Schilling v. Allstate Insurance

980 P.2d 1014, 132 Idaho 927, 1999 Ida. LEXIS 52
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMay 19, 1999
Docket24398
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 980 P.2d 1014 (Schilling v. Allstate Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schilling v. Allstate Insurance, 980 P.2d 1014, 132 Idaho 927, 1999 Ida. LEXIS 52 (Idaho 1999).

Opinions

SILAK, Justice.

This is an appeal from a district court order adding prejudgment interest to an arbitration award rendered pursuant to a claim under an underinsured motorist provision of an insurance policy.

I.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On July 11,1996, Anthony Schilling (Schilling) was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident when the driver of another car turned left in front of him. Schilling received $25,000 from the other driver which was the limit of her insurance policy coverage. He then filed a claim with his insurance company, Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate), under an underinsured/uninsured motorist provision of his policy. On May 8, 1997, following arbitration pursuant to the terms of the insurance policy, the arbitration panel awarded Schilling $98,000. The amount received from the other driver was subtracted for a total award of $73,000. The Arbitration Award expressly stated that the panel declined to award prejudgment interest or attorney fees because of their belief that they did not have jurisdiction to do so.

On May 14, 1997, the Schillings filed a petition for confirmation of the Arbitration Award and for prejudgment interest and attorney fees. Subsequently, the Schillings withdrew their claim for attorney fees. On October 29, 1997, following cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court modified the award to include prejudgment interest on the award from the date of the accident. On February 27, 1998, the district court denied Allstate’s petition for reconsideration, rejecting Allstate’s argument that the policy itself precluded the award of prejudgment interest. Allstate appealed, asserting that the district court erred by modifying the Arbitration Award to include prejudgment interest.

II.

ISSUES ON APPEAL

Appellant presents the following issue on appeal:

1. Whether the district court erred in modifying the arbitration award to include an award of pre-award interest.

Respondents present the following additional issue on appeal:

2. Whether respondents are entitled to attorney fees and costs on appeal.

III.

ANALYSIS

The standard by which we review an order granting summary judgment is the same standard used by the lower court in ruling on a motion for summary judgment. See State v. Rubbermaid, Inc., 129 Idaho 353, 355-56, 924 P.2d 615, 617-18 (1996). On review, all disputed facts are to be liberally construed in favor of the non-moving party, and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the record are to be drawn in favor of the non-moving party. See id. at 356, 924 P.2d at 618. Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” I.R.C.P. 56(c).

A. The District Court Did Not Err In Modifying The Arbitration Award To Include Pre-award Interest.

Appellant first argues that the district court misconceived the scope of the [929]*929arbitration panel’s authority to award prejudgment (pre-award) interest as an “other expense” pursuant to section 7-910 of the Idaho Code. This Court recently made clear that I.C. 8 7-910 grants authority to the arbitrators to award the arbitrators’ “expenses and fees, together with other expenses,” incurred during arbitration, absent a contrary agreement between the parties. See Wolfe v. Farm Bureau Ins. Co., 128 Idaho 398, 403, 913 P.2d 1168, 1173 (1996). We also made clear that ‘“other expenses’ include both prejudgment interest and costs of arbitration.” Id. Therefore, it is settled that, absent agreement to the contrary, an arbitrator has authority and jurisdiction to award prejudgment interest. Therefore, the arbitration panel in this case erroneously declined to address the respondent’s request for prejudgment interest by stating that it did not possess jurisdiction to award prejudgment interest.

Prior cases have addressed the subject of prejudgment interest in the context of underinsured/uninsured insurance policy provisions. In Brinkman v. Aid Ins. Co., 115 Idaho 346, 766 P.2d 1227 (1988), the insured under an underinsured motorist policy provision appealed the district court’s failure to award prejudgment interest on the entire amount of the jury award. The Court stated that based upon I.C. § 28-22-104(1), which provides that interest accrues on “[mjoney due by express contract,” prejudgment interest “accrues on the general damages from the date of the accident, because that is the date [the insurer’s] contractual duties accrued.” Brinkman, 115 Idaho at 353-54, 766 P.2d at 1234-35. The Court in Brinkman did not view the application of prejudgment interest as a matter of discretion, but reversed the district court’s failure to award prejudgment interest based upon the requirement of I.C. 8 28-22-104(1) and the contractual obligation of the insurance company under the underinsured motorist policy provision.

Appellant argues that prejudgment interest is inappropriate in an arbitration award because the amount of the award is unliquidated and not reasonably ascertainable until the arbitration award is issued. This argument was rejected in Emery v. United Pac. Ins. Co., where the Court upheld an award of prejudgment interest on the entire award under an uninsured motorist clause. 120 Idaho 244, 247, 815 P.2d 442, 445 (1991). While recognizing that Brinkman is not applicable to all tort and contract actions, we held in Emery that an insured, pursuant to an underinsured motorist clause, is entitled to prejudgment interest on the entire damage award from the date of the accident. See id. at 248, 815 P.2d at 446.

Shortly after deciding Emery, we held in Walton v. Hartford Ins. Co. that an insurer is liable to an insured pursuant to an under-insured motorist provision for “prejudgment (pre-awai’d) interest on the entire amount awarded by the arbitrators. Prejudgment (pre-award) interest accrues on the general damages from the date of the accident, because that is the date [the insurer’s] contractual duties accrued.” 120 Idaho 616, 622, 818 P.2d 320, 326 (1991). In holding that the district court erred by not awarding prejudgment interest on the entire amount awarded, the Court in Walton concluded that “in underinsured motorist coverage the interest begins to accrue on the date of the accident.” Id.

Appellant next argues that the terms of the insurance policy itself preclude the award of prejudgment interest. The relevant portion of the insurance policy provides:

The insured person will pay the arbitrator that person selects. We will pay the one we select. The expense of the third arbitrator and all other expenses of arbitration will be shared equally. However, attorney fees and fees paid to other medical and other expert witnesses are not arbitration expenses. These costs will be paid by the party incurring them.

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Schilling v. Allstate Insurance
980 P.2d 1014 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
980 P.2d 1014, 132 Idaho 927, 1999 Ida. LEXIS 52, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schilling-v-allstate-insurance-idaho-1999.