Opinion

Smiley v. Ohio Casualty Insurance

  • 309 Pa. Super. 247
  • 455 A.2d 142
  • 1983 Pa. Super. LEXIS 2331
Court
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Filed
Jan 7, 1983
Status
Published
Author
Beck
On the bench
Voort, Hester, Beck, Van Yoort
Cited by
12 cases
Authority
More cited than 7.3%

The opinion

*259 BECK, Judge,

concurring:

I agree with the majority opinion that the estate’s claim for work loss benefits is not barred by the statute of limitations of the No-Fault Act 1009.106(c), but on a different basis.

The majority reasons that the last sentence of paragraph 1 of 106(c) allows the instant claim for work loss benefits because no-fault benefits have been paid for “loss arising otherwise than from death” (the $695 paid on December 5, 1978 for ambulance and hospital costs) and therefore a two year statutory limit runs from the December 1978 payment.

In Sachritz v. Pennsylvania Mutual Casualty Insurance Co., 293 Pa.Super. 483 , 439 A.2d 678 (1981) we held that post-mortem work loss benefits may not be covered by 1009.106(c) and may be subject, instead, to the general six year statute of limitations for contract actions. The claim was barred in Sachritz because some work loss benefits had been paid before death, and therefore the action was covered by the two year rule in that last sentence of paragraph 1 of 106(c). In Guiton v. Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co., 301 Pa.Super. 146 , 447 A.2d 284 (1982) our Court allowed a claim for post-mortem work loss benefits that did not meet the two year limit. We held that since no work loss benefits had been paid before death (although funeral expenses, ambulance costs, and survivors losses had been paid before death) the six year statute governed.

Sandra L. Smiley claimed no work loss benefits before her death, and therefore the facts of her case are governed by Guitón. Since her claim is well within the six year limit, it must be allowed.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.