Moore v. Jewel Companies, Inc.

249 Ill. App. 3d 173
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 15, 1993
DocketNos. 1—89—2247, 1—89—3491, 1-90-0080, 1-90-0093 cons.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 249 Ill. App. 3d 173 (Moore v. Jewel Companies, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moore v. Jewel Companies, Inc., 249 Ill. App. 3d 173 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE McCORMICK

delivered the opinion of the court:

In April 1985, Michael Moore, a minor and an employee of Jewel Companies, Inc., contracted salmonellosis from drinking Jewel’s milk. Michael’s mother, Marie Moore, sued Jewel for sums she spent on medical care for Michael, and she sued as Michael’s next friend for his pain, suffering and lost earnings. The Moores did not sue Jewel’s parent corporation, American Stores Company, and they opted out of a class action filed against Jewel and American Stores. Jewel settled the Moores’ lawsuit, but Jewel claimed a lien on the settlement in the amount Michael received from his insurance, which he obtained as an employee benefit. The Moores petitioned the court to determine Jewel’s right to a lien. Jewel appeals from the trial court’s holding that it has no lien on the settlement with the Moores, and Jewel and American Stores appeal from the holding that they have no lien on the settlement with plaintiffs in the class action who similarly received insurance benefits because they were defendants’ employees.

We affirm because we find that neither the settlement agreements nor the employee benefit plans grant defendants a subrogation lien against the settlements, and defendants are not entitled to a setoff against settlements when the settlement agreements do not expressly provide for setoffs.

Plaintiffs in the class action, like Michael Moore, claim that they contracted salmonellosis from Jewel’s milk. Defendants conceded liability in tort in the class action on a theory of strict liability, but the parties proceeded to trial on the class claimants’ action for punitive damages based on wilful and wanton misconduct. This court affirmed judgment entered on the jury’s verdict for defendants on the charge of wilful and wanton misconduct. In re Salmonella Litigation (1990), 198 Ill. App. 3d 809, 556 N.E.2d 593.

Defendants and the class plaintiffs then signed the “Salmonella Personal Injury Claims Facility Agreement,” which established a method for determining the amount defendants would compensate plaintiffs based on defendants’ conceded strict liability in tort. The parties to that agreement “stipulated *** that the claims of Class Members shall be resolved by settlement or adjudication in the manner *** hereinafter set forth.” Once a claimant qualifies as a “Documented Case,” by presenting sufficient evidence of the kinds set forth in the agreement to establish that he suffered salmonellosis due to Jewel’s milk, defendants agreed to make a settlement offer based upon the duration of the claimant’s illness and the claimant’s “economic damages which are recoverable under Illinois law.” Defendants agreed to offer claimants who were sick for one or two days $800 plus economic damages, as defendants evaluated those damages, using information received from the claimants. Defendants agreed to offer claimants who were sick three or four days $1,000 plus economic damages. Claimants who were ill more than four days need to negotiate their claims individually. Defendants agreed to offer $200 plus economic damages to those claimants who do not have the forms of evidence required to be considered “Documented Cases” under the agreement, but who submit sworn affidavits that they contracted salmonellosis due to Jewel’s milk.

Under the agreement, claimants can reject the basic settlement offers and submit counterproposals; if defendants reject a counterproposal, and the parties are not able to reach an agreement through further negotiation, the claim will be set for a hearing pursuant to section 4.05 of the claims facility agreement. The class plaintiffs and defendants agreed that circuit court judges sitting without juries will administer all such hearings. Discovery will be limited to causation and damages, and the hearing will not be subject to the rules of evidence. After the parties present evidence limited to causation and damages, the judge will render an award to compensate the claimant for “monetary damages or other losses incurred” due to Jewel’s milk. According to paragraph 4.05(vi) of the agreement, that award “shall be final, and no party shall have the right to appeal.”

As part of the agreement, the class members dismissed their claims against defendants “with prejudice, subject to the terms of this Agreement.” Although several members of the class were defendants’ employees who had received some compensation from health and disability insurance for their injuries, the claims facility agreement did not include any provision concerning those sums.

The Moores, as opt-out plaintiffs, negotiated separately with Jewel. During those negotiations, Jewel argued that it was entitled to a lien or setoff of $522 against any amount the Moores recovered from them because Michael Moore had received a total of $522 from health insurance under the American Stores Health Care Plan and wage loss insurance under the American Stores Disability Pay Plan, which he obtained as employee benefits. The Moores petitioned the court for a determination of Jewel’s right to a lien. The parties agreed to settle the case for $9,500, with the lien to be adjudicated by the trial court. Thus, the Moores would recover a total of $10,022 if the trial court decided in their favor, since they would not need to refund the amount they received from insurance. If the trial court decided that Jewel was entitled to a lien, the Moores would need to refund to Jewel the $522 they received from insurance, so their total recovery would be $9,500.

The trial court found that its decision on the lien claimed against the Moores’ settlement could affect all of the parties who were defendants’ employees and who therefore had insurance which covered part of their losses due to salmonellosis. Several such persons were parties to the class action. The trial court continued the hearing on the lien against the Moores to give all affected claimants notice of the issue to be decided and an opportunity to be heard.

The parties presented to the trial court copies of the health care plan and the disability plan applicable to all of defendants’ employees who obtained coverage as employee benefits. The health plan states:

“When a Plan Member accepts payment of benefits under this Plan, *** the Member is deemed to have assigned to the Plan his or her right to receive *** compensation from any other person or plan for that same medical *** care. Pursuant to such assignment, the Plan may request that any such payments from third parties be paid *** directly to the Plan.”

The disability plan similarly provides:

“Whenever any payment is made by this Plan for an illness or injury for which the Member has a right of recovery from any other person, organization *** or plan, American Stores will maintain rights of recovery against such third party.”

In a written order dated July 19,1989, the trial court stated:

“This is not a motion to be decided on the basis of collateral source princip[le]s, nor is it a common law subrogation case. This is a contract case. This motion does not involve a payment required by a judgment entered against Jewel. It involves a settlement agreement negotiated by Jewel and the claimants-plaintiffs.

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Related

In Re Salmonella Litigation
618 N.E.2d 487 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
249 Ill. App. 3d 173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-jewel-companies-inc-illappct-1993.