Opinion ID: 512591
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The PMVFRL

Text: 11 In construing any statute, it is instructive first to examine the statute's purpose. The purpose of uninsured motorist coverage statutes is to protect the insured (and any additional insureds) from the risk that a negligent driver of another vehicle will cause injury to the insured (or the additional insureds), and will not have liability coverage to compensate for the injuries. See, e.g., Myers v. State Farm Ins. Co., 842 F.2d 705, 709-10 (3d Cir.1988) (construing Sec. 1731(a) of the PMVFRL as it applies to the analogous situation of underinsurance); Wolgemuth v. Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co., 370 Pa.Super. 51, 58, 535 A.2d 1145, 1149 (1988) (en banc) (same); Johnson v. Concord Mutual Ins. Co., 450 Pa. 614, 619, 300 A.2d 61, 64 (1973) (construing a predecessor of the PMVFRL); Boyle v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 310 Pa.Super. 10, 21, 456 A.2d 156, 162 (1983) (stating that [t]he purpose of the uninsured motorist law has been frequently and consistently interpreted by our courts as providing protection to innocent victims of uninsured drivers.); Harleysville Mut. Casualty Co. v. Blumling, 429 Pa. 389, 395, 241 A.2d 112, 115 (1968) (stating that such statutes are designed to give monetary protection to that ... large group of persons who ... suffer grave injuries through negligent use of those highways by others.) (citations omitted). Accordingly, courts have liberally construed uninsured motorist statutes. See Wolgemuth, 370 Pa.Super. at 63, 535 A.2d at 1151 (construing the PMVFRL). Conversely, waiver provisions detract from public policy considerations and have been narrowly and strictly construed. Johnson, 450 Pa. at 619, 300 A.2d at 64. 12 When ascertaining matters of state law, the decisions of the state's highest court constitute the authoritative source. If the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not yet passed on the question before us, we must consider the pronouncements of the lower state courts. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Farrell, 855 F.2d 146, 148-49 (3d Cir.1988); Connecticut Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Wyman, 718 F.2d 63, 65 (3d Cir.1983). Such decisions should be given proper regard, but not conclusive effect. Commissioner v. Estate of Bosch, 387 U.S. 456, 465, 87 S.Ct. 1776, 1782-83, 18 L.Ed.2d 886 (1967); McKenna v. Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp., 622 F.2d 657, 662 (3d Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 976, 101 S.Ct. 387, 66 L.Ed.2d 237 (1980); Adams v. Cuyler, 592 F.2d 720, 725 n. 5 (3d Cir.1979), aff'd, 449 U.S. 433, 101 S.Ct. 703, 66 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981). Our research indicates that the statutory construction issue presented here has not been decided by the state's supreme court. 13 It is also unfortunate that the PMVFRL, unlike the now-repealed No Fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act, 8 does not contain a statement of findings and purpose. Further, our independent research indicates that the rationale underlying the inclusion of mandatory uninsured motorist coverage in the PMVFRL and the waiver provision was not the subject of debate or specific discussion by members of the Pennsylvania House or Senate. 14 Yet we are not without any guiding light in construing this statute as the Pennsylvania Superior Court has recently stated that we must be guided in our interpretation of the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law by the Statutory Construction Act.... 9 Wolgemuth, 370 Pa.Super. at 62, 535 A.2d 1151. We are persuaded by this unanimous in banc Pennsylvania Superior Court decision that the PMVFRL should be interpreted in accordance with this Act. See generally Wisniewski v. Johns-Manville Corp., 759 F.2d 271, 273-74 (3d Cir.1985) (Although lower state court decisions are not controlling on an issue on which the highest court of the state has not spoken, federal courts must attribute significant weight to these decisions in the absence of any indications that the highest state court would rule otherwise.); Adams v. Cuyler, 592 F.2d 720, 725 n. 5 (3d Cir.1979) (Federal courts ... may consider the pronouncements of state intermediate appellate courts as an indication of how the state's highest court would rule.), aff'd, 449 U.S. 433, 101 S.Ct. 703, 66 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981).