McGonigle v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles

37 A.3d 1273, 2012 WL 580756, 2012 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 73
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 23, 2012
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 37 A.3d 1273 (McGonigle v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McGonigle v. Commonwealth, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 37 A.3d 1273, 2012 WL 580756, 2012 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 73 (Pa. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION BY

Judge COVEY.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles (DOT) appeals from the August 9, 2011 order of the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County (trial court) rescinding the suspension of Maureen McGonigle’s vehicle registration. The issues before this Court are: (1) whether the trial court erred by holding that McGo-nigle proved that her insurance company did not send her a notice of cancellation, and (2) whether the trial court should have held the suspension in abeyance pending an appeal to the Insurance Commissioner. We vacate and remand.

On March 1, 2011, McGonigle received a notice from DOT that Nationwide Affinity Insurance Company of America (Nationwide) cancelled her automobile insurance policy on February 19, 2011. She immediately contacted Nationwide, which reinstated her coverage that day. By notice from DOT, mailed April 12, 2011, McGonigle was informed that her vehicle registration would be suspended effective May 17, 2011 pursuant to Section 1786(d) of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d). McGonigle timely filed an appeal to the trial court which, after a hearing on August 9, 2011, issued an order rescinding her suspension. DOT appealed to this Court.1

DOT argues that the trial court erred by holding that McGonigle proved that her insurance company did not send her a notice of cancellation. We agree.

Section 1786(d)(1) of the Vehicle Code requires DOT to “suspend the registration of a vehicle for a period of three months if it determines the required financial responsibility was not secured.... ” 75 Pa. C.S. § 1786(d)(1). In order to sustain a suspension on these grounds, DOT must prove that: “the vehicle is registered or of a type that is required to be registered under this title; and there has been either notice to the department of a lapse, termination or cancellation in the financial responsibility coverage as required by law for that vehicle.... ” 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(3)®, (ii). This Court has held that:

DOT may satisfy its burden by certifying that it received documents or electronic transmissions from the insurance company informing DOT that the insurance coverage has been terminated. Once DOT meets that burden, two presumptions arise: (1) that the cancellation was effective under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1377(b)(2)[;] and (2) that the vehicle in question lacks the requisite financial responsibility under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(3)(h).

[1275]*1275Choff v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 861 A.2d 442, 446-47 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2004) (citations and footnote omitted). DOT met its burden by admitting into evidence the certified notice from Nationwide of the termination of McGonigle’s insurance. Said certification gave rise to the presumptions that McGonigle’s cancellation was effective, and she was at least temporarily uninsured.

These presumptions can be overcome “by ... clear and convincing evidence that the vehicle was insured at all relevant times.” Section 1786(d)(3)(ii) of the Vehicle Code.2 Section 2006 of Article XX of the Insurance Company Law of 1921 (Article XX) provides: “A cancellation ... by an insurer of a policy of automobile insurance shall not be effective unless the insurer delivers or mails to the named insured at the address shown in the policy a written notice of the cancellation....”3 If a cancellation is ineffective for lack of notice under Article XX, DOT has no authority to impose a suspension. Eckenrode v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 853 A.2d 1141 (Pa.Cmwlth.2004).

In this case, McGonigle testified that Nationwide “may have sent something in the mail, but I didn’t see it.” Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 29a. The trial court stated during the hearing that “the code is full of traps for hardworking people, who are trying to do the right thing, dealing with a bureaucracy that quite often is very hard to deal with,” yet when McGo-nigle received the DOT notice, she acted on it immediately. R.R. at 33a. It was in this context that the trial court deemed McGonigle credible and held that since she did not receive notice, the cancellation was not effective, and McGonigle was insured at all relevant times.

In Banks v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 856 A.2d 294 (Pa.Cmwlth.2004), this Court stated that trial courts do not have the discretion to consider hardship or other equitable factors when deciding whether a suspension is mandated under Section 1786(d) of the Vehicle Code. Moreover, this Court has defined clear and convincing evidence as “[evidence] that is so clear, direct, weighty, and convincing as to enable the trier of fact to come to a clear conviction, without hesitancy, of the truth of the precise facts in issue.” Fell v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 925 A.2d 232, 239 (Pa.Cmwlth.2007) (quoting Fagan v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 875 A.2d 1195, 1199 (Pa.Cmwlth.2005) (quotation marks omitted)). “[Ujncorroborated testimony is insufficient to meet the strict evidentiary standard required to overcome the statutory presumption.” Id. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court erred by holding that McGo-nigle’s testimony alone proved that she did not receive a notice of cancellation from Nationwide.

DOT also argues that the trial court should have held the suspension in abeyance pending an appeal to the Insurance Commissioner in accordance with Section 1786(d)(5) of the Vehicle Code, as done by this Court in Webb v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 870 A.2d 968, 974 (Pa.Cmwlth.2005). We agree.

Section 1786(d)(5) of the Vehicle Code provides as follows:

[1276]*1276An alleged lapse, cancellation or termination of a policy of insurance by an insurer may only be challenged by requesting review by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to [Article XX]. Proof that a timely request has been made to the Insurance Commissioner for such a review shall act as a supersedeas, staying the suspension of registration or operating privilege under this section pending a determination [or] final order pursuant to ... [Article XX].

75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(5). The law is clear that “examination, beyond the record on its face, into the validity of an insurer’s policy cancellation ... is properly brought for review to the Insurance Commissioner under Section 1786(d)(5), and not to a trial court.” Webb, 870 A.2d at 974.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
37 A.3d 1273, 2012 WL 580756, 2012 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcgonigle-v-commonwealth-department-of-transportation-bureau-of-motor-pacommwct-2012.