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Sheppard v. Rebidas12/9/2004
The court reasoned as follows:
"What is clear to this court is that Ms. Kumm, acting on behalf of Sentry Insurance Company, knew that the impact of negotiating the contracts as she did, which included not pursuing any subrogation rights. The fact that some other person in Sentry Insurance Company later disagrees with that decision, is irrelevant. Intervenor, Sentry Insurance Company is bound by the terms of the contract and, as such, it does not have a lien on the case."
As such, the court denied Sentry's request for relief.
Sentry contends on appeal that the trial court erred in its ruling because Sentry was not required to file its own suit in subrogation against Rebidas in order to preserve its lien rights over the proceeds of the settlement. Sentry further claims that the trial court erred in finding that Sentry waived its lien rights during the negotiations leading to the settlement. Finally, Sentry asserts that its "lien rights under Section 5(b) apply to all the monies it paid to Sheppard under Section 8 of the Act." Sentry requests that we reverse the trial court's order and enter judgment in favor of Sentry and against Sheppard in the amount of $62,646.56. We find each of Sentry's arguments to be without merit and, therefore, affirm.
In this appeal, Sentry alleges that the $62,646.56 lien is comprised of medical expenses, temporary total disability, and a lump-sum payment of $50,000 for permanent partial disability. We begin by noting that the trial court specifically found that the parties had resolved the matter of the medical expenses before trial. In our review, we give deference to the trial court's findings of fact unless they are against the manifest weight of the evidence. Lowe Excavating Co. v. International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 150, 327 Ill. App. 3d 711, 720 (2002). We find that the trial court's finding is amply supported by the record inasmuch as it contains the letter evidencing the parties' agreement to settle the medical expenses for $19,523.37. Next, we find that Sentry's claim to a payment for temporary total disability is also belied by the record because the settlement contract for the claim for the December 21 accident explicitly states that there was "no lost time" or temporary total disability paid. Finally, Sentry's claim that it is owed $50,000 for permanent partial disability is similarly belied by the same settlement contract, which reveals that Sentry agreed to pay Sheppard the lump sum of $1 for permanent partial disability stemming from the December 21 accident.
Sentry attempts to circumvent the plain language of the settlement contracts by arguing that it was the parties' intent to settle Sheppard's claims in unison. In support, Sentry asks us to consider Kumm's testimony. We note, however, that the trial court has already weighed Kumm's testimony, finding her testimony that she understood the consequences of signing the settlement contract for the December 21 accident more persuasive than her testimony that the parties agreed to settle the claims together. We will not substitute our judgment for that of the trial court regarding conflicts in testimony and the credibility of witnesses. Lowe Excavating Co., 327 Ill. App. 3d at 720. Furthermore, the record reveals that the settlement contract for the December 21 accident made no mention of the October 17 accident and was signed by Kumm over two months after she signed the contract which settled the claim for the October 17 accident. Accordingly, we find that the trial court did not err in determining that Sentry's $50,000 payment made in settlement of the claim for the October 17 accident did not give rise to a lien with regard to the claim for the De
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