Opinion ID: 2602113
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Application of Collateral Offsets Generally

Text: {24} It is true, as Rebecca argues, that the Act and accompanying regulations do not expressly require that an individual's share of a Fund award must be reduced by the amount of collateral benefits that individual received. However, the Air Stabilization Act gives the Special Master power to administer the Fund and determine the amounts to be awarded to individual claimants. Further, the Special Master was authorized to provide such other information as appropriate to provide adequate guidance for a court of competent jurisdiction. 28 C.F.R. § 104.33(g). In this case, the Special Master's letter to Rebecca instructs that [g]enerally, collateral offsets should first be applied to the share of the individual who received the benefit. The Court of Appeals concluded that this language was without any legal effect, included solely to provide information regarding the origin and calculation of collateral offsets. {25} We disagree that the Special Master's language has no effect on the award distributions. A plain reading of this language indicates a directive to the Personal Representative to be followed in calculating the appropriate distribution of the remaining award among the beneficiaries. We also note that the Special Master's letter provided a breakdown of collateral offsets, showing the amount of collateral benefits attributable to each individual beneficiary  $1,012,321 to Rebecca, $25,000 to the Estate, $23,177 to Trae, and $17,500 to Joshua. This breakdown, taken in conjunction with the language directing that collateral offsets should first be applied to the share of the individual who received the benefit, persuades us that the Special Master intended that individual collateral offsets should be applied as an offset to individual awards. If that were not the Special Master's intent, there would seem to be no reason to set forth a breakdown of collateral benefits individually, as opposed to just one lump-sum award. {26} Our interpretation of the Special Master's letter is also supported by general principles of fairness. We observe that if Rebecca had not received $1,012,321 in collateral benefits, and the others had not received collateral benefits in much smaller amounts (a total of $65,677), the final award for economic loss alone would have totaled $1,397,969.88. After distributing this amount according to the wrongful death statute, Section 41-2-3(B), Joshua would have received half, or $698,984.94. Even subtracting Joshua's collateral benefits actually received, he would have been entitled to nearly that amount. However, Rebecca's disproportionate share of collateral benefits to her personally reduced the total award substantially, and thereby reduced Joshua's share as well to only $159,985.94, being one-half of $319,971.88. Thus, Rebecca's collateral benefits served to reduce Joshua's share of the award by over $500,000. {27} Under these circumstances, the Special Master's directive embodies a basic notion of fairness. It seeks to avoid excessive compensation for one beneficiary at the expense of the remaining beneficiaries. See, e.g., Strickland v. Roosevelt County Rural Elec. Coop., 103 N.M. 63, 64, 65, 702 P.2d 1008, 1009, 1010 (Ct.App.1984) (holding that the proceeds of a wrongful death award should be divided into equal shares and each beneficiary should reimburse the compensation carrier from his equal share of the total judgment the amount of workers compensation benefits received by that beneficiary, and noting that [t]his makes each beneficiary whole and avoids double recovery by either). For the purpose of clarity we repeat: Rebecca is not entitled to any of the economic loss component of the award. Joshua is entitled to all of the individual economic loss award.