245 Conn. 727 | Conn. | 1998
Opinion
These consolidated appeals require us to determine the proper application of General Statutes (Rev. to 1991) § 38a-336 (a) (2)
The relevant facts and procedural history are undisputed. On September 11, 1992, the plaintiffs Roger Frantz, Barbara Kelsey and William Grabek,
Under the terms of the lease agreement between Fleet Leasing and General Dynamics,
The INA policy covered approximately 2208 private passenger vehicles that were either owned or leased by General Dynamics and that were located in various states. The policy provided liability coverage of $2 million per accident and, in accordance with General Dynamics’ election, a “minimum” level of uninsured motorist coverage. A schedule depicting the minimum level of uninsured motorist coverage required in various states, which appeared in an endorsement to the policy, showed minimum uninsured motorist coverage in Connecticut of $40,000 per accident.
Frantz, Kelsey and Grabek commenced separate actions against the tortfeasor, seeking damages for injuries sustained as a result of the accident. After a trial in July, 1995, the trial court determined that the tortfeasor was solely responsible for the plaintiffs’ injuries and rendered judgment in their favor as follows: Frantz, $1,300,000; Kelsey, $750,000; and Grabek, $650,000. Nowosad’s insurer paid a total of $100,000, thereby exhausting the liability limits of Nowosad’s policy.
The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment as to Grabek’s complaint, claiming that: (1) his exclusive remedy was workers’ compensation;
Thereafter, the plaintiffs moved for summary judgment, claiming that: (1) under our decision in Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. v. Pasion, 219 Conn. 764, 594 A.2d 468 (1991),
The defendants claim that the trial court improperly concluded that Fleet Leasing’s failure to submit a written request for reduction of uninsured motorist coverage rendered General Dynamics’ election of such coverage ineffective in light of our decision in Pasión
“The standard of review of a trial court’s decision to grant a motion for summary judgment is well established. Summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Practice Book § 384 [now Practice Book § 17-49].” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Peerless Ins. Co. v. Gonzalez, 241 Conn. 476, 481, 697 A.2d 680 (1997). The sole issue that we must decide is whether, as a matter of law, the construction of § 38-175c (a) (2) — recodified at § 38a-336 (a) (2) in the General Statutes as revised to 1991
In Pasión, “we determined that, under § 38-175c (a) (2), a request for a reduction in uninsured motorist benefits by Carlos Londono, who, along with his wife, Alexis, was a named insured on an automobile liability
“We then reviewed the pertinent legislative history, and observed that [t]he apparent intent of the legislature in adopting [subdivision] (2) . . . was to assure that consumers purchasing automobile liability insurance would be made aware of the low cost of equal amounts of uninsured coverage by requiring any reduction in that coverage to be in writing. [Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. v. Pasion, supra, 219 Conn.] 770-71. On the basis of our determination regarding the legislative intent, we concluded as follows: Although the named insureds on the policy involved in [the] case are husband and wife and by virtue of that personal relationship it could be assumed that Alexis Londono was both made aware of the availability of low-cost uninsured motorist coverage and acquiesced in the reduction sought by her husband, such an assumption is far from a certainty. We are even less certain that in situations where the joint owners of an automobile and named insureds on an automobile liability insurance policy are, for example, brother and sister, roommates, or friends, all of whom would be consumers, a conscious choice to reduce uninsured motorist coverage would have been made by all consumers when only one owner/named insured had signed the authorization for reduction in coverage. To
The defendants contend that the factual differences between Pasión and the present case warrant a different application of § 38a-336 (a) (2). Specifically, they argue that the policy considerations underlying the enactment of § 38a-336 (a) (2) that formed the basis of our holding in Pasión are inapplicable in the context of commercial fleet insurance. They claim, moreover, that to construe that statutory provision to require the written consent of all named insureds on a commercial fleet policy would place an unreasonable and unintended burden on insurers because, as in this case, the number of prospective insureds under a fleet policy is likely to be substantial. We agree.
“[O]ur fundamental objective in construing a statute is to ascertain and give effect to the apparent intent of the legislature . . . .” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Derwin v. State Employees Retirement Commission, 234 Conn. 411, 420, 661 A.2d 1025 (1995). “Moreover, there is a presumption that the legislature intends to accomplish a reasonable and rational result rather than a difficult and possibly bizarre one.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Burns, 236 Conn. 18, 27, 670 A.2d 851 (1996). Accordingly, if there are two possible interpretations of a statute, we will adopt the construction “that bears directly on the purpose the legislature sought to achieve.” Coley v. Camden Associates, Inc., 243 Conn. 311, 319-20, 702 A.2d 1180 (1997).
Application of these well established principles of statutory construction leads us to conclude that the
Moreover, the primary legislative purpose in requiring a written request for a reduction in uninsured motorist coverage is to ensure that one named insured not be bound, to his or her detriment, by the unilateral decision of another named insured to seek such a reduction. See Colonial Penn Ins. Co. v. Bryant, supra, 245 Conn. 725 (under § 38-175c [a] [2], written request for reduction in uninsured motorist coverage submitted by one of two named insureds is effective when insured who signed reduction request form seeks uninsured motorist benefits). Such a concern has little or no applicability in the context of a commercial fleet policy. It may be presumed that Fleet Leasing’s chief interest
Furthermore, strict adherence in this case to the rule that we deemed applicable in Pasión would have required the written consent not only of Fleet Leasing, but of all other named insureds on the policy, a result that is both unreasonable and impracticable. Under the terms of the endorsement to the policy, “named insured” includes any other person or organization for which General Dynamics had agreed in writing to provide insurance and, subject to certain limitations, the United States of America and various joint ventures of General Dynamics, as well as partners, executive officers and directors of those joint ventures. See footnote 11. Identifying all such persons and entities and securing their written consent to a reduction in uninsured motorist coverage would have created formidable administrative burdens for General Dynamics or its insurance underwriter, burdens that we believe it is most unlikely our legislature intended to impose under § 38a-336 (a) (2).
The conclusion that our holding in Pasión is inapplicable to commercial fleet policies finds support elsewhere in our jurisprudence relating to uninsured
In view of this determination, the plaintiffs are not entitled to uninsured motorist benefits under the INA policy because the tortfeasor’s automobile is not an “underinsured motor vehicle” within the meaning of § 38a-336. Section 38a-336 (d) defines that term as “a motor vehicle with respect to which the sum of the limits of liability under all bodily injury liability bonds and insurance policies applicable at the time of the accident is less than the applicable limits of liability under the uninsured motorist portion of the policy against which claim is made under subsection (b) of this section.” Thus, under § 38a-336, “in determining whether a motor vehicle is ‘underinsured’ the total of all liability insurance coverage available to an individual claimant must be compared to the amount of underinsured motorist coverage in each of the policies against which the victim has a claim. If the total of the liability insurance is less than the uninsured motorist limits of the individual’s policy, then the uninsured motorist coverage becomes applicable.” Covenant Ins. Co. v. Coon, 220 Conn. 30, 34, 594 A.2d 977 (1991). Conversely, a claim is not triggered if the uninsured motorist limit of a particular policy is less than or equal to the liability insurance available. See Farm & City Ins. Co. v. Stevens, 215 Conn. 157,160, 574 A.2d 1300 (1990) (“[sjince
In this case, the limit of the liability insurance available with respect to the tortfeasor’s vehicle at the time of the accident was $100,000. We have concluded that because General Dynamics’ election was effective, the plaintiffs are entitled to $40,000 worth of uninsured motorist coverage under the INA policy. In light of the fact that the tortfeasor’s liability insurance exceeded the uninsured motorist limits of the policy, the tortfea-sor’s vehicle was not an underinsured vehicle within the meaning of § 38a-336 (d). The plaintiffs therefore have failed to establish a valid claim for uninsured motorist benefits under the INA policy.
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded to the trial court with direction to render judgment for the defendants.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
General Statutes (Rev. to 1991) § 38a-336 (a) (2) provides in relevant part: “Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, each automobile liability insurance policy issued or renewed on and after July 1, 1984, shall provide uninsured motorist coverage with limits for bodily
Section 38a-336 (a) (2) was amended by Public Acts 1993, No. 93-297, § 1, which provides in relevant part: “Notwithstanding any provision of the section to the contrary, each automobile liability insurance policy issued or renewed on and after [July 1, 1984] THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT, shall provide uninsured AND UNDERINSURED motorist coverage with limits for bodily injury and death equal to those purchased to protect against loss resulting from the liability imposed by law unless [the] ANY NAMED insured requests in writing a lesser amount, but not less than the limits specified in subsection (a) of section 14-112. Such written request shall apply to all subsequent renewals of coverage and to all policies or endorsements which extend, change, supersede or replace an existing policy issued to the named insured, unless changed in writing by [the] ANY NAMED insured. NO SUCH WRITTEN REQUEST FOR A LESSER AMOUNT SHALL BE EFFECTIVE UNLESS ANY NAMED INSURED HAS SIGNED AN INFORMED CONSENT FORM WHICH SHALL CONTAIN: (A) AN EXPLANATION OF UNINSURED AND UNDERINSURED MOTORIST INSURANCE APPROVED BY THE COMMISSIONER; (B) A LIST OF UNINSURED AND UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE OPTIONS AVAILABLE FROM THE INSURER; AND (C) THE PREMIUM COST FOR EACH OF THE COVERAGE OPTIONS AVAILABLE FROM THE INSURER. SUCH INFORMED CONSENT FORM SHALL CONTAIN A HEADING IN TWELVE-POINT TYPE AND SHALL STATE: ‘WHEN YOU SIGN THIS FORM, YOU ARE CHOOSING A REDUCED PREMIUM, BUT YOU ARE ALSO CHOOSING NOT TO PURCHASE CERTAIN VALUABLE COVERAGE WHICH PROTECTS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. IF YOU ARE UNCERTAIN ABOUT HOW THIS DECISION WILL AFFECT YOU, YOU SHOULD GET ADVICE FROM YOUR INSURANCE AGENT OR ANOTHER QUALIFIED ADVISOR.’ ” (Emphasis added.)
Throughout this opinion, the term uninsured motorist coverage also encompasses underinsured motorist coverage. See Rydingsword v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 224 Conn. 8, 14 n.11, 615 A.2d 1032 (1992).
A fleet insurance policy “refer[s] to any insurance policy designated as a ‘fleet’ or ‘garage’ policy, or any insurance policy covering a number of vehicles owned by a business, a governmental entity, or an institution.” Cohn v. Aetna Ins. Co., 213 Conn. 525, 530, 569 A.2d 541 (1990).
William Grabek’s wife, Robin F. Grabek, who seeks damages for loss of consortium, also is a plaintiff in this action. Hereafter, all references to “Grabek” in this opinion are to William Grabek.
John Nowosad is Robert Nowosad’s father.
Both Fleet Leasing and General Dynamics are large corporations with their own legal and risk management departments.
The lease contract, dated January 28, 1976, provided in relevant part: “Lessee, for each Vehicle and for any other vehicles provided by Lessor for Lessee’s use, shall provide and maintain in full force and effect, at Lessee’s expense, a policy of primary coverage insurance written by a company satisfactory to Lessor by the terms of which Lessee is named as the ‘Insured’ and Lessor is named as an ‘Additional Insured’ and both are protected against: (i) liability and/or loss arising out of the condition, use or operation
General Statutes (Rev. to 1991) § 14-112 (a) provides in relevant part: “To entitle any person to receive or retain a motor vehicle operator’s license or a certificate of registration of any motor vehicle . . . the commissioner shall require from such person proof of financial responsibility to satisfy any claim for damages by reason of personal injury to, or the death of, any one person, of twenty thousand dollars, or by reason of personal injury to, or the death of, more than one person on account of any accident, of at least forty thousand dollars . . . .”
The form contained the following language: “REDUCED LIMITS: I/We wish to reject Uninsured Motorists insurance at limits equal to the policy Bodily Injury Liability limits and select instead limit(s) of liability, specified as follows, which are less than the policy Bodily Injury Liability limit(s), but not less than the limits of the Connecticut Financial Responsibility Law:
9 Combined Single Limit amount of $Minimum Bodily Injury each accident . . .
The endorsement also provided that “any statutory change in the Mandatory Minimum Uninsured Motorists Limits shall be automatically afforded by the policy.”
The endorsement provided in relevant part: “The term ‘Named Insured’ includes in addition to the person or organization named in the Declarations: General Dynamics . . . and/or any subsidiary, affiliated, associated, owned or controlled company, including Material Service Corporation and its subsidiaries, as previously now, or hereafter constituted in which General Dynamics . . . has 51% or more ownership interest . . . and any other person or organization for which Named Insured has agreed in writing to provide insurance; and
“The United States of America but only with respect to operations performed by the Named Insured under written contracts entered into by and between the Named Insured and the United States of America, and where by virtue of the terms of the contract the Named Insured is obligated to provide insurance such as [is] afforded by this policy; and any joint venture of which the insured was or is a partner or member provided that:
“1. The Joint Venture is controlled by the Named Insured, or
“2. The Named Insured is the operating interest, or
“3. The Named Insured is obligated under the terms of the written contract to provide coverage; and
“Any partner, executive officer, director [or] stockholder thereof while acting within the scope of his duties and/or while acting on behalf of the Named Insured . . . .”
Frantz, Kelsey and Grabek each received a share of the $100,000 in an amount proportionate to his or her damages award as follows: Frantz, $48,000; Kelsey, $28,000; and Grabek, $24,000.
Frantz, Kelsey and Grabek also sought underinsured motorist benefits under their respective personal automobile insurance policies. On September 30, 1996, judgment in the amount of $129,000 was rendered in favor of Kelsey in her suit against Peerless Insurance Company. Frantz’ action against Allstate Insurance Company and Grabek’s action against Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford were consolidated with the present cases. Those two actions have been stayed pending the outcome of this appeal.
Because it was determined that Frantz, Kelsey and Grabek were acting within the scope of their employment at the time of the accident, they were awarded workers’ compensation benefits for their injuries. Kelsey was also collecting social security disability benefits.
General Statutes (Rev. to 1991) § 38a-336 (d) provides: “For the purposes of this section, an ‘underinsured motor vehicle’ means a motor vehicle with respect to which the sum of the limits of liability under all bodily injury liability bonds and insurance policies applicable at the time of the accident is less than the applicable limits of liability under the uninsured motorist portion of the policy against which claim is made under subsection (b) of this section.” Hereafter, all references to § 38a-336 (d) are to the 1991 revision.
In Pasion, we held that, under General Statutes (Rev. to 1989) § 38-175c (a) (2), a written request to reduce uninsured motorist coverage signed by only one of two named insureds under an automobile liability insurance policy was ineffective to reduce the uninsured motorist benefits available to a third party who had been injured in an accident while riding as a passenger in a vehicle covered under that policy. Nationwide Mutual Ins.
The court allocated the policy’s $2 million in underinsured motorist coverage as follows:
FVantz: pro rata share of $960,000, minus $48,000 received from the tortfea-sor and $189,101.05 in workers’ compensation benefits.
Kelsey: pro rata share of $560,000, minus $28,000 received from the tortfea-sor and $124,335.57 in workers’ compensation benefits.
Grabek: pro rata share of $480,000, minus $24,000 received from the tortfeasor and $59,175.09 in workers’ compensation benefits.
The court disallowed a setoff against the $29,487 of social security disability benefits to which the parties had stipulated with respect to Kelsey.
The defendants also claim, contrary to the determination of the trial court, that P.A. 93-297, § 1 (a) (2) has retrospective applicability. In Colonial Penn Ins. Co. v. Bryant, 245 Conn. 710, 723, 714 A.2d 1209 (1998), we today have concluded that P.A. 93-297, § 1 (a) (2) is not retroactive. Accordingly, we reject the defendants’ contention regarding the retrospective effect of that provision.
The plaintiffs have also asserted certain claims regarding the measure of damages payable under the policy, including the claim that the trial court properly determined that the defendants were not entitled to a setoff for the social security disability benefits paid and payable to Kelsey. We recently decided this latter issue in a manner contrary to the determination of the trial court. See Vitti v. Allstate Ins. Co., 245 Conn. 169, 195, 713 A.2d 1269 (1998) (insurer is entitled to reduction in its liability limits for underinsured motorist coverage by amount equal to sum of social security disability benefits paid or payable to insured). The issue is moot, however, in light of our conclusion that the plaintiffs are not entitled to recover under the INA policy. It is also unnecessary for us to reach the plaintiffs’ other claims regarding the proper measure of damages under that policy.
See footnote 16 of this opinion.
‘‘Stacking refers to the ability of the insured, when covered by more than one insurance policy, to obtain benefits from a second policy on the same claim when recovery from the first policy alone would be inadequate. . . . Intra-policy stacking is the aggregation of the limits of liability for uninsured-motorist coverage of each car covered in one policy, whereas inter-policy stacking involves the aggregation of coverage under more than one policy.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Nationwide Ins. Co. v. Gode, 187 Conn. 386, 388-89 n.2, 446 A.2d 1059 (1982), overruled in part on other grounds, Covenant Ins. Co. v. Coon, 220 Conn. 30, 594 A.2d 977 (1991). “Stacking is a judicially adopted doctrine, never expressly mandated by our legislature.” Lash v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 236 Conn. 318, 327 n.12, 673 A.2d 84 (1996). “In 1993, [however] the legislature enacted [P.A. 93-297] which, among other things, eliminated stacking of underinsured motorist coverage for all purposes.” Id., 327.
Our conclusion also is consistent with our decision in Colonial Penn Ins. Co. v. Bryant, supra, 245 Conn. 710, also decided today, in which we eschewed a rigid application of the rule that we adopted in Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. v. Pasion, supra, 219 Conn. 764, and concluded that, under § 38-175c (a) (2), a written request for a reduction in uninsured motorist coverage signed by only one of two named insureds is binding on the insured who signed the request form. In Bryant, as in this case, we determined that the policy considerations underlying the enactment of subsection (a) (2) militated against a construction of that provision that required the signatures of all of the named insureds. Colonial Penn Ins. Co. v. Bryant, supra, 725-26.