Pennsylvania Financial Responsibility Assigned Claims Plan v. English

• Decision Date: 22 August 1995
• Citation: 541 Pa. 424,664 A.2d 84
• Parties: PENNSYLVANIA FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ASSIGNED CLAIMS PLAN and Constitution State Service Company, Appellees, v. Maria D. ENGLISH, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 84

664 A.2d 84

541 Pa. 424

PENNSYLVANIA FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ASSIGNED CLAIMS PLAN and Constitution State Service Company, Appellees, v. Maria D. ENGLISH, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued Dec. 8, 1994.

Decided Aug. 22, 1995.

[541 Pa. 427] David H. Rosenberg, Harrisburg, for M. English.

Stephen C. Baker, Malvern, for amicus.

A. Richard Feldman, Jennifer L. Hoagland, Philadelphia, Jeffrey E. Piccola, Harrisburg, for Pa.F.R.A.C.P.

William E. Mahoney, for amicus.

Leonard A. Sloane, Jennifer L. Abram, Caine, Dipasqua, Sloane & Raffaele, Media, PA, James R. Ronca, Schmidt and Ronca, P.C., Harrisburg, PA, for amicus curiae Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Ass'n.

Before NIX, C.J., and FLAHERTY, ZAPPALA, PAPADAKOS, CAPPY, CASTILLE and MONTEMURO, JJ.

OPINION OF THE COURT

CAPPY ^*, Justice.

The issue presented in this appeal is whether the 1990 amendments (Act 6) ¹ to the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (MVFRL), ² which in pertinent part renders uninsured and underinsured coverage optional, effectively eliminates the obligation of the Assigned Claims Plan, 75 Pa.C.S. §§ 1751-1757, to pay benefits to persons otherwise eligible who are injured while driving or occupying an uninsured vehicle. For the following reasons, we find that the Assigned Claims Plan is required to provide such benefits, and accordingly reverse the order of the Superior Court.

A review of the facts giving rise to the instant litigation is necessary. On August 26, 1990, appellant, Maria English, who was a passenger in an uninsured vehicle which was stopped at an intersection, was seriously injured when the vehicle in which she was riding was struck by another uninsured vehicle. At the time of the accident, appellant neither owned a vehicle nor resided with someone owning a vehicle and therefore, had no automobile insurance which covered her for such injuries. Accordingly, she applied for benefits from the Pennsylvania Assigned Claims Plan. The Plan paid basic loss benefits pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S. § 1753, but denied appellant uninsured motorist benefits pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S. § 1754.

The Plan subsequently filed a Declaratory Judgment action in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County seeking confirmation of its determination that under the circumstances presented appellant was ineligible for uninsured motorist benefits. Both parties filed motions for judgment on the pleadings. The trial court denied the Plan's motion and granted appellant's motion finding that she was an eligible claimant under § 1752(a)(5) of the MVFRL. The Superior Court reversed, holding that a claimant who is injured while occupying or operating an uninsured vehicle on or after July 1, 1990, the effective date of the Act 6 amendments, does not meet the eligibility requirements of § 1752(a)(5) and, therefore, is not entitled to benefits from the Plan. The instant appeal followed.

Our review of a trial court's decision to grant or deny judgment on the pleadings is limited to determining whether the trial court committed an error of law or whether there were facts presented which warranted a jury trial. In so reviewing, we look only to the pleadings and any documents properly attached thereto. Judgment on the pleadings is proper only where the pleadings evidence that there are no material facts in dispute such that a trial by jury would be unnecessary. Bata v. Central-Penn National Bank, 423 Pa. 373, 224 A.2d 174 (1966), cert. denied 386 U.S. 1007, 87 S.Ct. 1348, 18 L.Ed.2d 433 (1967).

Generally, the Assigned Claims Plan provides benefits for those individuals injured in a motor vehicle-related accident who, through no fault of their own, have no other available source of insurance coverage. Zeigler v. Constitution State Service, 430 Pa.Super. 284, 634 A.2d 261 (1993). Section 1752 sets forth the specific requirements of eligibility for benefits under the Assigned Claims Plan. The crux of the instant case centers on the interpretation to be given to section 1752(a)(5) which provides:

(a) General rule.--A person is eligible to recover benefits from the Assigned Claims Plan if the person meets the following requirements:

(5) Is not the operator or occupant of a motor vehicle owned by a self-insurer or by an individual or entity who or which is immune from liability for, or is not required to provide, benefits or uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

(emphasis added). The trial court found that appellant was eligible for uninsured benefits under this subsection because the owner of the vehicle in which she was traveling, although not required to provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, was required to provide medical benefits. The Superior Court, on the other hand, interpreted the plain meaning of this subsection to be that a claimant is eligible for coverage under the Plan only if both medical coverage and uninsured and underinsured coverage are required to be purchased by a vehicle owner. The Superior Court then reasoned that since Act 6 rendered uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage optional in Pennsylvania, the owner of vehicle in which appellant was riding was not required to purchase uninsured and underinsured coverage and that therefore, appellant was not entitled to benefits from the Plan. ³ , ⁴ In effect, then, the Superior Court's decision precludes anyone injured after July 1, 1990 from recovering from the Plan unless they are a pedestrian or a bicyclist. We find the Superior Court's interpretation of § 1752(a)(5) to be strained and not at all in keeping with the plain meaning of the words of the statute or the intent of the Assigned Claims Plan.

Our rules of statutory construction make clear that in interpreting statutes we must at all times seek to ascertain and effectuate the legislative intent underlying the enactment of the particular statute(s). 1 Pa.C.S. § 1921(a). Where the words of a statute are clear and free from ambiguity the legislative intent is to be gleaned from those very words. Where, however, the statute is unclear or susceptible of differing interpretations, the courts must look to the necessity of the act, the object to be attained, the circumstances under which it was enacted and any legislative or administrative interpretations thereof. Coretsky v. Board of Commissioners of Butler Township, 520 Pa. 513, 555 A.2d 72 (1989). In ascertaining the legislative intent of a particular statute it is presumed, inter alia, that the legislature did not intend a result that is absurd or unreasonable nor one that would be violative of the United States Constitution or the Constitution of this Commonwealth. It is also presumed that the legislature intends to favor the public interest as opposed to any private interest. See generally, 1 Pa.C.S. § 1922.

Contrary to the Superior Court's interpretation of § 1752(a)(5), we interpret the term "or" as meaning "either" which we find to be the commonly accepted definition. The use of the disjunctive "or" in § 1752(a)(5) thus indicates that as long as the owner of the registered vehicle is required to provide either medical benefits or uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits, a claimant meets the section (a)(5) eligibility requirements. Since each person owning a motor vehicle registered in this Commonwealth must maintain financial responsibility in the form of either a liability insurance policy or program of self insurance which meets the minimum required medical benefits, see 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786, the owner of the vehicle in which appellant was here riding cannot be deemed "an individual ... who is not required to provide, benefits or uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage." Accordingly, § 1752(a)(5) was here satisfied. This interpretation is not only in keeping with the plain meaning of the statute but is also consistent with the purpose of the Assigned Claims Plan which is, as noted above, to provide benefits to injured persons who, through no fault of their own, have no insurance to protect themselves.

Even assuming that the language employed in § 1752(a)(5) is found to be ambiguous, we think that reliance on the Act 6 amendments to interpret § 1752(a)(5) is simply incorrect. To reason, as did the Superior Court, that this alleged "change" in § 1752(a)(5) eligibility came about through the amendment of an entirely different section of the MVFRL without any reference whatsoever to § 1752(a)(5) is simply illogical. The statutory language at issue was written long before the optional provisions of Act 6 existed. Section (a)(5) applies to two classes of vehicle owners: (1) self-insurers; and (2) an individual or entity who or which is immune from liability or not required to provide benefits or uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. These two classes encompass self-insurers, i.e., those who have provided certification that they have other reliable financial arrangements, deposits, resources or commitments acceptable to the Department of Transportation and who are thus exempt from purchasing the requisite insurance through a standard policy in order to comply with the MVFRL, See 75 Pa.C.S. § 1782 and also those owners who are otherwise exempt from complying with the MVFRL because, for instance, they own a vehicle which is registered in another state. See, e.g. Rosado v. Constitution State Service Co., 425 Pa.Super. 561, 625 A.2d 1239 (1993). Accordingly, it seems clear to this Court that the intent behind § 1752(a)(5) was simply to recognize that persons occupying a vehicle owned by a properly self-insured person or someone who was not required to maintain financial responsibility under the MVFRL would not be eligible for coverage under the Assigned Claims Plan because there were other sources of recovery available and/or because the owner of the vehicle either was exempt from compliance with the MVFRL or had no obligation to contribute to the Assigned Claims Plan. See, e.g. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1787(c) (self-insurers are not required to...