 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Davis County v. Jensen12/26/2003
429 P.2d 39 (1967), the supreme court granted an interlocutory appeal to review a ruling of the trial court "that the defendant in a personal injury action must answer in discovery whether she is insured, and if so, the name of the insurer and the amount of coverage." Id. at 39-40. The court held that because the injured party is in effect a third-party beneficiary of the insurance of a wrongdoer who injures him, ... t is only reasonable that the plaintiff should have some means of discovering whether a policy exists, and what its provisions are so he can know whether covenants upon which his rights may depend are being complied with.
Id. at 41. A plain reading shows that the court's holding applies only to the narrow issue of cooperation in discovery. The court did not hold, as the County asserts here, that injured third parties have a right of direct action against the tortfeasor's insurer.
In Peterson v. Western Casualty & Surety Co., 19 Utah 2d 26, 425 P.2d 769 (1967), the insurance policy in question "contained the usual provision that a judgment creditor of the insured may bring" suit directly against the tortfeasor's insurer. Id. at 770. Hence, the Peterson holding, which allowed a plaintiff to recover directly from the tortfeasor's insurer, came about because the insurer consented to such action in the language of the policy. See id. at 770, 772.
That the County may never collect on its judgment against Jensen is unfortunate; but until the Utah Legislature sees fit to adopt a rule allowing direct action by an injured party against a tortfeasor's insurer, the County has no right of action against Progressive directly, and no means to impel Jensen to obtain a settlement from Progressive in order to satisfy its judgment. See Ammerman, 430 P.2d at 578 ("The privilege of deciding whether to [sue one's insurer] should be up to [the tortfeasor] and not up to some third party to inject his interest into the matter.").
CONCLUSION
The County cannot bring a cause of action in contract directly against Progressive. Also, the County has no means to force Jensen to bring a claim against his insurer. Finally, the County has no tort claim against Progressive because Progressive has committed no tortious act against the County. Accordingly, we hold that the County lacks standing to bring its claims against Progressive and, therefore, we affirm the lower court's grant of summary judgment for Progressive and its denial of summary judgment for the County.
Judith M. Billings, Associate Presiding Judge
WE CONCUR:
Norman H. Jackson,
Presiding Judge
Pamela T. Greenwood, Judge
Page 1 2 3 4 Utah Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|