Meas v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co.

123 P.3d 519
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedNovember 22, 2005
Docket32818-6-II
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 123 P.3d 519 (Meas v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Meas v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 123 P.3d 519 (Wash. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

123 P.3d 519 (2005)
130 Wash.App. 527

Sarith MEAS, Appellant,
v.
STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY, a foreign corporation, Respondent.

No. 32818-6-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

November 22, 2005.

*520 Terry James Barnett, Rumbaugh Rideout Barnett & Adkins, Tacoma, WA, for Appellant.

Aneelah Afzali, Peter Anthony Danelo, Kenneth E. Payson, Heller Ehrman LLP, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

BRIDGEWATER, J.

¶ 1 Sarith Meas appeals the trial court's entry of summary judgment against him. Meas was injured in a motor vehicle accident by a third party and received collision damages under his insurance policy with State Farm Fire and Casualty Company. Meas then sought to recover both property and personal injury damages from the tortfeasor; but State Farm, acting under a provision of Meas's insurance policy involving collision loss, recovered its property damage payment directly from the tortfeasor's insurance company before Meas had settled his personal injury claim.

¶ 2 We hold that State Farm had a classic subrogation right to recover damages from the tortfeasor's insurer for property damages it paid to Meas; that the contract provision allowing this recovery has been expressly approved by our Supreme Court; that the subrogation right can be exercised before the issue of personal injury is resolved and is not dependent upon the policyholder being made whole for his personal injury loss; and that Meas was not entitled to a pro rata share of attorney fees attributable to the property damage. We affirm.

I. Facts

¶ 3 On February 19, 2002, Meas's vehicle was damaged in a collision caused by another driver, Quoc To. Meas was insured by State Farm Fire and Casualty Company. The vehicle To was driving was insured by Allied Insurance Company.

¶ 4 Meas's collision coverage provided no-fault coverage for collision-caused damage to his car. His coverage was subject to the following condition ("condition d"):

3. Our Right to Recover Our Payments[[1]]
. . . .
d. Under all other coverages, the right of recovery of any party we pay passes to us. Such party shall:
*521 (1) not hurt our rights to recover; and
(2) help us get our money back.
Our right to recover our payments applies only after the insured has been fully compensated for the bodily injury, property damage or loss.

Clerk's Papers (CP) at 156-57.

¶ 5 On March 13, 2002, Meas informed State Farm by letter that he intended to pursue from Allied "any State Farm subrogation claims, including for medical costs, property damage or other non-medical expenses paid under the Meas [sic] first party coverage."[2] CP at 118. On May 1, 2002, State Farm paid Meas's repair costs less a $250 deductible, totaling $2,247.73.

¶ 6 State Farm then requested reimbursement directly from Allied for the collision benefits paid on Meas's behalf. On May 8, 2002, Allied reimbursed State Farm for the full amount of the collision payment, as well as Meas's $250 deductible, totaling $2,747.73.[3] State Farm returned the deductible to Meas.

¶ 7 The following year, on February 26, 2003, Meas sent a settlement proposal to Allied, seeking $6,000 in general damages, $2,399 in medical bills, and $2,409.03 in property loss. Allied responded that it would settle Meas's personal injury claims but that it had already reimbursed State Farm for his property damage.

¶ 8 In April 2003, Meas wrote State Farm, demanding that it either return the collision damage payment to Allied or tender the payment to him until his claims against Allied were settled. He argued that State Farm "[did] not have the ability to directly collect Mr. Meas's property loss damages from the tortfeasor, or the tortfeasor's insurance carrier" under Mahler v. Szucs, 135 Wash.2d 398, 957 P.2d 632, 966 P.2d 305 (1998). CP at 169-70. State Farm responded that Mahler was inapposite to Meas's case; but if Allied's policy limits and Meas's uninsured motorist coverage (UIM) were insufficient to leave Meas whole, it would give further consideration to his request. Meas did not respond. In December 2003, Meas settled his personal injury claims against Allied for $3,899, within the policy limits.

¶ 9 Meas filed suit against State Farm on October 10, 2003, alleging that it acted in bad faith and violated the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) in seeking reimbursement for the collision payment directly from Allied after he had notified it that he was pursuing this claim and in refusing to tender the payment to him upon request. He further alleged that State Farm was required to pay a pro rata share of his attorney fees incurred in recovering from Allied. Meas then moved for partial summary judgment, contending that State Farm was liable for conversion, bad faith, and violation of the CPA. State Farm filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on each of Meas's claims.[4] The trial court granted summary judgment in State Farm's favor.

ANALYSIS

¶ 10 Meas contends that, as a matter of law, "condition d" of his insurance policy violates public policy on its face and as it was applied to him and, consequently, State Farm was not entitled to seek reimbursement of its collision payment directly from Allied. He further asserts that in recovering directly from Allied, State Farm acted in bad faith, violated the CPA, and committed the tort of conversion. These claims are without merit.

¶ 11 When reviewing an order of summary judgment, we engage in the same inquiry as the trial court. M.W. v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 149 Wash.2d 589, 595, 70 P.3d 954 (2003). Summary judgment is proper if the pleadings, affidavits, depositions, and admissions on file demonstrate that there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment *522 as a matter of law. CR 56(c). We consider all facts submitted and all reasonable inferences from them in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Wood v. Battle Ground Sch. Dist., 107 Wash.App. 550, 557, 27 P.3d 1208 (2001). The parties here agree that there are no genuine issues of material fact.

I. State Farm's Subrogation Right

¶ 12 Meas argues that "condition d" improperly provided a direct subrogation right to State Farm where he (1) had notified State Farm that he was pursuing a property damage claim against Allied and (2) had not been "made whole" for all of his loss, i.e., his personal injury damages. Br. of Appellant at 17. He first contends that under Mahler, 135 Wash.2d 398, 957 P.2d 632, an insurer has no right of direct subrogation where its insured has chosen to pursue third-party recovery for him or herself. Meas's argument ignores the clear and unambiguous terms of his insurance contract and misconstrues Mahler.

¶ 13 Subrogation is an equitable doctrine, the purpose of which is to provide for a proper allocation of payment responsibility. Mahler, 135 Wash.2d at 411, 957 P.2d 632.

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Bluebook (online)
123 P.3d 519, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meas-v-state-farm-fire-and-cas-co-washctapp-2005.