Meaney v. OneBeacon Insurance Group, LLC

25 Mass. L. Rptr. 308
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedFebruary 27, 2009
DocketNo. 071294BLS2
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 25 Mass. L. Rptr. 308 (Meaney v. OneBeacon Insurance Group, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Meaney v. OneBeacon Insurance Group, LLC, 25 Mass. L. Rptr. 308 (Mass. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

Neel, Stephen E., J.

In this putative class action seeking post-arbitration award interest from defendant insurance companies in the context of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, the Court directed the parties to address, by motions for partial summary judgment, two issues:

1. Are the plaintiffs legally entitled to post-arbitration award interest in the absence of contractual [309]*309language that specifically addresses the question of post-arbitration award interest?
2. If so, what is the legal basis for such an entitlement: common law, general equitable principles, and/or one or more statutes, including but not limited to Chapter 93A?

After hearing, and for the reasons set out below, the Court concludes that, while no contractual language or statute specifically addresses post-arbitration award interest, the plaintiffs are nevertheless entitled to such interest under common law.

The Court also addresses herein, and denies, the motions of three defendants, Hanover Insurance Company (Hanover), Arbella Mutual Insurance Company (Arbella), and Commerce Insurance Company (Commerce), for summary judgment based on their respective proposed or actual tenders of post-arbitration award interest.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs, each an insured under an automobile insurance policy issued by one of the defendants, filed claims for uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and proceeded to arbitration with defendants on those claims as required under the policies. Plaintiffs received arbitration awards in their favor, pursuant to which defendants issued checks to plaintiffs in the amount of the awards. The payments did not include any amount for post-award interest from the dates of the awards to the dates of payment of those awards.

Plaintiffs filed the original complaint in this action on March 26, 2007. On April 3, 2007, plaintiffs’ counsel sent defendants demand letters pursuant to G.L.c. 93A, on behalf of plaintiffs and others similarly situated, demanding payment of post-arbitration award interest, costs, and attorneys fees. In response, all defendants denied liability, several either tendered or offered to tender post-award interest in settlement of plaintiffs’ individual claims,3 and most declined to pay such interest to the putative class.4

On May 8, 2007, plaintiffs served on defendants an amended complaint that added claims for violations of G.L.c. 93A and breach of common-law duty. The complaint as amended asserts claims for confirmation and entry of judgment pursuant to G.L.c. 251, §§11, 14 (Count I); breach of contract (Count II); breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (Count III); violations of G.L.c. 93A, §§2, 9 (Count IV); and breach of common law duty (Count V).

DISCUSSION

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment may be granted where there are no genuine issues as to any material fact and where the moving party is entitled to summary judg-mentas a matter of law. Mass.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Cassesso v. Comm’r of Corr., 390 Mass. 419, 422 (1983); Cmty. Nat’l Bank v. Dawes, 369 Mass. 550, 553 (1976). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating affirmatively the absence of a triable issue, and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Pederson v. Time, Inc., 404 Mass. 14, 16-17 (1989). The moving party may satisfy this burden either by submitting affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of the opposing parly’s case, or by demonstrating that the opposing party has no reasonable expectation of proving an essential element of the case at trial. Flesner v. Technical Commc’ns Corp., 410 Mass. 805, 809 (1991); Kourouvacilis v. Gen. Motors Corp., 410 Mass. 706, 716 (1991).

II. Count I (Confirmation and Entry of Judgment Pursuant to G.L.c. 251)

Plaintiffs address the questions posed at the beginning of this memorandum, in the first instance, in their argument regarding Count I of the Amended Complaint; defendants likewise devote much of their argument to Count I. That count asserts that, although the underlying arbitration awards have been paid, plaintiffs are entitled to confirmation of the awards, and entry of judgment with regard to post-award interest on those awards, under the Uniform Arbitration Act for Commercial Disputes, G.L.c. 251, §§11, 14.5 The basis for both confirmation and post-award interest, plaintiffs contend, is found in Murphy v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 438 Mass. 529 (2003).6

In Muiphy, plaintiff and his wife filed an underin-sured motorist claim with their insurance company, National Union, following a motor vehicle accident. The parties arbitrated the amount of damages owed and, on July 9, 2001, the panel awarded the Murphys $1,610,000. The award did not mention interest, and the Murphys informed National Union that they expected post-award interest to be included in the eventual payment on the award. On July 12, 2001, the Murphys filed suit seeking confirmation of the arbitration award pursuant to G.L.c. 251, §§11, 14, plus interest and costs. On August 6, 2001, National Union delivered a check to the Murphys for the amount of the award, but the check did not include interest. Murphy, 438 Mass. at 530.

The Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the Murphys were not entitled to a judgment confirming their arbitration award:

(O)nce full payment of the arbitration award was made . . . , confirmation of the award became moot because the obligation owed to the Murphys had been satisfied. The dispute over damages pursuant to the underinsured motorist provisions of the insurance policy had been resolved, and it is well established that courts only decide actual controversies.

Id. at 533.7

The court also concluded, however, that “[a]lthough the Murphys were not entitled to a judgment confirming their arbitration award [because the award had already been paid], they were entitled to a judgment [310]*310to recover interest on that award.” Id. Indeed, the court characterized that entitlement as “the rule in Massachusetts,” adopted “[t]o encourage ‘swift obedience’ to the award without the necessity of court proceedings . . .” Id. at 534.

On the basis of Murphy, the Court concludes that plaintiffs may not bring a claim seeking confirmation of the arbitration awards when the underlying award has already been paid; to rule otherwise would, in effect, allow plaintiffs to utilize G.L.c. 251 to amend their awards to include post-award interest, which Murphy prohibits. Each plaintiff has already been paid what the award itself entitled him or her to receive, and therefore there is nothing to confirm.

What Murphy does allow, on the other hand, is a “judgment,” separate from the confirmation procedure under c. 251, “to recover interest on that award.” Murphy, 438 Mass. at 533. Such a judgment derives not from the confirmation of an award which has already been paid — as defendants correctly point out — but instead from the common-law “rule in Massachusetts” enunciated in Murphy.

Defendants contend that, even if the rule stated in Murphy

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Related

Meaney v. OneBeacon Insurance
27 Mass. L. Rptr. 10 (Massachusetts Superior Court, 2010)

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25 Mass. L. Rptr. 308, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meaney-v-onebeacon-insurance-group-llc-masssuperct-2009.