2009 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

4-23-2009

City of Wilkes-Barre v. Robert Sheils, Jr.

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential

Docket No. 08-1412

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NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

 

No. 08-1412

_____________

In re: GEORGE W. COLE, 

 Debtor

CITY OF WILKES-BARRE,

 Appellant 

v.

ROBERT P. SHEILS, Jr., Trustee

 

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

District Court No. 07-cv-01238

District Judge: The Honorable James M. Munley

 

Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)

April 14, 2009

Before: MCKEE, SMITH, Circuit Judges

and STEARNS, District Judge*

(Filed: April 23, 2009)

 

 OPINION

 

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

*The Honorable Richard G. Stearns, District Judge of the United States District

Court for the District of Massachusetts, sitting by designation.

Under the Pennsylvania Heart & Lung Act (HLA), the City of Wilkes-Barre (City)
1

 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 1720.

2

was obligated to pay police officer George Cole wages and medical expenses during the

period that Cole was unable to work after being severely injured in the line of duty. Cole

subsequently brought a personal injury action against the third parties responsible for his

injuries. The City then sought to recover its HLA payments by asserting a right of

subrogation against the settlement Cole won in his personal injury action. Presently, the

City appeals from a determination by the United States District Court for the Middle

District of Pennsylvania that Section 1720 of the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility

Law (MVFRL)1

 bars the City from asserting a right of subrogation against Cole’s

settlement proceeds. We will vacate the District Court’s judgment and remand the case to

the District Court for further consideration consistent with this opinion.

I.

Cole was severely injured in 1996 when a Luzerne County vehicle struck his

police cruiser. He was unable to return to work for nine years. During those nine years,

the City paid Cole HLA benefits totaling $425,945.69. Meanwhile, Cole also sued

Luzerne County for the injuries he had suffered. While Cole’s personal injury action was

pending, he filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Robert Sheils, Jr., the

appellee, was appointed trustee for Cole’s bankruptcy estate. In 2005, the United States

Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania approved a settlement of Cole’s

personal injury action according to which the trustee received $495,000.

In 2004, however, the City asserted a common-law right of subrogation to recover
3

its HLA payments from Cole’s personal injury settlement. The Bankruptcy Court rejected

the City’s claim. That Court concluded that Cole was immune from subrogation pursuant

to 77 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 501 and granted the trustee’s motion for summary judgment.

The City appealed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision to the District Court under 28

U.S.C. § 158. The District Court noted that it did not necessarily disagree with the

Bankruptcy Court’s reasoning but denied the City’s appeal on a separate ground: the

District Court determined that the City’s right of subrogation was barred by Section 1720

of the MVFRL. The City now appeals from that determination.

II.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 158(d). We review the District

Court’s legal conclusions de novo and its findings of fact for clear error. Citicorp Venture

Capital, Ltd. v. Committee of Creditors Holding Unsecured Claims, 323 F.3d 228, 232

(3d Cir. 2003). When applying substantive Pennsylvania law, we must defer to decisions

of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not

directly addressed an issue, we must predict how that Court would rule. See Travelers

Indem. Co. of Ill. v. DiBartolo, 131 F.3d 343, 348 (3d Cir. 1997).

III.

A.

 Before addressing the District Court’s determination that § 1720 of the MVFRL

bars the City from asserting a right of subrogation to recover HLA payments, we briefly

review the relevant law. The HLA provides lost wages and medical benefits to certain

public employees, such as police officers and firefighters, who face significant risks in the
2

 Act of June 28, 1935, P.L. 477, as amended, 53 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 637, 638.

Section 637 of the HLA states:

(a) Any member of the State Police force . . . who is injured in the performance

of his duties . . . and by reason thereof is temporarily incapacitated from

performing his duties shall be paid by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania if

a member of the State Police force, by which he is employed, his full rate of

salary . . . until the disability arising therefrom has ceased. All medical and

hospital bills, incurred in connection with any such injury, shall be paid by the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . . . . During the time salary for temporary

incapacity shall be paid by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . . . any

workmen’s compensation received or collected by any such employee for such

period shall be turned over to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . . . and paid

into the treasury thereof, and if such payment shall not be so made by the

employee the amount so due the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . . . shall be

deducted from any salary then or thereafter becoming due and owing . . . .

3

 Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 1–1031.

4

ordinary course of their professions.2 Cunningham v. Pa. State Police, 507 A.2d 40, 43

(Pa. 1986) (“The [HLA] was created to ensure that, if these employees were injured or

otherwise disabled in the course of carrying out their hazardous duties, they would be

guaranteed continued full income until their return to duty.”). HLA benefits are thus

similar to workers’ compensation wage and medical benefits under the Workers’

Compensation Act (WCA),3

 except that the HLA guarantees qualifying employees their

full income, instead of a fraction of their income, until they return to duty. Also, whereas

the WCA provides employers with a statutory right of subrogation to recover WCA

payments from an employee’s tort recovery, 77 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 671, the HLA does not.

Fulmer v. Commonwealth of Pa., 647 A.2d 616, 619 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1994).

Nevertheless, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has recognized an equitable right of

subrogation by which a state entity may recover wages and medical benefits paid to a
4

 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §§ 1720, 1722.

5

police officer injured in the line of duty. See Topelski v. Universal South Side Autos, Inc.,

180 A.2d 414 (1962); see also Phila. v. Phila. Rapid Transit Co., 10 A.2d 434 (1940).

In 1984, however, the Pennsylvania legislature enacted the MVFRL. Sections

1720 and 1722 of the MVFRL apply to actions “arising out of the maintenance or use of a

motor vehicle.”4

 Section 1720 initially barred an employer’s right of subrogation to

recover workers’ compensation payments, and Section 1722 barred an injured employee’s

right to seek workers’ compensation payments in an action against the party that caused

the injuries. Specifically, Section 1720 provided: 

“In actions arising out of the maintenance or use of a motor vehicle, there

shall be no right of subrogation or reimbursement from a claimant’s tort

recovery with respect to workers’ compensation benefits, benefits available

under section 1711 (relating to required benefits), 1712 (relating to

availability of benefits) or 1715 (relating to availability of adequate limits)

or benefits paid or payable by a program, group contract or other

arrangement whether primary or excess under section 1719 (relating to

coordination of benefits).” 

75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 1720 (Subrogation). Section 1722 provided:

“In any action for damages against a tortfeasor, or in any uninsured or

underinsured motorist proceeding, arising out of the maintenance or use of a

motor vehicle, a person who is eligible to receive benefits under the

coverages set forth in this subchapter, or workers’ compensation, or any

program, group contract or other arrangement for payment of benefits as

defined in section 1719 (relating to coordination of benefits) shall be

precluded from recovering the amount of benefits paid or payable under this

subchapter, or workers’ compensation, or any program, group contract or

other arrangement for payment of benefits as defined in section 1719.”

75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 1722 (preclusion of recovering required benefits).

But Sections 1720 and 1722 were repealed in 1993 to the extent they relate to
5

The District Court also cited City of Pittsburgh v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal

Board (Williams), 810 A.2d 760, 762 n.5 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2002) (holding that the

Pittsburgh Police Department did not illegally terminate an officer’s HLA benefits and

that the Police Department was entitled to a subrogation interest against the officer’s

third-party settlement), to support its reasoning. But City of Pittsburgh provides only a

conclusory note referring to Fulmer and its holding does not depend on that note.

6

workers’ compensation payments (the 1993 Repeal). 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 1720 (“75

Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 1720 is repealed insofar as it relates to workers’ compensation

payments or other benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act, pursuant to 1993, July

2, P.L. 190, No. 44, § 25(b)”); 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 1722 (same as to Section 1722).

Thus, Section 1722 no longer deprives a plaintiff of the right to plead in a tort action

against the party that caused the injuries, the amount of benefits paid or payable to him,

and Section 1720 no longer deprives an employer of a right of subrogation to seek

recovery of WCA payments. Sections 1720 and 1722, and their partial repeals in 1993, do

not mention HLA benefits, however. Therefore, Pennsylvania case law must guide the

determination of whether Section 1720 bars an employer’s right of subrogation to recover

HLA payments.

B.

The District Court relied on Fulmer, 647 A.2d 616, to conclude that Section 1720

barred the City from asserting a right of subrogation against Cole’s personal injury

settlement.5

 In 1987, Fulmer, a state trooper, was seriously injured in an automobile

accident. Two years later, he instituted a personal injury action against the driver who

struck his cruiser. In the meantime, the State Police had paid Fulmer HLA benefits; they

then sought to assert a right of subrogation against Fulmer’s personal injury action
7

recovery.

The Commonwealth Court explained that “[b]enefits received under the [HLA]

effectively replace workmen’s compensation benefits for those employees covered [by

the HLA].” Id. at 619. In view of this identity between WCA and HLA payments, the

Commonwealth Court decided that the catch-all clause of Section 1720 (“or benefits paid

or payable by a program, group contract or other arrangement”) extended to HLA

payments and that Section 1720 barred the State Police from asserting a right of

subrogation against Fulmer’s personal injury proceeds. Id. at 620. The Court also

expressed concern for the equities of the case. It observed that allowing a right of

subrogation would prevent Fulmer from being fully compensated for his injury because

Section 1722 barred him from seeking his wage and medical benefits in a personal injury

action. Id. Consequently, subrogation, in conjunction with the Section 1722 bar, would

have left Fulmer without full compensation for his injuries—an inequitable result.

Since the 1993 Repeal, however, Section 1722 no longer bars an employee from

seeking to recover amounts corresponding to WCA benefits in a personal injury action,

and a key rationale to Fulmer’s holding no longer exists. See id. at 618 n.3. (“[The 1993

Repeal] has no impact on [Fulmer’s] case. . . . [W]e express no opinion on the effect of

[the 1993 Repeal] on the Heart and Lung Act in a case arising after the effective date of

[the 1993 Repeal].”). Nevertheless, Fulmer does provide useful guidance insofar as it

recognized the identity between workers’ compensation and HLA benefits in the

application of Section 1720. Drawing on Fulmer, the Commonwealth Court subsequently

ruled on exactly the question presented in this appeal. In Brown v. Rosenberger, 723 A.2d
8

745, 747 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1999), the Court determined that Sections 1720 and 1722 did

not bar an employer’s right of subrogation or an employee’s right to seek the amounts

corresponding to HLA payments in a personal injury action.

In Brown, a state trooper was injured when her police cruiser was struck by

another vehicle. After the accident, the State Police paid her full salary and medical

expenses as required under the HLA. The State Police recovered 66 and 2/3's of Brown’s

salary from its workers’ compensation insurance carrier and sought to recover the balance

of her salary and medical costs from the tortfeasor by right of subrogation.

The trial court relied on Fulmer to equate HLA and workers’ compensation

benefits, observing that “the clear effect of [Fulmer’s] holding was to treat Heart and

Lung Act benefits the same as workers’ compensation benefits for the purposes of the

prohibitions to subrogation and pleading as found in Sections 1720 and 1722 of the

[MVFRL].” Brown v. Rosenberger, 40 Pa. D. & C.4th 432, 439 (Pa. Com. Pl. 1998).

Recognizing that the 1993 Repeal “reinstated the right of an employer or benefit provider

and plaintiff to seek subrogation and to plead lost wages and medical benefits in any

action against a third-party tort-feasor in a motor vehicle case,” the trial court determined

that “the pre-[MVFRL] principle of equity and unjust enrichment must again operate to

allow recovery against a third-party tort-feasor for all losses sustained, and must also

allow a benefit provider to be subrogated to any recovery of benefits.” Id. The trial court

concluded that Section 1720 did not bar the State Police from asserting a right of

subrogation:

[A]s a matter of law, the plaintiff may plead, prove and recover those amounts
9

paid to her through the Heart and Lung Act, as well as those amounts paid by

the workers’ compensation carrier. The Heart and Lung Act provider and the

workers’ compensation carrier shall have the right of subrogation to any thirdparty tort-feasor.

Id. at 440. The Commonwealth Court endorsed this reasoning and conclusion to affirm

the trial court’s judgment. Brown, 723 A.2d at 747 (“[W]e find that the issues presented

to this Court have been thoroughly reviewed and addressed in the opinion of the [trial

court]. Accordingly, we affirm on the basis of the trial court’s opinion . . . .”).

We agree with Brown’s reasoning, which comports, moreover, with the purpose of

subrogation as stated in Pennsylvania case law:

“[T]he rationale for the right of subrogation is threefold: to prevent double

recovery for the same injury by the claimant, to insure that the employer is not

compelled to make compensation payments made necessary by the negligence

of a third party, and to prevent a third party from escaping liability for his

negligence . . . . [S]ubrogation is just, because the party who caused the injury

bears the full burden; the employee is made ‘whole,’ but does not recover

more than what he requires to be made whole; and the employer, innocent of

negligence, in the end pays nothing.”

Hannigan v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (O’Brien Ultra Serv. Station), 860 A.2d 632,

635 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2004) (internal quotations omitted). As Fulmer recognized, HLA

and WCA wage and medical benefits are similar for the purposes of subrogation and

pleading under Sections 1720 and 1722 of the MVFRL. The HLA and WCA both ensure

that the employees they cover receive lost wages and medical benefits after suffering an

injury that prevents them from working for some period of time. Where the employee

may seek HLA benefits from a third-party in a tort action, the purpose of subrogation has

as much pertinence for HLA benefits as it does for WCA benefits. After reviewing
10

Pennsylvania case law, we conclude that Section 1722 does not bar Cole from pleading

HLA payments in his personal injury action, and Section 1720 does not bar the City from

asserting an equitable right of subrogation against Cole’s tort recovery.

Accordingly, we will vacate the District Court’s judgment and remand the case to

the District Court for further consideration in accordance with this opinion.