State Farm Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, 43943
| Decision Date | 21 September 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 43943,43943 |
| Citation | 489 P.2d 480,1971 OK 120 |
| Parties | STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff in Error, v. FARMERS INSURANCE EXCHANGE, a Foreign Corporation, et al., Defendants in Error. |
| Court | Oklahoma Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. An insurer which pays the insured for medical expenses pursuant to the terms of an automobile insurance policy may not, on principles of subrogation, recover such sum from the tortfeasor, for the reason that the right to recover medical expenses is a part of, and not separate and apart from, the nonassignable personal injury claim.
2. Ordinarily an assignor is not permitted, as against his assignee, to allege nonassignability of that which he has assigned.
Appeal from the District Court of Oklahoma County; Carmon C. Harris, Judge.
Action by insurer under medical pay subrogation provision of liability policy to recover money paid to its insured and his passenger under medical payment coverage. Insurer sued the injured insured, his injured passenger, and the tort-feasor and her insurer. Affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part with directions.
Robert S. Baker, Oklahoma City, Pierce, Duncan, Couch & Hendrickson, Oklahoma City, of counsel, for plaintiff in error.
Harvey L. Harmon, of Franklin, Harmon & Satterfield, Inc., Oklahoma City, for defendants in error Perry E. Hodge and Helena Hodge.
Foliart, Shepherd, Mills & Niemeyer, by David W. Edmonds, Oklahoma City, for plaintiff in error Juanita Christene Barton and for defendant in error Farmers Ins. Exchange.
State Farm Fire and Casualty Insurance Company (plaintiff below) appeals from a judgment rendered in favor of Farmers Insurance Exchange, Perry E. Hodge and Helena Hodge (defendants below) when the trial court sustained the named defendants' motions for summary judgment, based on the pleadings, stipulation of the parties, and answers to requests for admissions.
Juanita Christene Barton (defendant below) also appeals from a judgment against her and in favor of State Farm for $1500.00, based on the same above described record.
The circumstances are that State Farm furnished an automobile liability policy to Perry E. Hodge that provided under Coverage C for payment of reasonable medical expenses incurred within one year by him or his spouse as a result of an accident while occupying the automobile, but limited to.$1000.00 for each person. While traveling in the automobile the Hodges were injured in a collision with an automobile driven by Barton. The medical expenses of the Hodges were substantially in excess of.$1000.00 for each of them. State Farm paid each of the Hodges.$1000.00 for this expense. Thereafter, the Farmers Insurance Exchange, as insurer of Barton and on behalf of Barton, paid to the Hodges a substantial sum in settlement of their personal injury claims against Barton. This settlement was made with full knowledge of all concerned that State Farm claimed that by reason of the terms of its insurance policy with Perry E. Hodge it was subrogated, to the extent of the money paid by it, to the proceeds of any settlement or judgment resulting from the exercise of rights of recovery the Hodges had against Barton.
State Farm then sued Barton (tort-feasor), Farmers (tort-feasor's insurer) and the Hodges (insureds of State Farm), to recover the $2000.00 paid on the Hodges' medical expenses. This amount was reduced by a stipulation that if State Farm was entitled to recover at all, the amount of the recovery would be $1500.00. The parties stipulated that the liability for the accident was Barton's. As stated, the trial court rendered judgment for State Farm against Barton (tort-feasor) for $1500.00, and denied State Farm any recovery against the other defendants.
The provision in State Farm's insurance policy upon which it bases its right to recover the Coverage C, Medical Payments, is as follows:
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