COLUMBUS Court rules insurers must pay in deaths

The question was whether the driver was covered by the trucking company's insurance policy.
By MICHELE C. HLADIK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Two Pittsburgh insurers are responsible for paying up to $2.5 million in a wrongful death case, according to the Ohio Supreme Court.
In a 4-3 ruling, the high court has held the insurers financially responsible in lawsuits filed by the estates of the two men killed in an accident.
The case goes back to a Trumbull County trial court to determine the amount American International Group Inc. and National Union Fire Insurance Co., insurers of the tractor-trailer involved in the accident, should pay the victims' families.
"We're pleased because the Supreme Court recognized federal mandated insurance applies to the whole [tractor and trailer]," said Poland attorney Clair M. Carlin, who represents the families.
The accident
Justin L. Reese and Stephen M. Wiley were killed in 1996 when the car Reese was driving was hit on the Ohio Turnpike by a tractor-trailer driven by Lawrence P. Yob, then an employee of Bath Transport Inc.
Yob's truck reportedly crossed the median near the 14A interchange and rolled onto the car. A third car slid into the accident. Yob, his passenger and the driver and passenger of the other car survived.
In 1997, the estates of both men, who were students at Pennsylvania State University, filed wrongful death suits against Yob, Bath and their insurance companies.
The trial court ruled the insurers must pay, but an appeals court overturned the decision, stating the federal mandate used in the trial court's decision only applied to those insured under the policy.
The issue
According to the decision, the issue did not involve Yob's negligence, but whether he was covered under the trucking company's insurance policy.
"Yob's negligence in causing the accident is not disputed," said Justice Alice Robie Resnick who wrote the high court's majority opinion.
She said that despite Yob's not being listed on the insurance policy, the policy is covered under a federally mandated "endorsement" which additionally provides $2.5 million coverage on the tractor-trailer's $2.5 million liability policy.
According to Justice Robie Resnick, the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 requires certain commercial motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce to register with the United States Secretary of Transportation and must meet minimum financial responsibility requirements established by that office.
The motor carrier must also comply with standards set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
"The MCS-90 endorsement explicitly overrides any condition, provision, stipulation, or limitation in the policy that would relieve the insurer from its duty to pay, to the limits of the endorsement, a judgment against the insured for negligent operation," Robie Resnick wrote.
Cleveland attorneys James Turek and Brian Sullivan represent Bath.
According to Turek, no other state has ruled in this manner on similar cases. He said it leads to some confusion in the industry, which had an "understanding" on the way things should be done.
Considered other cases
However, Justice Robie Resnick noted in the ruling the Ohio justices considered federal cases similar to this situation before making their decision.
Justices Andrew Douglas, Francis E. Sweeney and Paul Pfeifer concurred. Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, and Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton and Thomas Bryant dissented.
Both sides agree the federal mandate was established to protect the public, however, each interprets the mandate differently.
According to the dissenting opinion written by Lundberg Stratton, the owners of the tractor-trailer were not responsible for the accident and the company's insurance providers should not have to pay damages.
Turek said the four justices who ruled against the insurance companies have a tendency to do so. He said the next course of action is being discussed.
"It's a complicated issue," he said. "We're studying the decision and reviewing our options."
Carlin said the case is over.
"This is the final word."