Ellis v. Rhode Island Public Transit Authority

• Citation: 586 A.2d 1055
• Decision Date: 11 February 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-33-A,90-33-A
• Parties: Jerry ELLIS v. RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY and Frank J. Dovidio. ppeal.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Rhode Island

Page 1055

586 A.2d 1055

Jerry ELLIS v. RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY and Frank J. Dovidio.

No. 90-33-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Feb. 11, 1991.

John W. Rannucci, Providence, for plaintiff.

James E. Kelleher, Revens & DeLuca, Ltd., Warwick, for defendants.

OPINION

KELLEHER, Justice.

This appeal involving Superior Court civil litigation concerns a motor-vehicle collision that occurred on June 7, 1988. On that day, a bus owned by the defendant Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) and operated by Frank J. Dovidio (Dovidio), a RIPTA employee, came into contact with an uninsured motor vehicle. The plaintiff, Jerry Ellis (Ellis), was a passenger on the RIPTA bus at the time of the collision and allegedly sustained injuries as a result of the collision.

In count 1 of his amended complaint, Ellis alleges that the negligence of Dovidio and RIPTA caused his injuries. Alternatively, count 2 of the amended complaint alleges that the negligence of the owner and operator of the uninsured vehicle was the cause of Ellis's injuries. Count 2 further avers that RIPTA was required to provide uninsured motorist protection to its passengers in accordance with G.L.1956 (1989 Reenactment) § 27-7-2.1, Rhode Island's uninsured-motorist statute. Thus Ellis argues that RIPTA's refusal to recognize Ellis's uninsured motorist claim constituted negligence and violated the uninsured motorist mandate of § 27-7-2.1, thereby depriving Ellis of the protection afforded to him by that statute.

In response, RIPTA filed a motion to dismiss count 2 of the amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure. Since it was a "self-insurer" under G.L.1956 (1982 Reenactment) § 31-33-9, RIPTA argued, it was exempt from the uninsured-motorist mandate of § 27-7-2.1 and therefore had no obligation to provide its passengers with uninsured-motorist protection. The trial justice agreed with RIPTA and granted its motion to dismiss after determining that the uninsured-motorist statute was inapplicable to RIPTA as a self-insured public carrier. Ellis then filed this timely appeal.

The sole issue before us, which is one of first impression in this jurisdiction, is whether a public carrier that is self-insured pursuant to § 31-33-9 is obligated to afford uninsured-motorist protection to its passengers pursuant to Rhode Island's uninsured-motorist statute, § 27-7-2.1. Both parties to this appeal raise numerous arguments in support of their positions. We believe, however, that only a select few of these arguments warrant our consideration. In arguing that the trial justice erred in finding § 27-7-2.1 inapplicable to self-insurers, Ellis now asserts that "[g]iven the remedial nature of [ § ] 27-7-2.1 and the public policy considerations leading to its enactment, rules of statutory construction require that the liability self-insuring carrier [RIPTA] be held subject to the statute's [uninsured-motorist] mandate." In support of this contention, Ellis cites a plethora of cases from foreign jurisdictions that have held that statutes requiring uninsured-motorist coverage are applicable to self-insurers. Not surprisingly RIPTA cites an equally abundant number of cases holding to the contrary, and RIPTA further asserts that the language of § 27-7-2.1 is clear and unambiguous and that its plain meaning only proscribes the issuance of insurance policies in the state without uninsured-motorist coverage and therefore does not apply to self-insurers because no policy of insurance exists in such cases. Finally RIPTA argues that even if public policy favors compelling self-insurers to carry uninsured-motorist coverage, the codification of this requirement is better left to the Legislature, not the courts.

Before reaching the merits of Ellis's appeal, we are reminded that when reviewing a trial justice's order granting a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, this court examines the allegations contained in the plaintiff's complaint, assumes them to be true, and views them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Gagnon v. State, 570 A.2d 656, 657 (R.I.1990); Rhode Island Affiliate, ACLU v. Bernasconi, 557 A.2d 1232, 1232 (R.I.1989). The motion will then be granted only when it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief from the defendant under any set of facts that could be proven in support of the plaintiff's claim. See Gagnon, 570 A.2d at 657; Bernasconi, 557 A.2d at 1232.

The resolution of any question pertaining to uninsured-motorist coverage must naturally begin with an examination of the statute itself. Rhode Island's uninsured-motorist statute, § 27-7-2.1, provides in pertinent part:

"No policy insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for property damage caused by collision, bodily injury, or death suffered by any person arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state with respect to any motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state unless coverage is provided therein * * * for the protection of persons insured thereunder who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of uninsured motor vehicles."

The statute governing self-insurers, § 31-33-9, provides as follows:

"(a) Any person in whose name more than twenty-five (25) vehicles are registered in this state may qualify as a self-insurer by obtaining a certificate of self-insurance issued by the registry as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

"(b) The registry may, in its discretion, upon the application of such a person, issue a certificate of self-insurance when it is satisfied that such person is possessed and will continue to be possessed of ability to pay judgment obtained against such person. Such certificate may be issued authorizing a person to act as a self-insurer for either property damage or bodily injury, or both.

"(c) Upon not less than five (5) days' notice and a hearing pursuant to such notice, the registry may upon reasonable grounds cancel a certificate of self-insurance. Failure to pay any judgment within thirty (30) days after such judgment shall have become final shall constitute a reasonable ground for the cancellation of a certificate of self-insurance." (Emphasis added.)

When dealing with statutory interpretation, this court has said on numerous occasions that when the language of the statute is unambiguous and expresses a clear and sensible meaning, no room for statutory construction or extension exists, and we are required to give the words of the statute their plain and obvious meaning. O'Neil v. Code Commission for Occupational Safety and Health, 534 A.2d 606, 608 (R.I.1987). Such meaning is presumed to be intended by the Legislature, and the statute must be applied literally. In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 504 A.2d 456, 459 (R.I.1986). However, even in circumstances in which a statute is clear and unambiguous, a statute will not be interpreted literally when such a construction will lead to an absurd result or one at odds with the legislative intent. See Sugarman v. Lewis, 488 A.2d 709, 711 (R.I.1985).

The uninsured-motorist statute states that "[n]o policy insuring against loss resulting from liability * * * shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state" without uninsured-motorist protection. (Emphasis added.) Section 27-7-2.1. At issue is whether, through the use of the word "policy," the General Assembly intended that self-insurers under § 31-33-9 fall within the ambit of § 27-7-2.1's uninsured-motorist mandate. Ellis argues that this court should avoid the "narrow and technical analysis" used by courts of foreign jurisdictions that have decided the same issue on the basis of a "dictionary definition of the word 'policy.' " As was noted earlier, however, where the words of a statute are clear and unambiguous, they must be afforded their plain and ordinary meaning. Such meaning is presumed to be intended by the Legislature. Black's defines "policy" as a "general term used to describe all contracts of insurance." Black's Law Dictionary 1157 (6th ed.1990). "Policy of insurance" is further defined as an "instrument in writing, by which one party (insurer), in consideration of a premium, engages to indemnify another (insured) against a contingent loss, by making him a payment in compensation, whenever the event shall happen by which the loss is to accrue. Contract whereby insurer, in return for premiums, engages, on happening of designated event, to pay certain sum as provided." Id.

With this definition in mind, Ellis now urges this court to include a "certificate of self-insurance" in our reading of the word "policy." This we decline to do. A policy of insurance is contractual in nature. Two parties, the insurer and the insured, enter into an agreement whereby the insurer agrees, in exchange for the insured's payment of premiums, to make payments to or on behalf of the insured upon the happening of an event. In the case of a self-insurer, no contract of insurance exists. Under the self-insurer statute, the Registry of Motor Vehicles "issue[s] a certificate of self-insurance when it is satisfied that [a] person is possessed and will continue to be possessed of ability to pay [a] judgment obtained against such person." Section 31-33-9(b). No consideration is tendered to the registry by the self-insurer, nor does the registry make payments to or on behalf of the self-insurer when the latter incurs liability. The certificate merely certifies that the person or business to whom it is issued is financially responsible and can pay judgments rendered against it. We therefore believe that a certificate of self-insurance is not a "policy" under § 27-7-2.1 requiring the mandatory provision of uninsured-motorist protection.

Our position that the mandate of §...