# Wagner v. National Indemnity Co.

> Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · September 22, 1980 · 492 Pa. 154

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9752492

## Case

- **Full name:** Mary P. WAGNER, Administratrix of the Estate of Edward S. Wagner, Jr., Deceased, Appellant, v. NATIONAL INDEMNITY COMPANY
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
- **Decided:** September 22, 1980
- **Citations:** 492 Pa. 154; 422 A.2d 1061; 1980 Pa. LEXIS 822
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Nix
- **Judges:** Eagen, O'Brien, Roberts, Nix, Larsen, Flaherty, Kauffman
- **Cited by:** 56 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9752492

## Opinion text

NIX, Justice,
concurring.
I am in complete accord with the reasoning of the majority opinion, and join therein. I write this concurring state *169 ment in response to the dissent authored by Mr. Justice Kauffman. I believe that the position in the dissent, which has been well articulated, has a basic flaw which should be identified.
Mr. Justice Kauffman asserts, “liability of the employer is not the issue here.” P. 1070. No-fault coverage, although statutorily mandated, is no more than a contract of indemnity. The error of the dissent is that it has limited the concept of liability to that which arises from the negligent conduct of the insured. Liability also embraces obligations imposed by law, even though they are not associated with fault. The provision of the policy of insurance in question was intended to cover the liability of Shreiner Trucking Company created under the Pennsylvania No-Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act. 1
Any suggestion of a third party donee beneficiary contract is unrelated to the realities of the situation and establishes the type of fiction that is antagonistic to realistic dispute resolutions. It is not the role of the judiciary to define what in their judgment should be, but rather to meet our responsibility of clarifying that which the legislature intended. The merits of that legislative judgment must be left for the scrutiny of the public.
. No-Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act, Act of July 19, 1974, P.L. 489, No. 176, Art. 1, § 102; 40 P.S. § 1009.102 (Supp. 1979-80).

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9752492. Public record. Not legal advice.