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Bishop v. State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance8/18/2000
This State's Insurance Code, Maryland Code (1957, 1991 Repl. Vol., 1992 Cum. Supp.), Article 48 A, § 539, and its motor vehicle law, Code (1977, 1987 Repl. Vol.), §§ 17-103 and 17-104(b) of the Transportation Article, generally require that motor vehicle insurance policies on vehicles required to be registered in Maryland provide coverage for "medical, hospital, and disability benefits" in a minimum amount of $2500. These benefits are known as "Personal Injury Protection" or "PIP" benefits, and they are payable without regard to fault. The issue in this case is whether the petitioner, who was injured in an accident occurring while he was a passenger in a motor vehicle insured by the respondent State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, is entitled to collect PIP benefits under the State Farm insurance policy despite his previous receipt of PIP benefits from his own insurer.
I.
The petitioner, Michael Bishop, was a passenger in an automobile owned and driven by Karen Fleagle Scott and insured by the respondent, State Farm. While driving the automobile in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, Scott allegedly lost control of the vehicle on a curve, with the vehicle "striking a ditch, and thereby causing the vehicle to overturn, spin in the air, and, come to rest on its roof in a wooded area . . . ." Bishop was ejected from the vehicle and sustained serious injuries. Scott, a former Pennsylvania resident, had insured the car in Pennsylvania. Prior to the accident, however, Scott had become a Maryland resident and had registered her vehicle in Maryland.
As a result of the accident, Bishop suffered damages allegedly in excess of $30,000 in medical bills and lost wages. The State Farm policy covering Scott's vehicle provides, inter alia, up to $100,000 per person for medical expenses, and $15,000 per person for loss of wages, available to an "insured," defined as including any person occupying the policyholder's vehicle.
Shortly after the accident, State Farm sent to Bishop the necessary forms to file a PIP claim under the State Farm policy, and Bishop completed and returned the forms. He also underwent a medical examination at State Farm's request. Three months after Bishop filed the PIP claim with State Farm, that insurer denied the claim. While the State Farm PIP claim was pending, Bishop also filed a claim with his own insurer, the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF), for PIP benefits. MAIF paid Bishop $2,500, the full amount of PIP coverage under his policy. State Farm's denial of PIP coverage under Scott's policy occurred after MAIF had paid Bishop's claim.
Bishop filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Queen Anne's County against Scott and State Farm. Count I of the complaint sought damages from Scott as a result of the alleged negligent operation of her motor vehicle. In count II, Bishop alleged that State Farm wrongfully denied PIP benefits to him, and he sought damages under a breach of contract theory. Prior to trial, Bishop settled his claim against Scott. Thereafter, the Circuit Court granted State Farm's motion for summary judgment on count II of the complaint. The Circuit Court based its decision entirely on the Maryland statutory provisions providing for and regulating PIP benefits, namely Art. 48A, §§ 539 and 543. Subsection (a) of § 543 states as follows:
(a) "Recovery where more than one policy. - Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, no person shall recover benefits under the coverages described under §§ 539 and 541 of this subtitle from more than one motor vehicle liability policy or insurer on either a duplicative or supplemental basis."
The Circuit Court held that because Bishop did, i
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