Title: Lowe v. Tarble
Citation: 312 N.C. 467, 323 S.E.2d 19
Docket Number: 28PA84
State: north-carolina
Issuer: north-carolina Supreme Court
Date: December 4, 1984

323 S.E.2d 19 (1984) 312 N.C. 467 Betty Vestal LOWE and Betty F. Lowe v. Samuel Ingham TARBLE and Ara Services, Inc. No. 28PA84. Supreme Court of North Carolina. December 4, 1984. *20 Henson, Henson &amp; Bayliss by Paul D. Coates, Perry C. Henson and Perry C. Henson, Jr., Greensboro, for defendants-appellants. Bailey, Sitton, Patterson &amp; Bailey, P.A. by William L. Sitton, Jr., Charlotte, for plaintiffs-appellees. EXUM, Justice. The question presented by this appeal is whether our prejudgment interest statute, N.C.Gen.Stat. § 24-5, violates Article I, section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution, the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and the exclusive emoluments clause contained in Article I, section 32 of the North Carolina Constitution. We conclude the statute does not violate these constitutional provisions. The plaintiff, Bobby Vestal Lowe, was injured in an automobile accident on 4 May 1981 involving the defendant, Samuel Ingham Tarble. On 20 August 1982 plaintiff filed suit against Tarble. Plaintiff later amended his complaint to include an additional plaintiff, his wife, her claim for loss of consortium, and an additional defendant, ARA Services, Inc. On 2 September 1983, a jury returned a verdict awarding Bobby Vestal Lowe $85,500.00 for personal injuries and his wife Betty Lowe $1,000.00 for loss of consortium. Plaintiffs moved for prejudgment interest from the date of the filing of the complaint in accord with N.C. Gen.Stat. § 24-5. Defendants objected on the ground that the statute was unconstitutional and requested a hearing. Following a hearing on 19 September 1983 the court allowed plaintiffs' motion for prejudgment interest and entered judgment accordingly the following day. N.C.Gen.Stat. § 24-5 provides in pertinent part as follows: Defendants first contend the statute violates the Law of the Land and Equal Protection Clauses of Article I, section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Defendants' contentions regarding these federal and state constitutional provisions are answered by our decision in Powe v. Odell, 312 N.C. 410, 322 S.E.2d 762 (1984), in which we hold that section 24-5 offends neither the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to *21 the United States Constitution nor Article I, section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution. Defendants next argue that section 24-5 is unconstitutionally vague, uncertain and indefinite. Legislation must be definite and explicit enough reasonably to inform those who are the subject of the legislation what conduct on their part will render them liable under the statute. Surplus Store, Inc. v. Hunter, 257 N.C. 206, 125 S.E.2d 764 (1962). Defendants contend that section 24-5 fails to meet that standard because it is not clear whether the phrase "claims covered by liability insurance" in the statute includes claims under uninsured motorist coverage, claims for which, despite policy violations by insureds, the insurance company must pay pursuant to the Financial Responsibility Act, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 20-309, et seq., and claims which an insurance company defends under a reservation of rights. A statute, however, is not constitutionally suspect merely because it must be interpreted and applied in light of particular facts in a given case. In re Burrus, 275 N.C. 517, 531, 169 S.E.2d 879, 888 (1969). N.C.Gen.Stat. § 24-5 clearly states that where a claim "in actions other than contract" is covered by liability insurance, the portion of any money judgment designated as compensatory damages shall bear interest from the time the action is instituted until the judgment is paid and satisfied. We see nothing in this language which would preclude courts from interpreting and administering this statute uniformly. We therefore find no merit in defendants' claim that section 24-5 is unconstitutionally vague or indefinite. Finally, defendants object that section 24-5 grants "exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges" in violation of Article I, section 32 of the North Carolina Constitution which provides: Defendants argue, in essence, that by assessing prejudgment interest only against those defendants covered by liability insurance, section 24-5 creates a special privilege or right in favor of plaintiffs who sue defendants covered by such insurance, and in favor of defendants who are not covered by liability insurance. By distinguishing between defendants who carry liability insurance and those who do not, and assessing prejudgment interest only against the former, section 24-5 does favor certain classes of litigants. Our case law, however, teaches that not every classification which favors a particular group of persons is an "exclusive or separate emolument or privilege" within the meaning of the constitutional prohibition. In State v. Knight, 269 N.C. 100, 152 S.E.2d 179 (1967), this Court held that a statute exempting certain individuals from jury duty did not violate the constitutional prohibition against separate emoluments or privileges. There the Court said, id. at 107-08, 152 S.E.2d at 183-84: In Lamb v. Wedgewood South Corp., 308 N.C. 419, 439, 302 S.E.2d 868, 879 (1983), we held that even if N.C.Gen.Stat. § 1-50(5) (Replacement 1969) was interpreted to protect certain groups in the building industry (architects, engineers and contractors) from suit after six years from performance of their services while not affording such protection to other groups (materialmen, suppliers or manufacturers), the statute would not grant an unconstitutional exclusive emolument or privilege to the protected groups. We said: Id. As we concluded in dealing with the appellants' equal protection arguments in Powe v. Odell, supra, the legislature could reasonably have concluded that the classification scheme established by section 24-5 would best serve to further important and legitimate public purposes, including compensation of a plaintiff for the loss-of-use value of a damage award, the prevention of unjust enrichment to liability insurers who are required by law to maintain claim reserves on which interest is earned, and the promotion of settlement by these insurers, who unlike self-insurers, have as their primary business the insuring, investigation, defense and settlement of claims. The legislature could have reasonably concluded that the distinction between defendants with liability insurance and those without was a valid one, and that the public welfare would be best served by such a classification. Therefore, N.C.Gen.Stat. § 24-5 does not create a special emolument or privilege within the meaning of Article I, section 32 of the North Carolina Constitution. The judgment of the superior court is AFFIRMED. MEYER, Justice, dissenting. I respectfully dissent for the reasons expressed in my dissent in Powe v. Odell, 312 N.C. 410, 322 S.E.2d 762 (1984). COPELAND and MITCHELL, JJ., join in this dissenting opinion.