Greenvall v. Maine Mutual Fire Insurance Co.12/27/2001
As amended January 4, 2002.
Reporter of Decisions
Argued: November 7, 2001
Jerald E. Greenvall, the personal representative of the estate of Carla Madore, appeals from the judgment entered in the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Marden J.), declining to apply the increased statutory damages cap for loss of comfort, society, and companionship contained within the 1995 amendment to Maine's Wrongful Death Act, 18-A M.R.S.A. § 2-804. The amendment was enacted after Madore's death but prior to the filing of this lawsuit. Greenvall contends that the amendment did not amount to a substantive change in the law and, therefore, should have been applied retroactively to encompass the present case. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.
On February 11, 1995, Carla Madore was killed in an automobile collision in Greene. Madore and her vehicle were insured by Maine Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Maine Mutual). Her policy included uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage up to $300,000. James Donahue, the other driver involved in the accident, was covered up to $100,000 by liability insurance provided by Maryland Insurance Group.
On January 5, 1996, the estate settled with Donahue and Maryland Insurance Group for $100,000, and released them from any further liability resulting from the accident. Following this agreement, the estate requested payment from Maine Mutual in the amount of $200,000. This figure represented the difference between the decedent's uninsured motorist coverage, $300,000, and the amount of the settlement with Donahue and his insurer, $100,000. Maine Mutual refused to make any payment. On April 4, 1997 Greenvall brought suit claiming breach of contract, bad faith, and late payment. Although the bad faith and late payment claims were dismissed by a summary judgment, the breach of contract claim was tried before a jury.
On the day of the decedent's death, the Wrongful Death Act restricted recovery for loss of comfort, society, and companionship at $75,000. 18-A M.R.S.A. § 2-804 (Supp. 1989) (amended by P.L. 1995, ch. 577, § 1; P.L. 1999, ch. 772, § 1). By the time Greenvall filed suit, the Legislature had raised the statutory cap on these damages to $150,000. P.L. 1995, ch. 577, § 1 (effective July 4, 1996).
At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found that Donahue's negligence was a proximate cause of the decedent's death and awarded damages to the estate, including $150,000 for the loss of comfort, society, and companionship. The court, however, ruled that the applicable cap for loss of comfort, society, and companionship was $75,000, the limit at the time the accident occurred, and entered judgment accordingly. The court held that because the increase in the statutory cap was a substantive change to the Wrongful Death Act, it should not be retroactively applied to the accident in question. Greenvall filed this appeal.
A statute is retroactively applied if it is "applied so as to determine the legal significance of acts or events that occurred prior to its effective date . . . ." Terry v. St. Regis Paper Co., 459 A.2d 1106, 1108 (Me. 1983) (quoting Coates v. Maine Employment Sec. Comm'n, 406 A.2d 94, 96 (Me. 1979)). The trial court's conclusion concerning the retroactive/prospective application of the 1995 amendment is a question of statutory interpretation which we review de novo. Great N. Paper, Inc. v. Penobscot Nation, 2001 ME 68, 14, 770 A.2d 574, 580.
When faced with similar issues in the past, we have often applied the common law presumption that, absent language to the contrary, legislation affecting procedural or remedial rights should be appl
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