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Williams v. Turner6/3/1999
- We summarize the superior court's orders and our Disposition:
"The court ordered arbitration of a third party liability claim, despite a demand for a jury trial by the insured defendants. We reverse the order of the trial court. "The court entered a money Judgement against the defendant tortfeasors for property damages following an automobile accident without the benefit of a trial or so much as a motion for summary Judgement. We reverse the order of the trial court. "The court struck an affidavit submitted in support of the insureds' and third party liability carrier's motion for reconsideration. We reverse the order of the trial court."
FACTS
On January 20, 1995, Jenny and David Williams stopped for a red light. A car driven by Lloyd Turner struck them from behind. Marianne Anderson owned the car driven by Mr. Turner. State Farm Insurance Companies insured both cars. Ms. Williams was injured. An insurance claims adjuster noted some bumper damage on the Williamses' car one day after the accident. Two years after the accident, the Williamses' obtained a repair estimate for $1,021.87. State Farm refused to pay it.
Sometime after the January 1995 accident, the Williamses' vehicle was rear-ended in the same spot.
The relevant coverages here are $50,000 liability for the Anderson vehicle, and $100,000 uninsured/underinsured motorists (UIM) coverage and $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP) for the Williamses' vehicle. The PIP was exhausted to partially cover Ms. Williams' injuries. The Williamses' policy requires arbitration of UIM disputes upon written request.
The Williamses demanded arbitration of both their UIM claim and third party claims against Ms. Anderson and Mr. Turner in January 1998. State Farm agreed to arbitrate the UIM claim but refused to arbitrate the third party claims against Ms. Anderson and Mr. Turner. The Williamses sued Ms. Anderson, Mr. Turner, and State Farm on January 20, 1998. They asserted several claims against State Farm, including breach of contract, bad faith, Unfair Claims Settlement Practices (WAC 284-30), Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86) (hereinafter CPA), and infliction of emotional distress. They also filed a notice of intent to arbitrate.
On February 5, State Farm moved to stay the arbitration and objected to the Williamses' attempts to combine the UIM claim with the third party claim for arbitration.
The Williamses moved to compel binding arbitration for all parties, including the third party defendants, and for an order requiring State Farm to pay $1,021.87 in property damages on March 6, 1998. They requested attorney fees and costs. And they also asked, without supporting affidavits, for a ruling that State Farm had violated the CPA and Washington insurance statutes and regulations as a matter of law.
Ms. Anderson and Mr. Turner filed a jury demand and paid the jury fee on March 9, 1998. The next day Ms. Anderson and Mr. Turner moved to bifurcate the tort claim from the claims against State Farm, dismiss the arbitration, and impose sanctions on the Williamses.
The court ordered binding arbitration under RCW 7.04 on all parties for both the UIM and third party claims. The court based its decision on (1) the "long{-}standing practice favoring arbitration in the Washington courts"; and (2) the ability of the tortfeasors to intervene in the arbitration based on the incorporation of the Washington court rules into the Williamses' insurance policy. The court also ordered State Farm to pay $1,021.87 to the Williamses for the property damage to their vehicle because State Farm was the "real party in interest." The court decline
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