Spinelli v. Maxwell
Spinelli v. Maxwell
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This appeal presents a narrow question: does a judgment entered in a trespass action brought in the name of the plaintiff, for both his benefit and that of his subrogated insurance carrier, to recover property damages resulting from an automobile accident, bar a later trespass action between the same parties for personal injuries suffered by the plaintiff in the same accident?
On May 12, 1966, an automobile, owned by Samuel Schlessinger and operated by Earl Maxwell, collided with another automobile, owned and operated by Joseph Spinelli, and, as a result, allegedly, Spinelli suffered not only damage to his automobile but also injuries to his person.
The damage to Spinelli’s automobile amount to $1300; of that amount Spinelli’s insurance carrier, Calvert Fire Insurance Company, paid Spinelli $1200, the difference between the $1300 damage and the $100 deductible provision in the insurance policy. Upon receipt of payment, Spinelli executed a subrogation receipt and signed the following request: “The undersigned, having suffered a property loss of $100.00 in excess of the $1200.00 named in the foregoing subrogation receipt, does hereby request the said insurance company to employ counsel for and on his behalf, to effect recovery thereof, only, however, in the event that said insurance company employs counsel on its own behalf. It being herein agreed, that, in event of recovery the net proceeds thereof (after payment of costs and Attorneys’ fees) shall be apportioned between the undersigned and the said insurance company as the interest of each herein appears.”
On April 4, 1967, Spinelli instituted the instant trespass action against Schlessinger and Maxwell in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County wherein Spinelli claimed damages only for his personal injuries. In answer to Spinelli’s complaint, Schlessinger and Maxwell, under new matter, recited the record facts of the prior trespass action and then moved for judgment on the pleadings. Judge Bernard J. Kelley of the court below entered a judgment for Schlessinger and Maxwell. From that judgment the present appeal was taken.
When personal injuries to a person and damages to his property arise from the same cause and the same tortious act, the person who has sustained such personal injuries and property damage must seek recovery for both in a single action and, if separate actions are instituted for each category of damage and a judgment is rendered in one of such actions, the entry of such judgment has the effect of res judicata and bars recovery in the other action. Such is the view of a substantial majority of jurisdictions in the United States,
Basically, the question turns on whether there is only one cause of action or more than one cause of action. In Fields v. P.R.T. Co., supra, this Court took the position that: . . If the cause of action is a wrongful act, and we so hold, then all of the damages sustained thereby, whether to person or property, are properly sought in one suit . . . .” (p. 286). (Emphasis added). The views expressed in Fields are sound and have long represented the law in this Commonwealth and to the ruling in Fields we continue to adhere.
The Fields ruling is salutary: (a) it relieves defendants of subjection to more than one suit by the same person for a single tort; (b) it avoids a multiplicity of suits; (c) it provides a simple and direct method of determining all the claims of an individual arising from the same tortious act.
In the case at bar, Spinelli’s counsel, recognizing, but not conceding the soundness of, the rule enunciated in Fields, takes the position that the Fields rule should be subjected to an exception so as not to bar recovery in the present action.
It must be noted, even at the sake of repetition, that the amount claimed (and recovered) in the County Court action was $1300 an amount which included $1200 paid to Spinelli by his carrier and the $100 deductible amount which represented Spinelli’s uncompensated property damage. Thus, the amount sought and the amount eventually paid covered not only the loss of the insurance carrier but also Spinelli’s own loss.
Saber v. Supplee-Wills-Jones Milk Co., supra, effectively answers the first two contentions of Spinelli, i.e., as to the insurance carrier being the real party in interest and the “subrogation receipt”. In Saber, Saber had received from his insurance carrier payment for the property damage to his motor vehicle, less a $50 deductible amount and had executed a “loan receipt” upon payment to him by his carrier.
We believe it to be sound policy to avoid subjecting a person to a multiplicity of lawsuits by splitting up a single claim arising from the same tortious act because of the difference in the damage sustained. We see no reason, in the factual posture of this litigation, to make an exception to the well-settled rule in this Commonwealth.
Judgment affirmed.
See' 62 A.L.R. 2d pp. 982-989, inc. As to the minority jurisdictions, see: 62 A.L.R. 2d pp. 1001-1008, inc.
Cf. Sustrik v. J. & L. Steel Corp., 413 Pa. 324, 327, 328, 197 A. 2d 44 (1964); London v. Philadelphia, 412 Pa. 496, 500, 194 A. 2d 901 (1963).
Prior to the ruling in Fields, it was customary to include in one action claims for property damage and personal injuries inflicted at the same time. See: Standard Pennsylvania Practice, vol. 3, §63 and footnote, p. 73.
Some jurisdictions which follow the majority rule recognize an exception where one element of the injured party’s damage is the subject of insurance. See: 62 A.L.B. 2d 977, §5(b), pp. 989-995, inc.
As appellees’ brief indicates, the practice of using “loan receipts” antedated the promulgation of Pa. R.C.P. 2002(d) which now allows a subrogee to sue in the subrogor’s name.
Spinelli not only signed the “subrogation receipt” but expressly requested and authorized his insurance carrier to employ counsel for him in the county court action.
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting Opinion by
While I recognize as does the majority that our ruling in Fields v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co., 273
I dissent.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Spinelli, Appellant, v. Maxwell
- Cited By
- 48 cases
- Status
- Published