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Abbott v. Blount County8/9/2005
This dispute arises from a January 2001 automobile accident in which Plaintiff Shelby Abbott (Ms. Abbott) was struck by two vehicles. At the time of the accident, Ms. Abbott was 56 years of age and had been employed by the Blount County School System for approximately ten years. She currently was employed as a middle school assistant librarian. As a Blount County employee, Ms. Abbott was enrolled in the Blount County Employee Benefit Plan.
Ms. Abbott sustained horrific and permanent injuries in the January accident. She was hospitalized for 64 days, spent 20 days on ventilator, and underwent numerous surgical procedures. Ms. Abbott incurred medical expenses in the amount of $223,000. Additionally, as a result of head trauma and extended loss of consciousness, she suffered hypoxia that caused permanent brain damage, amnesia, and memory deficits. She had virtually no recollection of her life before the accident and had to relearn how to read, write, and perform other daily tasks. Ms. Abbott lost her sense of taste and smell and her ability to discern hot from cold. She also suffered vision and hearing loss. Ms. Abbott, who taught karate, jogged, and bicycled prior to the accident, is not expected to be able to return to gainful employment.
Ms. Abbott's husband, Charles Abbott (Mr. Abbott) had been a school bus driver for ten years prior to the accident. He was changing jobs in 2001 and had begun training for a position with a security company. After the accident, Mr. Abbott decided not to pursue the security position in order to care for Ms. Abbott.
Mr. Abbott and Ms. Abbott (collectively "the Abbotts") brought separate personal injury and loss of consortium actions against the drivers of the two vehicles that struck the vehicle driven by Ms. Abbott. In May 2002, the Abbotts reached an out-of-court settlement in the consolidated actions against the two defendant drivers. The total amount of the settlement was $1,275,000, which was approximately $75,000 to $100,000 less than the total amount of insurance coverage available.
Defendants Blount County and the Blount County Employee Benefit Plan (collectively, "Blount County") and American United Life Insurance Company paid medical benefits in the amount of $180,184. In August 2002, the Abbotts filed a petition in the Circuit Court of Blount County seeking a declaratory judgment against Blount County and American United Life Insurance Company that Ms. Abbott was not "made whole" by the settlement and that, accordingly, any claim for subrogation should be denied. The parties stipulated that American United Life Insurance Company was not an indispensable party, had no right to assert subrogation against the Abbotts, and accordingly should be dismissed.
In October 2003, the Abbotts moved for summary judgment, asserting that Ms. Abbott was not "made whole" by the May 2002 settlement and that, as a matter of law, Blount County could not, therefore, assert a right to subrogation. The trial court heard the matter on January 5, 2004, and granted the Abbotts' motion for summary judgment on February 2, 2004. Blount County filed a timely notice of appeal to this Court. We reverse the award of summary judgment and remand for further proceedings.
Issues Presented
Blount County presents the following issues, as we restate them, for our review:
(1) Whether the trial court erred in awarding summary judgment to the Abbotts under the made whole doctrine because the Abbotts waived the doctrine by entering into a settlement agreement with the defendants in the underlying tort action without the agreement, consent, or participation of Blount County.
(2) If the mad
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