Spence v. Hughes

Decision Date03 April 1986
Docket NumberNo. 85-319,85-319
Citation485 So.2d 903,11 Fla. L. Weekly 796
Parties11 Fla. L. Weekly 796 Rene L. SPENCE, Appellant, v. David O. HUGHES and Imperial Food Products, Inc., Appellees.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals
EN BANC

PER CURIAM.

The issue in this case is whether a person injured while operating a vehicle owned by a Florida resident must allege threshold injuries (as defined in § 627.737(2), Fla.Stat.) in a negligence action against a non-resident who, while not required by Florida law to do so, has voluntarily obtained PIP coverage meeting the requirements of the Florida no-fault statute.

Appellant/plaintiff, a resident of Florida, was injured in an automobile accident which occurred in Florida. The appellees/defendants are both non-residents; one owned and the other operated the motor vehicle which caused the appellant's injuries. Although not required under Florida's no-fault statute to obtain PIP insurance coverage, the non-resident owner nevertheless had obtained such coverage. The appellant, on the other hand, was driving a motor vehicle which was required to have PIP coverage under Florida's no-fault statute. The appellant admitted that she did not suffer threshold injuries. However, the appellant/plaintiff argued before the trial court that because Florida's no-fault statute (§ 627.730 et seq., Fla.Stat.) did not exempt from tort liability non-residents who have voluntarily obtained PIP coverage, she could maintain a negligence action against the defendants without alleging threshold injuries. The trial court ruled that the tort exemption was applicable to the non-resident defendants/appellees. This appeal followed.

Section 627.737, Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part:

(1) Every owner, registrant, operator, or occupant of a motor vehicle with respect to which security has been provided as required by ss. 627.730-627.7405, and every person or organization legally responsible for his acts or omissions, is hereby exempted from tort liability for damages because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease arising out of the ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of such motor vehicle in this state....

This tort exemption is not applicable if the plaintiff alleges and proves a threshold injury, such as significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement. Section 627.737 does not exempt non-residents who voluntarily obtain PIP coverage under Florida's no-fault law from tort liability for damages normally recompensed under PIP coverage; nor does it exclude such non-residents from the statutory tort exception. Therefore, we interpret the language in section 627.737 to exempt from tort liability every owner, registrant, operator, or occupant (resident or non-resident) of a motor vehicle with respect to which security, of the type or kind required by ss. 627.730-627.7405, has been provided. Specifically, section 627.733 sets forth the type or kind of security required and includes PIP coverage. If the PIP coverage relating to the motor vehicle of a non-resident owner is in compliance with the requirements of section 627.733, the non-resident, owner or operator, like the resident owner or operator, is exempted from tort liability by section 627.737.

In the instant case, the non-resident owner's automobile insurance policy specifically extends its coverage to include the minimum amount and types of coverage required by the jurisdiction where an accident involving the insured motor vehicle occurs. 1 It is inherently unfair and discriminating to exclude a non-resident who has obtained PIP coverage satisfying Florida no-fault law from the limited tort immunity enjoyed by others who have also obtained such coverage. A non-resident is required to maintain PIP coverage satisfying Florida no-fault law after his vehicle has been in Florida for 90 days during a preceding 365 day period. If a non-resident voluntarily and conscientiously obtains PIP coverage satisfying the no-fault law before the applicable 90 day period has passed, he should be exempt from tort liability during the 90 day period. It would be incongruous to allow a Florida resident without threshold injuries to bring an action against a non-resident who has PIP coverage satisfying Florida's no-fault law while at the same time recognizing that a non-resident without threshold injuries is prevented from maintaining an action against a resident to whom the tort exemption is applicable. 2 The statute does not require this unfair result. 3

A classification based upon whether an individual obtains PIP coverage as required by law or obtains such coverage by free choice is not reasonable, and does not rest upon some ground of difference having a fair and substantial relation to the purpose and aim of Florida's no-fault statute. Such a classification would result in discrimination against those who voluntarily obtain PIP coverage by excluding that class from the limited tort immunity provided by Florida's no-fault statute. Construing Florida's no-fault statute to recognize such a classification would deny equal protection and violate the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. Such a classification would...

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2 cases
  • Meyer v. Hutchinson
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • 5 Diciembre 2003
    ...damages. In Spence v. Hughes, 500 So.2d 538 (Fla. 1987), the Florida Supreme Court adopted this court's decision in Spence v. Hughes, 485 So.2d 903 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), in which non-residents of Florida who voluntarily obtain PIP coverage conforming to Florida's no-fault law were held to be......
  • Spence v. Hughes
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 5 Enero 1987
    ...P.A., Tampa, for The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, amicus curiae. BARKETT, Justice. We have for review Spence v. Hughes, 485 So.2d 903 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986) (en banc), in which the district court certified the following as a question of great public Are non-residents who voluntarily obtai......

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