Tucker v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 24 November 1986
• Docket Number: No. 32,32
• Citation: 517 A.2d 730,308 Md. 69
• Parties: Lynard TUCKER v. FIREMAN'S FUND INSURANCE COMPANY. Sept. Term 1986.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

Page 69

308 Md. 69

517 A.2d 730

Lynard TUCKER v. FIREMAN'S FUND INSURANCE COMPANY.

No. 32 Sept. Term 1986.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Nov. 24, 1986.

Dennis F. O'Brien (White, Mindel, Clarke & Hill on the brief), Towson, for appellant.

John J. Schneider (Clifford L. Hardwick, Hardwick, Tripoda & Harris, on the brief), Baltimore, for appellee.

Argued before MURPHY, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, COLE, RODOWSKY, COUCH, McAULIFFE and ADKINS, JJ.

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

Under Article 48A, § 539(a) of the Maryland Code (1957, 1986 Repl.Vol.), all motor vehicle liability insurance policies issued, sold, or delivered in this State after January 1, 1973 must contain personal injury protection (PIP) provisions affording minimal medical, hospital, lost income, and disability benefits to covered persons "injured in any motor vehicle accident." Among the individuals who may receive these benefits are:

" the named insured and members of his family residing in his household ..., [and] other persons injured while occupying the insured motor vehicle as a guest or passenger, or while using it with the express or implied permission of the named insured ..., and pedestrians injured in an accident in which the insured motor vehicle is involved or individuals injured in, on, or alighting from any other vehicle operated by animal or muscular power in an accident in which an insured vehicle is involved." (Emphasis added.)

The question presented in this case is whether an individual struck and injured by a car while sitting on a stool in a parking lot attendant's booth may be considered a "pedestrian" within the meaning of § 539 and thus eligible to receive PIP benefits.

I.

The case arose from a motor vehicle accident on February 11, 1982, in a garage where appellant Lynard Tucker was employed as a parking lot attendant. On the day of the accident, Tucker was sitting on a stool inside the attendant's booth when the booth was struck by an automobile driven by Barbara Eburg and insured by appellee Fireman's Fund Insurance. The insured's policy contained the required PIP coverage which Tucker sought to recover from Fireman's Fund.

After the insurer denied his claim, Tucker sued Fireman's Fund in the District Court of Maryland. That court held that Tucker was not entitled to PIP benefits under the no-fault insurance provisions of § 539 because he was not a pedestrian when the accident occurred. On appeal, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City affirmed. We granted certiorari to review the important issue raised in the case.

II.

Tucker argues that "pedestrian," as used in § 539, was intended by the General Assembly "to delineate between persons operating and/or occupying vehicles and those who are not." Tucker thus claims that he is within the class of persons protected under § 539. Fireman's Fund, on the other hand, argues that the legislature intended that the undefined term "pedestrian" in § 539 would be afforded the same meaning as that earlier enacted and contained in Code (1984 Repl.Vol.), § 11-145 of the Transportation Article, namely that "[p]edestrian means an individual afoot." To otherwise define the term "pedestrian" in § 539, the appellee suggests, was unnecessary. It maintains that the Transportation Article, which contains the motor vehicle laws of the State, and § 539 of the Insurance Code entitled "Motor Vehicle Casualty Insurance--Required Primary Coverage" concern the same subject matter. Thus, it is argued that the two statutes should be construed harmoniously so that "pedestrian" would have the same meaning in both statutes. Moreover, Fireman's Fund urges that the common meaning of "pedestrian" is the same as the § 11-145 definition and should be applied in any event. Because Tucker was not "afoot" when he was injured, the appellee contends that he was not a pedestrian within the contemplation of § 539 and therefore was not entitled to PIP benefits.

III.

In construing the meaning of a word in a statute, the cardinal rule is to ascertain and carry out the real legislative intention. Reid v. State, 302 Md. 811, 816, 490 A.2d 1289 (1985); Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Sybert, 295 Md. 347, 361, 456 A.2d 20 (1983); Smelser v. Criterion Ins. Co., 293 Md. 384, 388-89, 444 A.2d 1024 (1982); Mauzy v. Hornbeck, 285 Md. 84, 92, 400 A.2d 1091 (1979). The primary source of legislative intent is, of course, the language of the statute itself. Auto. Trade Ass'n. v. Harold Folk Enter., 301 Md. 642, 653, 484 A.2d 612 (1984); Haskell v. Carey, 294 Md. 550, 556, 451 A.2d 658 (1982); Bledsoe v. Bledsoe, 294 Md. 183, 189, 448 A.2d 353 (1982); State v. Berry, 287 Md. 491, 495, 413 A.2d 557 (1980). When the legislature has not defined a term, it should ordinarily be given its usual and natural meaning. DeJarnette v. Federal Kemper Ins. Co., 299 Md. 708, 717, 475 A.2d 454 (1984); Brown v. State, 285 Md. 469, 474, 403 A.2d 788 (1979); Mauzy v. Hornbeck, supra, 285 Md. at 84, 400 A.2d 1091; Williams v. Loyola College, 257 Md. 316, 328, 263 A.2d 5 (1970). Of course, where statutory provisions are clear and unambiguous, no construction or clarification is needed or permitted, it being the rule that a plainly worded statute must be construed without forced or subtle interpretations designed to extend or limit the scope of its operation. State v. Intercontinental, Ltd., 302 Md. 132, 137, 486 A.2d 174 (1985); Hornbeck v. Somerset Co. Bd. of Educ., 295 Md. 597, 619, 458 A.2d 758 (1983).

"Pedestrian" is defined in Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1664 (1971) as "a person who travels on foot," specifically as "one who walks for pleasure, sport, or exercise" and "one walking as distinguished from one travelling by car or cycle." Black's Law Dictionary 1019 (5th ed. 1979) similarly defines pedestrian as "[a] person traveling on foot." As already indicated, this definition is similar to that provided in § 11-145 of the Transportation Article.

That a term may be free from ambiguity when used in one context but of doubtful application in another context is well settled. See Truck Ins. Exch. v. Marks Rentals, 288 Md. 428, 433, 418 A.2d 1187 (1980); Ebert v. Millers Fire Ins. Co., 220 Md. 602, 610, 155 A.2d 484 (1959). We are by no means persuaded that in defining the term "pedestrian" in § 11-145 of the Transportation Article, the legislature necessarily intended that same explicit definition to be utilized in applying the later enacted provisions of § 539. Section 11-145 is part of Subtitle 1 ("Definitions") of Title 11 of the Transportation Article; that title defines numerous words, providing in § 11-101 that "[i]n the Maryland Vehicle Law, the following words [e.g., 'Pedestrian'] have the meanings indicated, unless the context requires otherwise." Section 539 of the Insurance Code, setting forth statutorily mandated insurance coverages in motor vehicle liability policies, is not so related to the motor vehicle laws of the State as to compel a like construction of terms used in the two statutes.

Nor do we think that a literal application of the word "pedestrian," in the context of its usage in § 539, was necessarily intended by the legislature in view of the unjust and unreasonable consequences that would obviously flow from such an interpretation. Construed literally, the term "pedestrian" would require an individual to be traveling on foot at the time of the accident contradistinguished from one who is, for example, seated or in a standing stationary position on a sidewalk adjacent to a road, when the accident occurred, or even a person struck by a motor vehicle while in a wheelchair next to the highway. Thus, under such a limited application, an individual seated on the steps of a building in front of a public highway who is struck by a motor vehicle would be unable to collect PIP benefits while another individual walking on the steps of the same building would be covered.

We, of course, recognize the legislative right to draw lines distinguishing between covered and uncovered persons. We also recognize the rule that where a statute is plainly susceptible of more than one meaning and thus contains an ambiguity, courts consider not only the literal or usual meaning of the words, but their meaning and effect in light of the setting, the objectives and purpose of the enactment. State v. Fabritz, 276 Md. 416, 348 A.2d 275 (1975); Height v. State, 225 Md. 251, 170 A.2d 212 (1961). In such circumstances, the court, in seeking to ascertain legislative intent, may consider the consequences resulting from one meaning rather than another, and adopt that construction which avoids an illogical or unreasonable result, or one which is inconsistent with common sense. See Kindley v. Governor of Maryland, 289 Md. 620, 426 A.2d 908 (1981); B. F. Saul Co. v. West End Park, 250 Md. 707, 246 A.2d 591 (1968); Sanza v. Md. Board of Censors, 245 Md. 319, 226 A.2d 317 (1967); Truitt v. Board of Public Works, 243 Md. 375, 221 A.2d 370 (1966).

IV.

Maryland is one of twenty-eight jurisdictions which have enacted no-fault insurance plans. ¹ The primary purpose of § 539 is "to assure financial compensation to victims of motor vehicle accidents without regard to the fault of a named insured or other persons entitled to PIP benefits." Pennsylvania Nat'l. Mutual Casualty Ins. Co. v. Gartelman, 288 Md. 151, 154, 416 A.2d 734 (1980). See also Smelser v. Criterion Ins. Co., supra, 293 Md. at 393, 444 A.2d 1024 (purpose of the no-fault insurance subtitle is to put a limited amount of money in the hands of an injured individual under certain circumstances without regard to whether another person is liable for the injuries which the claimant sustained); Pfeffer v. State Auto. & Cas. Underwriters Ins. Co., 292 N.W.2d 743 (Minn.1980) (purposes of no-fault statute include encouraging promptness of payment for medical treatment, prevention of overcompensation for minor injuries, and relief of the economic distress of uncompensated victims).

The statutory delineation of...