This matter is presently before the court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. The relevant facts and procedural history are summarized as follows:
On December 24, 1990, Daniel Lehman was injured in a motorcycle accident. He was stopped for a red light on Route 22 at Devonshire Road when he was struck by a car driven by Kenneth Myers. Mr. Myers had cut in front of a car driven by Martha Warner, and the Warner vehicle pushed the Myers vehicle into Mr. Lehman. Initially, Mr. Lehman did not think that his back injuries were severe, but over the years, he has had to undergo three back surgeries. He retired from his position at the Central Dauphin School District because of his injuries. Suit was filed against Mr. Myers and Ms. Warner an April 7,1992. Mr. Lehman’s attorney had contact with an adjuster with his insurance company, Nationwide. At that time, the adjuster was told that it appeared to Mr. Lehman’s doctors that his injuries would heal. The adjuster was also told that based on Mr. Lehman’s injuries, the medical opinions and the policy limits of coverage available to the two defendants, it appeared that the limits of the tort-feasors’ policies would be sufficient and that the case had a settlement value of $80,000. This was the only time that Mr. Lehman’s attorney had contact with an adjuster from Nationwide. Mr. Lehman and his attorney kept in regular contact with Mr. Lehman’s insurance agent from Nationwide, Joyce Potteiger. This agent was periodically informed about Mr. Lehman’s progress and prognosis. She was informed that the case against Mr. Myers and
The issue before the court is whether an insured may recover underinsured benefits from his carrier where the carrier never consented to the settlement between the insured and the tort-feasor, and where the carrier has suffered no prejudice as a result of the settlement. We are guided by the United States District Court opinion in Prudential Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Nayerahamadi, 593 F. Supp. 216 (E.D. Pa. 1984). This was also a declaratory judgment action. Prudential sought to prevent the defendant from claiming supplemental underinsured motorist benefits under a Prudential auto insurance policy. Id. at 217. The defendant was in an automobile accident while driving a friend’s car that was insured by Prudential. Id. The defendant lodged a claim against the other driver who was insured by Allstate and settled the claim against that driver for the limits of his policy ($15,000). Id. As a condition of the settlement, the defendant executed a release discharging the other driver from all claims arising out of the accident. Id. The defendant filed a claim with Prudential, the carrier covering the car he was driving at the time of the accident, for underinsured motorist benefits. Id. Prudential responded to the request by stating that it was not required to pay any benefits because the defendant settled his case against the other driver without first obtaining Prudential’s consent pursuant to the Prudential policy. Id. The defendant urged the court to invalidate the consent-to-settle clause because it would allow the insurance company to block settlements and evade liability for underinsured motorist benefits. Id. Prudential argued that the consent-to-settle clause was necessary to protect its subrogation rights
Therefore, in accordance with this decision, the first inquiry should be whether the settlement was reasonable, and whether Nationwide was prejudiced in any way by the settlement. The plaintiff was directed by the court to conduct an investigation of the assets of Martha Warner to determine whether the plaintiff was prejudiced by the loss of its subrogation rights. Robert F. Claraval, Esquire, submitted a sworn affidavit regarding the assets of Martha Warner. At the time of the accident, Martha Warner was driving a car which was titled in her parents’ names. She was a full-time college student at Elizabethtown College and she resided with her parents at the time of the accident. Her only assets were a checking account with an account balance of $200 and a savings account which was in her name and her mother’s name with an account balance of $500. She is currently employed as a staff occupational therapist in Pomona, New Jersey, and is in the process of paying student loans in the amount of $10,000. We find that Nationwide has suffered no prejudice by the defendants’ settlement with the tort-feasor. We are aware
We have reviewed the cases cited by the plaintiff and find that they can be distinguished or are not applicable given the specific fact situation of the case that is presently before the court. In Boyle v. Erie Insurance Company, 441 Pa. Super. 103, 656 A.2d 941
We are mindful of this court’s decision in Ardrey v. Keystone Insurance Company, 115 Dauphin Rep. 301 (1995) in which the court held that 30 days from the date that an insured makes a request for consent to settle from its underinsurance carrier was a reasonable period of time for an underinsured carrier to investigate any possible subrogation rights. This “30-day rule” was developed in the case of Daley-Sand v. West American Insurance Company, 387 Pa. Super. 630, 564 A.2d 965 (1989). However, we conclude that in our fact situation, an arbitrary 30-day rule would be oppressive to the insured when no actual prejudice was suffered by the insurance company.
Accordingly, we enter the following:
ORDER
And now December 8,1998, the motion for summary judgment filed on behalf of Daniel W. Lehman and Dolores Lehman is hereby granted and the motion for summary judgment filed on behalf of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company is hereby denied.
. Penn Piping Inc. v. Insurance Company of North America, 529 Pa. 350, 603 A.2d 1006 (1992).
