Bartel v. New Haven Township
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Bartel v. New Haven Township
Opinion of the Court
Appellant, Steven A. Bartel, sustained personal injuries in a one-car automobile accident when the vehicle he was driving left a New Haven Township road at a curve in the road known as “Devil’s Kitchen.”
1. Appellant claims the trial court erred in deducting the amount of no-fault benefits paid him pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 65B.51, subd. 1 (1980)
Appellant first contends that the trial court erred when it deducted the economic loss benefits for the reason that the township’s negligence did not arise out of the operation, ownership or use of a motor vehicle, and that therefore the second requirement of the statute mandating a deduction was not met. Appellant relies on Minn. Stat. § 65B.51, subd. 5 (1980).
In our view, the trial court correctly determined that section 65B.51 is clear and unambiguous. The statute provides:
[Tjhere shall be deducted from any recovery the value of basic or optional economic loss benefits paid or payable or which will be payable in the future * * *. (emphasis added)
This offset provision of section 65B.51 is consistent with a primary objective of the no-fault act, the prevention of duplicate recovery.
It appears to us that in determining whether the deduction provision of section 65B.51 is applicable, the focus is not on how or why a tortfeasor may have been negligent, but rather it is how the tort claimant may have been injured. The fact that respondent was negligent in its failure to post traffic control signs has no effect on the determination of the statutory deduction under section 65B.51, subd. 1. Appellant was injured in an automobile accident in which he was the driver of an automobile. His claim arose out of the use and operation of the vehicle. The fact that appellant was a driver and that he received no-fault benefits satisfies the requirements of the deduction provision.
We recently considered the deducti-bility issue under section 65B.51, subd. 1 in Haugen v. Town of Waltham, 292 N.W.2d 737 (Minn. 1980). The core issue in Haugen
2. On April 8,1981, the trial court issued Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order for Judgment in favor of appellant after deduction of the no-fault benefits appellant had received from his no-fault insurer. Entry of judgment was stayed for 30 days. On April 29, 1981, within the 30-day period, respondent voluntarily paid to appellant the principal amount of the judgment, but not interest, costs or disbursements, and took from appellant a Partial Satisfaction of Judgment. Judgment was entered on May 8, 1981, pursuant to the April 8, 1981 order. On or about June 1, 1981, respondent filed the partial satisfaction with the court. Later, on June 11, 1981, and on July 23,1981, appellant moved to amend the judgment and the findings of fact under Rules 60.02 and 52.02, respectively, of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon denial of these motions, appellant took this appeal. Respondent township filed a Notice of Review in which it raised the issue that it cannot be found negligent for non-performance of a discretionary act.
A threshold issue is whether respondent can assert this claim in this court on appeal after respondent had voluntarily paid the principal amount of the judgment, received a Partial Satisfaction of Judgment and filed the satisfaction with the court.
We have held that an appeal from an order is barred when the prevailing party accepts the benefit of the order. Eckerly v. Lake Region Sign Co., 275 Minn. 520, 523, 148 N.W.2d 158, 160 (1967). Moreover, we have held that a non-prevailing party who paid a fine, and then subsequently sought to appeal from its imposition, was barred. State v. People’s Ice Co., 127 Minn. 252, 149 N.W. 286 (1914). Other jurisdictions generally hold that voluntary payment or performance pursuant to an order or judgment terminates a defeated party’s appeal rights. Industrial Lease-Back Corp. v. Township of Romulus, 23 Mich.App. 449, 452, 178 N.W.2d 819, 821 (1970); Credit Industrial Co. v. Bendixen, 255 Iowa 1020, 1021-22, 125 N.W.2d 262, 262-63 (1963); Kerr v. Kerr, 74 S.D. 454, 458, 54 N.W.2d 357, 359 (1952); Rolette County v. Pierce County, 8 N.D. 613, 615, 80 N.W. 804, 805 (1899).
Respondent, while conceding the general rule, argues that Rule 106 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure is authority for allowing review of the judgment and order by the losing party since such review is in the nature of a
Affirmed.
. The curve was not so named because of its dangerousness to travelers on the public highway. Rather, its name grew out of an old local legend that in a “hollow” near the base of the slope and the curve at midnight on a night of a full moon, one could hear babies crying.
. Minn.Stat. § 65B.51, subd. 1 (1980) provides: With respect to a cause of action in negligence accruing as a result of injury arising out of the operation, ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle with respect to which security has been provided as required
. Minn.Stat. § 65B.51, subd. 5 (1980) reads: Nothing in this section shall impair or limit tort liability or limit the damages recoverable from any person for negligent acts or omissions other than those committed in the operation, ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle.
. Steenson asserts there is no deduction of economic benefits from a tort recovery following an intentional tort or strict liability because section 65B.51 requires the action to sound in negligence. He also contends recoveries in product liability cases or “dram shop” cases would not be subject to a deduction for no-fault benefits paid. Steenson, supra, at 387-88.
.Minn.Stat. § 65B.42 (1980) lists the following among the purposes of the no-fault act:
(2) To prevent the overcompensation of those automobile accident victims suffering minor injuries by restricting the right to recover general damages to cases of serious injury;
(5) To correct the imbalances and abuses in the operation of the automobile accident tort liability system, to provide offsets to avoid duplicate recovery, to require medical examination and disclosure, and to govern the effect of advance payments prior to final settlement of liability.
. In Haugen v. Town of Waltham, 292 N.W.2d 737, 740 (Minn. 1980), this court stated:
Although no Minnesota cases have interpreted § 65B.51, subd. 1, it is apparent that the language of the statute clearly and unambiguously requires the deduction of no-fault economic loss beneñts which will be payable in the future from a tort recovery. This requirement is in furtherance of the stated purpose of our no-fault act to prevent double recovery in cases of injury arising out of the use of a motor vehicle. Minn.Stat. § 65B.42, subd. 5 (1978). See also M. Steenson, No-Fault In A Fault Context, 2 Wm. Mitchell L.Rev. 109, 133 (1976). It is also consistent with the general rationale of the act that economic loss should primarily be the burden of the no-fault carrier. Minn.Stat. § 65B.42, subd. 1 (1978). (emphasis added)
. Minn.R.Civ.App.P. 106 provides:
A respondent may obtain review of a judgment or order entered in the same action which may adversely affect him by serving a notice of review on all parties to the action who may be affected by the judgment or order. The notice of review shall specify the judgment or order to be reviewed and shall be served upon the parties within 15 days after service of the notice of appeal on that respondent and thereafter shall be filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent to the first part of the court’s opinion. I read the offset provision of Minn.Stat. § 65B.51, subd. 1 (1980), to require that the cause of action, not just the accident, must arise out of the operation, ownership, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle. Here the only cause of action for which damages are recoverable is the cause of action against the township. Since this claim is not based on the township’s use of a motor vehicle, there is no setoff.
To hold otherwise, it seems to me, renders meaningless subdivision 5 of the same statute which says that nothing in the section shall limit “the damages recoverable from any person for negligent acts or omissions other than those committed in the operation, ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle.” (Emphasis added.)
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).
I join in the dissent of Justice Simonett.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Steven A. BARTEL, Appellant (81-875), Respondent (81-881), v. NEW HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Respondent (81-875), Appellant (81-881)
- Cited By
- 15 cases
- Status
- Published