the defendant and did provide the defendant with the amount of their losses and expenses and did complete an appropriate No-fault benefit form.

[444]*444DISCUSSION

This case requires the court to consider the applicability of the Pennsylvania No-fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act, Act of July 19, 1974, P.L. 489, 40 P.S. 1009.101 et seq. (hereinafter the act) to the occurrence which took the lives of plaintiffs’ decedents. Plaintiffs’ decedents were traveling on a highway of this county when their pickup truck was immobilized and, ultimately, carried away by flash flood waters and plaintiffs’ decedents were drowned.

Plaintiff, by his guardians, filed a claim for no-fault benefits with defendant and the claim was denied. Accordingly, payments have not been made to plaintiff. The parties have stipulated to certain facts which they agree shall govern resolution of the issues presented.

The overriding question to be answered is whether the act applies to this case at all. The act provides in section 103 that losses covered by this statute are those

. . . resulting from injury arising out of the maintenance or use of a motor vehicle ... as a vehicle.

It is the position of plaintiff that decedents were occupying a vehicle and were operating the same as a vehicle when it first encountered the hazard. The hazard made further operation impossible and ultimately caused decedents to drown. Plaintiff thus argues that the mere passage of time and the attempted use of the vehicle as a refuge after it could be operated no further do not take the case out of the application of the No-fault Act.

On the other hand, defendant insurer contends that at the time of injury (drowning) the truck had long since ceased to be used as a motor vehicle. Defendant argues that the use of the truck as a refuge [445]*445after it became immobilized takes the case out of the range of situations covered by the No-fault Act and relieves it of any obligation to pay benefits to survivors.

The research done by respective counsel for the parties and research done by the court has failed to turn up any appellate or trial court decisions which squarely decide the issue here presented. This is not surprising considering the relative newness of the act as well as the fact that each case must necessarily turn to some extent upon its own particular fact situation.

Thus it has been held by the Superior Court that a fatal oven explosion in a parked motor home is not encompassed by the act because the home was not then being used as a vehicle. Crusco v. I.N.A. 292 Pa. Super. 293, 437 A.2d 52 (1981)

Likewise the Superior Court held that an injury occurring while the motorist was removing a boat from the roof of his stopped or parked car was not within the ambit of the act because, again, the car was not then being used as a vehicle. Dull v. Employer’s Mutual Casualty Company_Pa. Super. _, 410 A.2d 688 (1980)

Similarly, the Northampton County court has held that a person who receives an electric shock from a parked van used as a lunch wagon which is plugged into a household electrical circuit is not entitled to no-fault benefits because the van was not then being used as a vehicle. Wagner v. Nationwide Insurance Co., 14 D.&C. 3d 525 (1980)

However, an apparently anomalous result was reached by the Lehigh County court in Ash v. Com Realty Co., 4 D.&C. 3d 418 (1978). In that case a motorist was stopped at a traffic signal when debris falling from a building injured her. The court held that the injury did not arise out of the use or mainte[446]*446nance of a motor vehicle. A close reading of Ash, however, reveals that it was not

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Bluebook (online)
30 Pa. D. & C.3d 441, 1982 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 83, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lias-v-erie-insurance-group-pactcomplarmstr-1982.