McKinney v. Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Co.

37 Pa. D. & C.3d 68, 1985 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 259
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, York County
DecidedMay 9, 1985
Docketno. 83-S-4161
StatusPublished

This text of 37 Pa. D. & C.3d 68 (McKinney v. Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McKinney v. Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Co., 37 Pa. D. & C.3d 68, 1985 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 259 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1985).

Opinion

MILLER, J.,

This matter was begun by action in assumpsit to which an answer was filed. At the pretrial conference, the parties agreed that the issues were more legal than factual and that the case should be submitted to the court for determination upon briefs. We therefore treat the matter as one to be determined on a case stated.

Plaintiff and defendant in this matter seek a legal determination of whether to calculate plaintiffs work-loss benefits as provided for in the Pennsylvania No-fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act, Act of July 19, 1974, P.L. 489, 40 P.S. §1009,101 et seq. repealed by The Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, Act of February 12, 1984, Act no. 1984-11, 75 Pa.C.S. §1701.1795, under the basis of a regularly employed person, a seasonally employed person or an unemployed person. The parties also seek a determination by the court as to whether an award of attorney’s fees is appropriate.

Plaintiff was involved in an automobile collision on December 19, 1981, at which time she sustained personal injuries. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was not employed. Plaintiffs occupation is as a [70]*70barber. Plaintiff had been employed by The Barbers at the York Mall from November 1980 to June 1981, at which time she quit working to spend the summer with her children and step-children. Although plaintiff alleges that she intended to return to work, she had not done so at the time of the accident in December.

Plaintiffs work history is sketchy, at best. From November 1980 to June 1981, plaintiff was employed by The Barbers. Plaintiff worked five days a week, seven to 10 hours per day. Plaintiffs income from January 1981 to June 1981 was $3,905 gross wages. Prior to her employment with The Barbers, plaintiff was unemployed from 1970 to November 1980. Prior to that period of unemployment, plaintiff was employed at Aaron’s Studio of Hair Design in Lancaster, Pa. from February 1974 to sometime in 1978. We have no information relating ;to the number Qf hours plaintiff worked at Aaron’s or . the amount of money plaintiff earned while working there.

In order to make our determination, it is necessary to examine section 205 of the No-fault Act which provides as follows:

“(a) Regularly employed. — The work loss of a victim whose income prior to the injury was realized in regular increments shall be calculated by:
(1) determining his probable weekly income by dividing his probable annual income by 52; and
(2) multiplying that quantity by the number of work weeks, or fraction thereof, the victim sustains loss of income during the accrual period.
“(b) Seasonably employed. — The work loss of a victim whose income is realized in irregular increments shall be calculated by:
[71]*71(1) determining his probable weekly income by dividing his probable annual income by the number of weeks he normally works; and
(2) multiplying that quantity by the number of work weeks, or fraction thereof the victim was unable to perform and would have performed work during the accrual period but for the injury.
“(c) Not employed. — The work loss of a victim who is not employed when the accident resulting in injury occurs shall be calculated by:
(1) determining his probable weekly income by dividing his proable annual income by 52; and
(2) multiplying that quantity by the number of work weeks, or fraction thereof, if any, the victim would reasonably have been expected to realize income during the accrual period.
“(d) Definitions. — As used in this section:
‘Probable annual income’ means, absent a showing that it is or would be some other amount, the following:
(A) 12 times the monthly gross income earned by the victim from work in the month preceding the .month in which the accident resulting in injury occurs, or the average annual income earned by the victim from work during the years, not to exceed three, preceding the year in which the accident resulting in injury occurs, whichever is greater, for a victim regularly employed at the- time of the accident;
(B) the average annual gross income earned by the victim from work during the years in which he was employed, not to exceed three, preceding the year in which the accident resulting in injury occurs, for a victim seasonally employed or not employed at the time of the accident; or
(C) the average annual gross income of a production or non-supervisory worker in the private [72]*72nonfarm economy in the state in which the victim is domiciled for the year in which the accident resulting in injury occurs, for a victim who has not previously earned income from work.” 40 P.S. §1009.205. ' ■

Defendant contends that plaintiffs work-loss benefits should be calculated under subsection 205(a) for regularly employed persons or subsection 205(b) for seasonably employed persons. We fail to see in what manner plaintiff could be considered a regularly employed person. Plaintiff was not employed for the six-month period immediately prior to the accident. The duration of plaintiffs, last employment was only six months. Although the term “regularly employed” is not defined within the act, we believe plaintiffs employment record precludes her from being classified in that manner. In our opinion, the term “regularly employed” refers to a person who has a regular income at the time the accident occurs.

We also fail to see how plaintiffs work history could be classified as seasonal employment. Seasonal work is work in which the duration of employment is affected by seasonal weather or a holiday period (e.g., construction work or sales work). Plaim tiffs work is in no way affected by such factors.

We find that the appropriate classification for Plaintiff is “not employed:” Subsection 205(c) specifically provides: “The work loss of a victim who is not employed when the accident resulting in injury occurs shall be calculated by . . .” (Emphasis added.) Plaintiff was not and had not been employed for six months prior to the accident.

The first step in calculating plaintiffs work loss is to determine plaintiffs “probable annual income.” “Probable annual income” for a person who was not employed at the time of the accident is defined in [73]*73subsection 205(d)(B) to mean: “absent a showing that it is or would be some other amount, . . . the averge annual gross income earned by the victim from work during the years in which he was employed, not to exceed three, preceding the year in which the accident resulting in injury occurs . . Based upon this definition, plaintiffs probable annual income would be calculated by averaging her gross annual income from the years ,1980, 1978 and 1977, which are the three years during which plaintiff was employed and which precede the year of the accident. See Dorsey v. Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co., 285 Pa. Super. 124, 426 A.2d 1173 (1981). (The court included three non-consecutive years during which plaintiff was employed in determining probable annual income.)

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Related

Dorsey v. Harleysville Mutual Insurance
426 A.2d 1173 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1981)
Mattia v. Employers Mutual Companies
440 A.2d 616 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)

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Bluebook (online)
37 Pa. D. & C.3d 68, 1985 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mckinney-v-lumbermens-mutual-casualty-co-pactcomplyork-1985.