Moritz v. Horace Mann Property & Casualty Insurance

42 Pa. D. & C.5th 72
Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lackawanna County·Decided November 10, 2014·No. No. 13 CV 544·Published

Opinion

NEALON, J,

ORDER

Plaintiffs, Cynthia Moritz (“Moritz”), and her husband, George Moritz, have filed this action seeking to recover underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits from their insurer, Horace Mann Property & Casualty Insurance Company (“Horace Mann”), as a result of an automobile accident on August 26, 2010, in which Moritz was injured. The accident occurred when a vehicle operated by Cynthia Parlanti crossed into Moritz’s lane of travel an collided with her automobile. (Joint pre-trial order, filed as docket entry no. 39, at p. 2). The parties agree that Ms. Parlanti was solely responsible for the accident, and the only issue to be decided by the jury is the amount of damages recoverable by Moritz and her husband. (Id. at pp. 2-3).

[74]*74Moritz’s insurance policy with Horace Mann affords UIM coverage, and obligates Horace Mann to “pay damages which [Moritz] is legally entitled to recover from the owner or operator of...an underinsured motor vehicle... because of bodily injury: (1) sustained by [Moritz]; and (2) caused by an accident.” (Docket entry no. 46, Exhibit A at p. 29). An “underinsured motor vehicle” is defined by the policy as any vehicle “to which a bodily injury liability bond or policy applies at the time of the accident but its limits for bodily injuiy liability is (sic) not enough to pay the full amount the insured is legally entitled to recover as damages.” (Id. at p. 30). Under the UIM coverage provisions, Horace Mann agrees to “pay damages under this coverage arising out of an accident with an underinsured motor vehicle only after the limits of liability under any applicable bodily injury liability bonds or policies have been exhausted by payment of judgments or settlements.” (Id.). The parties have stipulated that Cynthia Parlanti’s liability insurer, Nationwide Insurance Company, has tendered its policy limits of $15,000.00 to Moritz in settlement of her liability claim. (Docket entry no. 39 at pp. 2-3). Horace Mann’s policy states that any damages which Moritz “is legally entitled to recover” pursuant to her UIM coverage “shall be reduced by all sums paid because of the bodily injury by or on behalf of persons or organizations who may be legally responsible.” (Docket entiy no. 46 at p. 31). Thus, any verdict that Moritz secures in this UIM matter will be reduced by the $15,000.00 payment that Moritz received from the tortfeasor’s insurer.

In anticipation of the jury trial scheduled to commence on November 12, 2014, the parties filed motions in [75]*75limine on November 7, 2014, with respect to Horace Mann’s payment of first party medical expense benefits for treatment that Moritz received following the accident. (Docket entry nos. 47,49-51). Additionally, on November 5, 2014, Horace Mann filed objections to Moritz’s proposed voir dire inquiries which reference underinsured motorist coverage and the circumstances giving rise to Moritz’s UIM claim against Horace Mann. (Docket entry no. 43 at ¶¶17-21). The parties have requested rulings on these two issues prior to trial.

Reference to Underinsured Motorist Coverage

In her pre-trial submissions, Moritz has indicated her intention to advise the jury that Horace Mann issued a policy to Moritz which affords UIM coverage, that Moritz collected the negligent motorist’s liability insurance policy limits, and that Moritz is seeking to recover damages pursuant to the above-quoted provisions of Moritz’s UIM coverage. Horace Mann posits that the jury should merely be informed that this case involves an automobile accident between Moritz and Cynthia Parlanti, that liability for the accident is not in dispute, that the parties contest the nature and extent of the injuries caused by the accident, and that the only issues to be decided by the jury are the damages recoverable by Moritz and her husband. (Docket entry no. 50, Exhibit B at p. 1). The gist of Horace Mann’s argument is that any reference to or explanation of UIM insurance is irrelevant and unduly prejudicial. (Id; Docket entry no. 43 atfll7-21).

Prior to 2005, jury trials were not conducted in claims for uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits since those disputes were subject to binding [76]*76arbitration due to Pennsylvania Insurance Department regulations mandating insurance policy language requiring arbitration of UM/UIM claims. See Ronca & Sloane, Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Insurance: An Analysis of the Financial Responsibility Law at pp. 6-14 to 6-20 (3d ed. 2013). In Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, Inc. v. Koken, 585 Pa. 630, 889 A.2d 550 (2005), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania overruled Prudential Property and Casualty Insurance Company v. Muir, 99 Pa. Cmwlth. 620, 513 A.2d 1129 (1986), and held that the Insurance Department does not have the express or implied authority to require binding arbitration of UM/UIM claims. Koken 585 Pa. at 637-638, 889 A.2d at 555. “In the wake of Koken, insurance policies now make arbitration of UM/ UIM disputes optional or conditioned upon the insurer’s consent, as a result of which UM/UIM claims are being litigated in court proceedings.” Bingham v. Poswistilo, 24 Pa. D. & C.5th 17, 24 (Lacka. Co. 2011).

Section III, p. 11 of Moritz’s insurance policy with Horace Mann provides for arbitration “in accordance with the provisions of the Pennsylvania Uniform Arbitration Act” if Moritz and Horace Mann cannot agree “as to the amount of damages” recoverable under the UIM coverage. (Docket entry no. 46, Exhibit A at p. 31). However, Horace Mann’s “Uninsured/Underinsured Motor Vehicle amendatoiy endorsement CC-N04PA1 (10/06)” accompanying Moritz’s policy expressly states that “[t]he Arbitration section has been deleted” from Moritz’s UIM coverage. (Id. at p. 17). As a consequence, Moritz’s UIM claim is not subject to arbitration, and pursuant to that amendatory endorsement, Moritz filed the instant civil action to collect UIM benefits.

[77]*77Although Pennsylvania Rule of Evidence 411 generally provides that “[e]vidence that a person was or was not insured against liability is not admissible to prove whether the person acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully,” it further states that “the court may admit this evidence for another purpose....” Pa.R.E. 411. Since reference to insurance in the context of a UM/UIM benefits trial does not inject evidence of liability or indemnity insurance in contravention of Rule 411, we reasoned in Bingham that “Pennsylvania trial courts may join and try tort and UIM claims in a single action without running afoul of Pa.R.E. 411,” and that “the trial court may consider evidence of insurance as being’ offered for another purpose’ under Rule 411 and allow the UIM insurer to be identified, and the tort and UIM issues to be decided jointly, based upon carefully crafted instructions to the jury.” Bingham, 24 Pa. D. & C.5th at 44. Two years later, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania definitively addressed the application of Pa. R.E. 411 in a jury trial where liability and UIM claims are joined for a single trial, and held that “a course of action identifying [the UIM insurer] as a party would not necessarily run afoul of...Rule 411” in such a trial. Stepanovich v. McGraw,

Moritz v. Horace Mann Property & Casualty Insurance, 42 Pa. D. & C.5th 72 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2014).

42 Pa. D. & C.5th 72 (Moritz v. Horace Mann Property & Casualty Insurance) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Morton v. Horace Mann Insurance
639 S.E.2d 352 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2006)
Estate of Hicks v. Dana Companies, LLC
984 A.2d 943 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2009)
Pantelis v. Erie Insurance Exchange
890 A.2d 1063 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)
Medstar Health v. Maryland Health Care Commission
827 A.2d 83 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 2003)
McGAVITT v. Guttman Realty Co.
920 A.2d 833 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2007)
Lamz v. Geico General Ins. Co.
803 So. 2d 593 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2001)
Prudential Property & Casualty Insurance v. Muir
513 A.2d 1129 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
Thomer v. Allstate Insurance
790 F. Supp. 2d 360 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2011)
Lockhart v. List
665 A.2d 1176 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Bardis v. First Trenton Insurance
971 A.2d 1062 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2009)
INSURANCE FEDERATION OF PA v. Dept. of Ins.
889 A.2d 550 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
Boone v. AMERICAN MANUFACTURE'S MUT. INS. CO.
819 A.2d 1099 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 2003)
Hartford Insurance v. O'Mara
907 A.2d 589 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)
Gibson v. GEICO General Ins. Co.
153 P.3d 312 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2007)
Lykes v. Yates
77 A.3d 27 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)
Stepanovich v. McGraw
78 A.3d 1147 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)
Klein v. Aronchick
85 A.3d 487 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Drew v. Work
95 A.3d 324 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Bingham v. Poswistilo
24 Pa. D. & C.5th 17 (Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, 2011)