C.T. ex rel. Taylor v. Johnson

• Decision Date: 13 April 1999
• Docket Number: No. 960466,960466
• Parties: 367 Utah Adv. Rep. 6, 1999 UT 35 C.T., a minor, By and Through his guardian ad litem, Albert TAYLOR, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Scott R. JOHNSON, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

Page 479

977 P.2d 479

367 Utah Adv. Rep. 6, 1999 UT 35

C.T., a minor, By and Through his guardian ad litem, Albert TAYLOR, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Scott R. JOHNSON, Defendant and Appellant.

No. 960466.

Supreme Court of Utah.

April 13, 1999.

John L. Black, Sr., Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

Joseph J. Joyce, Salt Lake City, Kristin Van Orman, for defendant.

HOWE, Chief Justice:

¶1 Defendant Scott R. Johnson appeals from an order denying his motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, for a remittitur. He moved for a new trial after the jury awarded plaintiff C.T. $10,300 in compensatory damages and $25,000 in punitive damages in this personal injury action. He contends that (1) the compensatory damages award was erroneous because C.T. did not meet the threshold no-fault insurance requirements of Utah Code Ann. § 31A-22-309(1); and (2) the punitive damage award was barred by Utah Code Ann. § 78-18-1(a), which requires an award of compensatory or general damages before punitive damages can be awarded.

FACTS

¶2 This case arises from an automobile accident that occurred when Johnson, who was driving under the influence of alcohol ("DUI"), ¹ crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with C.T.'s vehicle. C.T. filed this action against Johnson, seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. Johnson admitted negligence and successfully moved for a bifurcated trial with the first phase addressing C.T.'s compensatory damages claim and the second addressing his punitive damages claim.

¶3 At the close of the first phase of trial, the jury found that Johnson had proximately caused C.T.'s injuries, that those injuries were not permanent, and that C.T. had sustained a total of $339 in medical expenses. ² The jury then awarded C.T. $10,339 in compensatory damages.

¶4 In the second phase, the parties stipulated that Johnson had been convicted of a DUI charge arising out of the accident. Evidence was adduced of Johnson's financial resources. The jury awarded C.T. $25,000 in punitive damages.

¶5 Before the court entered judgment on the jury's verdicts, Johnson moved to strike both damage awards. He argued that the compensatory damages award was improper because the jury findings established that C.T. had not met any of the threshold no-fault insurance requirements of section 31A-22-309(1). Furthermore, he asserted that because C.T. was not entitled to an award of general or compensatory damages, his punitive damages claim was likewise barred by section 78-18-1(1)(a), which provides that "punitive damages may be awarded only if compensatory or general damages are awarded." The trial court denied both motions. Johnson then moved for a new trial or, in the alternative, for a remittitur, which motion was also denied.

ANALYSIS

¶6 Before we address the merits of Johnson's appeal, we note the appropriate standard of review. Because our resolution of this case turns on the trial court's interpretation of two statutes, we give its decision no deference but review it for correctness. See Platts v. Parents Helping Parents, 947 P.2d 658, 661 (Utah 1997).

I. COMPENSATORY DAMAGES AWARD

¶7 The first issue is whether the no-fault insurance statute, Utah Code Ann. § 31A-22-309(1), precluded C.T. from maintaining his action for compensatory damages. That section provides:

(1) A person who has or is required to have direct benefit coverage under a policy which includes personal injury protection may not maintain a cause of action for general damages arising out of personal injuries alleged to have been caused by an automobile accident, except where the person has sustained one or more of the following:

(a) death;

(b) dismemberment;

(c) permanent disability or permanent impairment based upon objective findings;

(d) permanent disfigurement; or

(e) medical expenses to a person in excess of $3,000.

(Emphasis added.) C.T. alleged that as a result of the accident, he sustained permanent disability and incurred medical expenses that exceeded the $3,000 threshold amount. However, the jury found that he had not suffered permanent disability and that his accident-related medical expenses totaled only $339 (the cost of his emergency room visit). ³

¶8 Although the trial court acknowledged that C.T. had not met any of the threshold requirements of section 31A-22-309(1), it concluded that section 78-18-1(1)(b) created an exception to those requirements. Section 78-18-1 provides in pertinent part:

(a) Except as otherwise provided by statute, punitive damages may be awarded only if compensatory or general damages are awarded and it is established by clear and convincing evidence that the acts or omissions of the tortfeasor are the result of willful and malicious or intentionally fraudulent conduct, or conduct that manifests a knowing and reckless indifference toward, and a disregard of, the rights of others.

(b) The limitations, standards of evidence, and standards of conduct of Subsection (1)(a) do not apply to any claim for punitive damages arising out of the tortfeasor's operation of a motor vehicle while voluntarily intoxicated ... as prohibited by Section 41-6-44.

Utah Code Ann. § 78-18-1(1)(a), (b) (emphasis added). The court first determined that the emphasized language above expressly gave C.T. the right to maintain an action for punitive damages against Johnson. It then reasoned that the legislature also must have intended section 78-18-1(1)(b) to create an exception to the threshold requirements of section 31A-22-309(1) because otherwise a person could maintain a cause of action against an intoxicated driver for punitive damages but not for compensatory damages.

¶9 "When faced with a question of statutory construction, we look first to the plain language of the statute." Stephens v. Bonneville Travel, Inc., 935 P.2d 518, 520 (Utah 1997) (citations omitted). "We presume that the legislature used each word advisedly and give effect to each term according to its ordinary and accepted meaning." Nelson v. Salt Lake County, 905 P.2d 872, 875 (Utah 1995) (citation omitted). Furthermore, "courts are not to infer substantive terms into the text that are not already there. Rather, the interpretation must be based on the language used, and the court has no power to rewrite the statute to conform to an intention not expressed." Berrett v. Purser & Edwards, 876 P.2d 367, 370 (Utah 1994) (citations omitted).

¶10 In light of the foregoing principles, we conclude that there is no basis for the trial court's holding. While section 78-8-18(1)(b) provides a specific basis for awarding punitive damages in cases involving a "tortfeasor's operation of a vehicle while voluntarily intoxicated," it makes absolutely no reference to an action for compensatory damages. This section also does not contain any language suggesting that the legislature intended to create an exception to the threshold requirements of section 31A-22-309(1). Accordingly, we hold that because C.T. did

not meet any of the threshold requirements of section 31A-2-09(1), it was error to award him compensatory damages.

II. PUNITIVE DAMAGES AWARD

¶11 The second issue is whether C.T. was entitled to an award of punitive damages against Johnson. Johnson argues that because C.T. was not entitled to an award of compensatory damages, section 78-18-1(1)(a) barred any award of punitive damages. We disagree.

¶12 The language of section 78-18-(1)(a) as set forth above is clear and unmistakable. In describing the requirements of subsection (1)(a) that do not apply in DUI cases, subsection (1)(b) uses the terms "limitations, standards of evidence, and standards of conduct." Those terms parallel the requirements for punitive damage awards in subsection (1)(a); namely, (i) an award of compensatory damages, and (ii) proof by clear and convincing evidence that (iii) the tort-feasor's conduct was willful and malicious or intentionally fraudulent or was conduct that manifests a knowing and reckless indifference toward and a disregard of the rights of others. Contrary to the dissent, we think that it is clear from the language of (1)(b) that the legislature intended to waive requirements (i), (ii), and (iii) of subsection (1)(a) in DUI cases. The term "limitations" refers to the requirement of an award of compensatory damages; the term "standards of evidence" refers to the requirement of clear and convincing evidence; and the term "standards of conduct" refers to the requirement of conduct that is "willful and malicious or intentionally fraudulent ... or conduct that manifests a knowing and reckless indifference toward and a disregard of the rights of others." Subsection (1)(b) evidences that the legislature was "cracking down" on intoxicated drivers and determined that this conduct is sufficiently reckless to justify an award of punitive damages.

¶13 Nevertheless, Johnson argues that subsection (1)(b) does not mean what it says. He contends that in cases where punitive damages are sought against an intoxicated driver, the legislature did not intend to abolish the requirements that a party first obtain an award of compensatory damages or prove the requisite standard of conduct provided in subsection (1)(a). He relies on the legislative history of section 78-18-1 and the statements made by Senator Haven Barlow to support his argument. ⁴ However, it is elementary that we do not seek guidance from legislative history and relevant policy considerations when the statute is clear and unambiguous. See Carlie v. Morgan, 922 P.2d 1, 4 (Utah 1996). Rather, " '[w]e must be guided by the law as it is.... When language is clear and unambiguous, it must be held to mean what it expresses, and no room is left for construction.' " Salt Lake Child & Family Therapy Clinic v. Frederick, 890 P.2d 1017, 1020 (Utah 1995) (emphasis added) (quoting Hanchett v. Burbidge, 59 Utah 127, 135, 202 P. 377, 379-80 (1921)); see also Nelson, 905 P.2d at 875. Thus both the legislative history and statements made by Senator...