DADELAND DODGE INC., ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
AMERICAN VEHICLE INSURANCE CO., ETC., ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1997-09-10
No. 95-3537
Before NESBITT, GODERICH and GREEN, JJ.
698 So. 2d 929 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1997) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

This case involves an appeal concerning the liability of insurance companies following a one-car accident where a rented vehicle was involved, and the primary issue is whether a release executed by an injured party bars the subrogation rights of her insurer.


Holding

The release executed by the injured party in favor of the tortfeasors does not bar the subrogation rights of her insurer, as the tortfeasors had knowledge of the insurer's subrogation rights.


Headnotes

[1] A tortfeasor's release from the insured does not bar an insurer's subrogation rights if the tortfeasor had actual or constructive knowledge of the insurer's perfected sub…

[2] An insurer's right to subrogation is perfected when the insurer has fully paid the claim of its indemnitee.

Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

A renter's daughter was injured when the rented van, driven with consent, crashed. The renter's health insurer paid medical benefits and, as subrogee,…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This case arises out of a one-car accident involving a rented vehicle. Primarily, the appeal involves a determination as to the liability of the various insurance companies involved.

On May 2, 1988, Ferda Graham (Graham) rented a van from Dadeland Dodge, Inc. (Dadeland) for a family trip. Graham’s cousin’s wife, Ruby Jackson (Ruby), was driving the van with Graham’s consent when she fell asleep at the wheel causing an accident. Ruby’s then fourteen year-old daughter Lavonne was ejected from the vehicle and injured.

Lavonne’s father, Lee Jackson, was a member of the Cigna Health Plan (Cigna), and both Ruby and Lavonne were covered under the plan as his dependents. Cigna paid $82,223.16 in medical benefits for treatment of Lavonne’s injuries. Ruby had personal injury protection and liability coverage with American Vehicle Insurance Company (American). Allstate Insurance Company provided personal injury protection and liability coverage to Dadeland.

Cigna made its final benefit payment to Lavonne on December 12, 1989. Unbeknownst to Cigna, Lavonne filed, and later settled, a claim with Dadeland’s carrier, Allstate. In exchange for a structured settlement totalling $93,549.00, Lavonne, on August 7, 1991, executed a release, indemnity, and hold harmless agreement in favor of Dadeland, Allstate, and Ruby.

On May 6, 1992, Cigna filed the complaint that ultimately gave rise to this appeal. Cig-na, as Lavonne’s subrogee, sued Dadeland, Allstate, Ruby, and American, for recovery of the medical benefits it had paid to Lavonne. Allstate, Dadeland, and Ruby eventually filed a joint motion for summary judgment on various grounds. American filed its own separate motion. The trial court entered final judgments in favor of American and Ruby. It entered final judgments in Cigna’s favor against Allstate and Dadeland for $10,000 and $75,759.99, plus interest, respectively.

Allstate and Dadeland appeal the final judgments entered against them and the final judgment entered in American’s favor. Cigna cross-appeals the judgment entered in American’s favor and asks that in the event the judgments against Allstate and Dadeland are reversed, that judgment be reversed as well.

With respect to the judgments entered against Allstate and Dadeland, we address the only issue we conclude has merit and requires reversal. Allstate and Dadeland correctly note that as Lavonne’s subrogee, Cigna “stands in her shoes.” They argue that the release executed by Lavonne in their favor bars Cigna’s suit against them. In Ortega v. Motors Insurance Corp., 552 So. 2d 1127,1128 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), this court explicitly adopted the principle “well established in other jurisdictions that ‘where the tortfeasor obtains a release from the insured ivith knowledge that the latter has already been indemnified by the insurer such release of the tortfeasor does not bar the right of subrogation of the insurer.’ 16 Couch on Insurance 2d, § 61:201 (2d ed.1983), and cases cited therein (emphasis added).” The tortfeasor must have knowledge of the insurer’s perfected subrogation rights. See id. A party’s right to subrogation is not perfected until the claim of its indemnitee is paid in full. See National Sur. Corp. v. Bimonte, 143 So. 2d 709, 710 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962).

Not addressed in Ortega, as it was not at issue in that ease, was the degree of knowledge on the tortfeasor’s part that would estop it from relying on the release. It is clear from Ortega that in that case the tortfeasor and his carrier had actual knowledge of the insurer’s perfected subrogation rights. The same principle preventing a tortfeasor from relying on a release applies where the tortfeasor has constructive knowledge of the insurer’s perfected subrogation rights. See 16 Couch on Insurance 2d, § 61:201 (2d ed.1983). A party is deemed to have constructive knowledge of a fact when that party has actual knowledge of facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to inquire and discover the fact in question, or infer its existence. See 58 Am. Jur.2d Notice § 9 (1989).

It is clear from the transcript of the hearing below that the trial court was unclear as to the appropriate test to use in deciding whether the release barred Cigna’s suit. Thus, we reverse the judgments entered against Dadeland and Allstate. We remand the ease so that the trial court can have the opportunity, if raised by Dadeland and Allstate, to consider in the first instance whether there are genuine issues of material fact with respect to their constructive knowledge of Cigna’s perfected subrogation rights.

Having reversed the judgments entered against Allstate and Dadeland, we must also reverse the judgment entered in American’s favor as that judgment was predicated on Allstate’s ability to completely fulfill its financial obligations. Moreover, Lavonne, as a resident relative of the named insured, Ruby, was entitled to personal injury protection benefits under the American policy. Cigna, standing in Lavonne’s shoes, is entitled to collect those benefits. See International Underwriters, Inc. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Delaware, Inc., 449 A. 2d 197 (Del.1982); Givens v. Street, 405 A. 2d 704 (Del.Super.Ct.1979).

In sum, we reverse the judgments entered against Allstate and Dadeland, and in favor of American, for further proceedings. We affirm the judgment entered in Ruby’s favor.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • …ation was not perfected until it paid the claim of its indemnitee in full" (first citing Fowler v. Lee, 143 So. 613, 614 (Fla. 1932); and then citing Whyel v. Smith, 134 So. 552, 554 (Fla. 1931))); accord Dadeland Dodge Inc. v. Am. Vehicle Ins. Co., 698 So. 2d 929, 931 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). Instead, when the policy incepted, Universal's subrogation rights were contingent on a future event—namely Universal's payment of a covered loss—and its rights were expectant because they depended on the law not changing du…
  • …ation was not perfected until it paid the claim of its indemnitee in full" (first citing Fowler v. Lee, 143 So. 613, 614 (Fla. 1932); and then citing Whyel v. Smith, 134 So. 552, 554 (Fla. 1931))); accord Dadeland Dodge Inc. v. Am. Vehicle Ins. Co., 698 So. 2d 929, 931 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). Instead, when the policy incepted, Universal's subrogation rights were contingent on a future event—namely Universal's payment of a covered loss—and its rights were expectant because they depended on the law not changing du…
  • United States v. Baxter Int'l, 345 F.3d 866 (11th Cir. 2003)
    …laimant with knowledge — actual or constructive — that another entity has a subro-gation claim against the proceeds is not insulated from suit by the subrogee by virtue of the incorrect payment. See Dadeland Dodge, Inc. v. American Vehicle Ins. Co., 698 So. 2d 929, 931 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1997) (holding that tortfeasor that has constructive knowledge of insurer’s perfected right of subrogation cannot rely on insured’s release to preclude insurer’s claim for reimbursement); accord State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Pa…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw