 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
First Insurance Co. v. Lawrence9/16/1994
parate policy limits for derivative emotional distress claims"; the issue raised is whether there is any coverage at all.
Clearly, "the purpose of a motion for reconsideration is to allow the parties to present new evidence and/or arguments that could not have been presented during the earlier adjudicated motion." Amfac, Inc. v. Waikiki Beachcomber Investment Co., 74 Haw. 85, 114, 839 P.2d 10, 27, recon. denied, 74 Haw. 650, 843 P.2d 144 (1992). We believe the present issue could have and should have been asserted below by First Insurance in its motion for partial summary judgment. Consequently, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying First Insurance's motion for reconsideration.
IV. Conclusion
Based on the foregoing, we conclude that: (1) the statutory definition of accidental harm includes emotional distress; (2) although NIED claims are entitled to independent protection under general Hawaii tort law, claims for emotional distress under Hawaii's No-Fault Law, HRS chapter 294, are derivative if they (a) arise in the context of motor vehicle accidents and (b) "owe their existence," see supra note 10, to an injury to another person that does not involve the kind of direct emotional trauma to a witness or bystander, as in Ramsey, Wolfe, Foust, and Crabtree, supra; and (3) derivative claims are subject to the "each person" liability coverage limit; therefore, based on the specific language of First Insurance's policy, which we believe to be consistent with the no-fault law, we also conclude that the derivative NIED claims of the Smiths are subject to a single liability coverage limit. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part the circuit court's denial of First Insurance's motion for partial summary judgment.
Because First Insurance's motion for reconsideration raised an issue which it could have and should have raised in its motion for partial summary judgment, we hold that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying First Insurance's motion for reconsideration.
Ronald T.Y. Moon
Steven H. Levinson
Herman T.F. Lum
Judges Footnotes
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Hawaii Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|