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Wiggins v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.9/21/1993
This action arose out of an automobile accident occurring on 13 April 1984. Plaintiff, Timothy Wiggins, was injured while riding as a passenger in a Volkswagen owned and operated by Kathryn Crowe (Crowe vehicle). The Crowe vehicle was struck by an automobile owned and operated by Joseph Stone, the tortfeasor. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was the named insured under a policy issued by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. (Nationwide),
providing underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) in the amount of $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident on two separate vehicles (Wiggins Policy). The Crowe vehicle also was insured by Nationwide under a policy issued to Robert and Eleanor Crowe (Crowe Policy). The Crowe vehicle was one of two vehicles listed on the Crowe policy which provided UIM coverage in the amount of $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident. Stone was insured by Reliance Insurance Company (Reliance) under a policy providing $25,000 per person for bodily injury (Stone policy).
Plaintiff filed a negligence action against the tortfeasor, Stone, seeking damages for personal injuries suffered in the automobile accident. Reliance paid plaintiff its $25,000 policy limit prior to trial. The case was tried before a jury and the jury found plaintiff's injuries were caused by Stone's negligence and held plaintiff entitled to recover $160,000 for personal injuries. A judgment was entered against Stone for that amount plus costs and prejudgment interest from the date of the filing of the complaint, 2 April 1987.
Thereafter, plaintiff brought this action against Nationwide and three of Nationwide's employees, Robert Gardner, Bill Hollar, and D.R. Arney. The complaint alleged breach of contract and bad faith by Nationwide and alleged negligence and unfair and deceptive trade practices by all defendants. Nationwide thereafter paid plaintiff $82,167.15 ($75,000 plus post-judgment interest) representing the $100,000 UIM coverage under the Crowe policy, less the $25,000 paid under the Stone policy. Plaintiff and Nationwide both filed motions for judgment on the pleadings, partial summary judgment and motions to compel. The trial court granted plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment as to paragraphs one and two of plaintiff's motion which alleged 1) that Nationwide is obligated to pay the entire judgment, plus costs, including interest on the entire judgment with a reduction for the $25,000 paid by the primary carrier; and 2) that the UIM coverage under both the Wiggins and Crowe policies issued by Nationwide must be aggregated, requiring both intra- and interpolicy stacking for the purpose of satisfying the judgment. The trial court denied the remainder of plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment; held that the parties' respective motions to compel were moot; denied all other motions; and determined that Nationwide owed UIM coverage to the plaintiff under the Wiggins and Crowe policies. In ordering payment, the trial court stated:
Nationwide is obligated to pay the entire judgment, plus costs, including interest on the entire judgment . . . with a reduction for the $25,000 previously paid by the primary carrier and with a reduction for the $82,167.15 paid by the Defendant Nationwide as a partial satisfaction of the judgment obtained in the underlying action, which payment was made under the Crowe Policy . . .
(4) The Partial Payment by the Defendant Nationwide made on July 19, 1991, in the amount of $82,167.15 is allocated first to the outstanding interest, as of that date, in the amount of $46,010.94; making a payment of principal in the amount of $36,156.21; and with the outstanding balance as of July 19, 1991 being $98,843.79; and with
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