State Farm v. Hill

• Decision Date: 03 July 2001
• Docket Number: No. 1143,1143
• Citation: 139 Md. App. 308,775 A.2d 476
• Parties: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY et al. v. Terrence Brett HILL et al.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

775 A.2d 476

139 Md. App. 308

STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY et al. v. Terrence Brett HILL et al.

No. 1143, Sept. Term, 2000.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

July 3, 2001.

Lawrence E. Ballantine (H. Barritt Peterson, Jr. & Associates, on brief), Towson, for appellant State Farm.

Patrick J. Nooney (Patrick J. Nooney, P.A., on brief), Hagerstown, for appellant Nationwide.

Dennis F. O'Brien (Foard, Gisriel, O'Brien & Ward, L.L.C., Towson, and Terry Myers (Myers & Proctor), Hagerstown, on brief), for appellees.

Argued before SALMON, ADKINS, and MICHELE D. HOTTEN (Specially Assigned), JJ.

SALMON, Judge.

In this appeal we are asked to decide whether the fireman's rule is applicable when police officers sue a defendant who intentionally harms them. Other related issues are presented, viz, whether contributory negligence or assumption of risk are valid defenses to a personal injury claim arising out of intentional torts. In addition, we are called upon to interpret section 19-513(e) of the Insurance article of the Maryland Code (1997). The statutory construction issue is: When a plaintiff receives a civil judgment and a workers' compensation award arising out of the same incident, is $20,000 the maximum worker's compensation benefit credit allowable against the judgment under section 19-513(e)?

I.

Adam Rozas stole a Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck in Martinsburg, West Virginia, on November 12, 1995. He was fifteen years old at the time.

West Virginia police officers spotted Rozas driving the stolen truck on the evening of November 12th and gave chase. Rozas drove, at extremely high rates of speed, into Virginia and then into Western Maryland with the police in hot pursuit. Once in Maryland, Rozas's reckless actions included topping a hill crest on the wrong side of the road, driving through the town of Boonesborough, Maryland, going between fifty and sixty miles per hour, and driving at speeds up to one hundred miles per hour in open country.

Maryland police authorities were notified of Rozas's actions, and several Maryland State Police officers joined in his pursuit. Among the Maryland State Police officers who tried to stop Rozas were Corporal Terrence Hill¹ and Trooper Richard Poffenberger.

Trooper Poffenberger and Corporal Hill, among others, were ordered to execute a "rolling roadblock" to stop the stolen vehicle. The goal of a rolling roadblock is to "box in" and eventually force an uncooperative motorist to stop his or her vehicle. It is executed by having one, or more, police officers in front of the vehicle being chased, and at least one car immediately behind the target vehicle. Initially, the police vehicles drive at the same speed as the car they are trying to stop; the lead car then gradually reduces its speed, which (hopefully) will cause the car being pursued to do likewise; if the car being chased reduces its speed, the lead car comes to a gradual halt—thereby causing the vehicle in the middle to do likewise.

Both Corporal Hill and Trooper Poffenberger had performed rolling roadblocks prior to November 12th, and both appreciated the fact that they risked serious personal injury whenever they attempted to stop an uncooperative motorist in this manner. Despite the known danger, Corporal Hill drove to Alternate Route 40—a two-lane highway—and waited for Rozas to approach from the east. Eventually he observed Rozas, driving at a high rate of speed, going westbound. Corporal Hill, with his emergency lights activated, pulled from the side of the road and accelerated up to Rozas's speed as Rozas approached rapidly from behind. Shortly thereafter, Rozas was "boxed in" with Corporal Hill in front and another state police vehicle immediately behind. The vehicles then approached a dangerous stretch of roadway known, ominously, as "Deadman's Curve." All three vehicles negotiated Deadman's Curve successfully but, in doing so, skidded dangerously. Immediately after meeting this challenge, Rozas struck Corporal Hill's cruiser in the rear, causing it to "fishtail." Corporal Hill regained control over his vehicle, but then Rozas forcefully struck the vehicle again, causing Corporal Hill to lose control of his vehicle. The police cruiser spun across the eastbound lane of traffic into a guardrail and then came to rest.

As a result of the collision with Corporal Hill's car, Rozas's stolen vehicle was damaged. This damage caused Rozas to slow down to about forty to fifty miles per hour.

With Corporal Hill's vehicle disabled, Trooper Poffenberger managed to get in front of Rozas's vehicle, and another police vehicle still trailed Rozas. At that point, Rozas had four options: he could attempt to pass on the right shoulder; he could drive into the eastbound lane and attempt to pass; he could slow his vehicle to a stop; or he could accelerate forward and strike Trooper Poffenberger's vehicle in the rear. Rozas took the last-mentioned option. Trooper Poffenberger, however, did not lose control of his vehicle despite the impact, but about this time he concluded that Rozas had to be brought to a halt immediately because the rolling roadblock was approaching a more heavily populated area. With that in mind, Trooper Poffenberger decided "to slow down rapidly" in front of Rozas. When Trooper Poffenberger did so, his vehicle was struck in the rear with great force by the stolen vehicle, and the police car rotated clockwise, then slammed into an embankment. The impact between the stolen vehicle and Trooper Poffenberger's cruiser caused Rozas to lose control of his vehicle, and he, too, came to a stop.

Both Corporal Hill and Trooper Poffenberger were injured as a result of Rozas's actions, and both officers brought workers' compensation claims for injuries arising out of the collisions just described. Corporal Hill received workers' compensation benefits in the amount of $30,583.51, and Trooper Poffenberger was awarded $13,500 in benefits.

At the time of the November 12, 1995, incident Rozas was uninsured. Corporal Hill was insured under an automobile policy issued by State Farm Mutual Insurance Company ("State Farm"), which provided him with uninsured motorist ("U.M.") coverage. Trooper Poffenberger also had U.M. coverage under a personal automobile policy issued to him by Nationwide Insurance Company ("Nationwide").

II.

Corporal Hill and Trooper Poffenberger filed separate lawsuits in the Circuit Court for Washington County against their U.M. carriers and Rozas. As originally drafted, the complaints alleged that Rozas's negligence caused their injuries. Later the complaints were amended to allege, in the alternative, that the plaintiffs were intentionally injured by Rozas. The two cases were consolidated for trial.

Rozas did not appear at trial, but attorneys for the two insurance companies were present. At the end of the plaintiffs' case and at the end of the entire case, both Nationwide and State Farm moved for judgment in their favor.² State Farm argued that Corporal Hill's claim against Rozas was barred by both the fireman's rule and the assumption of risk doctrine. Nationwide contended that Trooper Poffenberger's claim was barred for the same reasons as those advanced by State Farm; Nationwide also argued that Trooper Poffenberger had forfeited any right to recover against Rozas due to his own contributory negligence.

The trial judge denied the motions of both insurance carriers. The jury, answering questions on a special verdict form, found, inter alia, that (1) Rozas intentionally caused injury to Corporal Hill and Trooper Poffenberger; (2) neither Corporal Hill nor Trooper Poffenberger assumed the risk of injury; and (3) Trooper Poffenberger was not guilty of contributory negligence.³

The jury decided that Corporal Hill suffered damages in the total amount of $85,595 as a result of the November 12, 1995, incident, and that Trooper Poffenberger suffered injuries worth $30,624.32.

Both insurance carriers filed motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. They argued that the judgments against them should be set aside for the same reasons that they advanced in their motions for judgment made during the trial. In addition, both State Farm and Nationwide filed motions to alter or amend judgment, in which they asked that the judgments be reduced (pursuant to section 19-513(e) of the Insurance article) by the amounts of workers' compensation benefits received by each plaintiff. The trial court denied the motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict but granted the motions to alter or amend judgments; the court reduced Corporal Hill's judgment to $55,011.49 ($85,595—30,583.51); Trooper Poffenberger's judgment was reduced to $17,093.35 ($30,624.32—13,530.97).

III.

Neither State Farm nor Nationwide contests coverage for the harm caused to their insureds by Rozas. Furthermore, the insurers do not claim that the evidence was insufficient to support the conclusion that Rozas intentionally caused injury to the plaintiffs. At bottom, they contend that because Rozas should not have been liable to the plaintiffs, neither should they be held liable.

A. Contributory Negligence

Nationwide maintains that the trial judge erred in denying its motion for judgment on the ground that Trooper Poffenberger, as a matter of law, was guilty of contributory negligence and therefore Rozas was not liable to him.⁴ In support of its argument, Nationwide quotes Campbell v. Montgomery County Board of Education, 73 Md.App. 54, 64-65, 533 A.2d 9 (1987):

Contributory negligence, it is said, "occurs whenever the injured person acts or fails to act in a manner consistent with the knowledge or appreciation, actual or implied, of the danger or injury that his or her conduct involves." Gilbert, Maryland Tort Law Handbook, § 11.4.1; Schwier v. Gray, 277 Md. 631, 357 A.2d 100 (1976).

A case may not be taken from a jury on the ground of contributory negligence unless the evidence demonstrates "some prominent and

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