Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Pennsylvania Property & Casualty Insurance Guaranty

52 Pa. D. & C.4th 441, 2001 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 434
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County
DecidedMay 7, 2001
Docketno. 4424
StatusPublished

This text of 52 Pa. D. & C.4th 441 (Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Pennsylvania Property & Casualty Insurance Guaranty) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Pennsylvania Property & Casualty Insurance Guaranty, 52 Pa. D. & C.4th 441, 2001 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 434 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2001).

Opinion

ALEJANDRO, J.,

INTRODUCTION

This matter commenced as a declaratory judgment action on a matter of first impression seeking to determine whether the Pennsylvania Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association is entitled to offset workers’ compensation benefits received in 1992 from a medical malpractice action which was settled in 1998. Both Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Catherine O’Brien, plaintiffs, and PPCIGA filed separate motions [443]*443for summary judgment. These pleadings were assigned to the undersigned motion judge. By orders dated December 19, 2000, plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment was granted; defendant’s motion for summary judgment was denied. Dissatisfied, defendant filed this appeal.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In December 2000, this motion judge carefully reviewed the pleadings and exhibits filed in this matter, as well as the memorandum of law submitted in support of the respective pleadings. Briefly, the factual and procedural record, defined by these pleadings, is as follows:

On June 6, 1990, plaintiff Catherine O’Brien, while in the course and scope of her employment with Ports of the World, fell and suffered injuries to her right anide and foot. Plaintiff Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, the workers’ compensation insurance carrier for the employer, paid her benefits in the amount of $58,985.

For her injuries, plaintiff O’Brien sought treatment from Gary Muller M.D., at Academy Industrial and Occupational Heath Services Inc. Believing these providers breached their duty of care and responsibility, plaintiff O’Brien sued Dr. Muller and Academy Industrial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, in a matter entitled Catherine O’Brien v. Muller, March term 1993, no. 0491. At the time of the alleged malpractice, Dr. Muller was insured by the Physician Insurance Company. Under the terms of Dr. Muller’s policy, PIC provided primary coverage of $200,000 for any loss. Thereafter, an excess coverage of $1 million insurance was provided by the Pennsylvania Medical Catastrophic Loss Fund (commonly known as the CAT Fund). By order of the Commonwealth Court dated January 21, 1998, PIC was [444]*444ordered into liquidation due to its insolvency, and its covered claims, as defined by statute, were assumed by Pennsylvania Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association, the defendant in this instant matter. See 40 P.S. §991.1803.

On November 6, 1998, plaintiff O’Brien agreed to settle her medical malpractice civil action for a gross amount of $107,500. As part of the settlement agreement, plaintiff O’Brien and defendant PPCIGA reserved the right to litigate the issue of whether defendant PPCIGA was required to pay the full amount of the settlement or was entitled to offset the amount plaintiff O’Brien received in workers’ compensation benefits ($58,985). Consequently, defendant PPCIGA forwarded, and plaintiff O’Brien accepted, a partial settlement payment of $48,515. Thereafter, the declaratory action was filed and this motion judge was presented with the parties’ respective motion for summary judgment.

ISSUE

In response to an order issued on January 22, 2001, in accordance with Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure 1925(b), defendant PPCIGA on February 7,2001, filed of record a concise statement of matters complained of on appeal, and essentially contends that:

“The order granting summary judgment against defendant PPCIGA is contrary to the clear statutory language of the Pennsylvania Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association Act, 40 P.S. §991.1801 etseq.”

LAW AND DISCUSSION

The standard for ruling on motions for summary judgment is set forth in Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Proce[445]*445dure 1035.1 through 1035.5. In their pertinent part, these rules provide that summary judgment shall be rendered:

“[Ajfter the relevant pleadings are closed... any party may move for summary judgment... whenever there is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of the cause of action ....”

A grant of summary judgment is proper where the record [pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions of record, and affidavits] supports the lower court’s conclusion that no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Doe v. Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives AIDS Task Force, 745 A.2d 25, 27 (Pa. Super. 2000); Krause v. Great Lakes Holdings Inc., 387 Pa. Super. 56, 563 A.2d 1182 (1989), alloc. denied, 524 Pa. 629, 574 A.2d 70 (1990). A trial court must accept as true all well-pleaded facts relevant to the issues in the non-moving party’s pleadings, and give the non-moving party the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the facts. Id.; Rybas v. Wapner, 311 Pa. Super. 50, 457 A.2d 108 (1983). The court must ignore controverted facts contained in the pleadings and restrict its review to material filed in support of and in opposition to a motion for summary judgment and to those allegations in the pleadings that are uncontroverted. Overly v. Kass, 382 Pa. Super. 108, 554 A.2d 970 (1989). Summary judgment should not be entered unless the case is clear and free from doubt. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Nixon, 453 Pa. Super. 70, 75, 682 A.2d 1310, 1313 (1996), alloc. denied, 548 Pa. 613, 693 A.2d 589 (1997). (citations omitted)

An appellate court will overturn a trial judge’s order granting a motion for summary judgment only if there [446]*446has been a clear abuse of discretion or an error of law. Accu-Weather Inc. v. Prospect Communications Inc., 435 Pa. Super. 93, 644 A.2d 1251 (1994). An abuse of discretion exists when, in reaching a conclusion, the trial court misapplies or overrides a law, or when the judgment exercised is manifestly unreasonable or lacking in reason. In re Deed of Trust of Rose Hill Cemetery Association, 527 Pa. 211, 590 A.2d 1 (1991).

Here, there are no disputes as to the material facts. What was in dispute is whether defendant PPCIGA is entitled to offset the workers’ compensation benefits plaintiff O’Brien received prior to filing her medical malpractice action in 1993.

This motion judge in December 2000, ruled on the parties’ motion for summary judgment, approximately four months prior to the issuance of Panea v. Isdaner, 2001WL 347831 (Pa. Super.). At said time, this motion judge was persuaded by plaintiffs’ argument and granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. However, in light of the Panea decision, this motion judge acknowledges that the ruling is inconsistent with the appellate court’s decision. In Panea,

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Related

Rybas v. Wapner
457 A.2d 108 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)
Accu-Weather, Inc. v. Prospect Communications, Inc.
644 A.2d 1251 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Nixon
682 A.2d 1310 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1996)
Krause v. Great Lakes Holdings, Inc.
563 A.2d 1182 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
McCarthy v. Bainbridge
739 A.2d 200 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1999)
Doe v. Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives Aids Task Force
745 A.2d 25 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
Overly v. Kass
554 A.2d 970 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
In Re Deed of Trust of Rose Hill Cemetery Ass'n
590 A.2d 1 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)

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Bluebook (online)
52 Pa. D. & C.4th 441, 2001 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 434, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/liberty-mutual-insurance-v-pennsylvania-property-casualty-insurance-pactcomplphilad-2001.