Opinion ID: 1757463
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Coleman was injured in an automobile accident by a vehicle owned by Bee Line and operated by its employee. Coleman settled her property damage claim without the aid of counsel. She hired an attorney to represent her in her personal injury claim. Under the Motor Vehicle Reparations Act, Coleman's insurance carrier, Nationwide Insurance Company, paid $5,737.00 of her medical expenses in the form of BRB. As for the remaining medical bills, Coleman made a settlement demand of $21,000.00 to the claims adjuster for Bee Line's third-party claims administrator. Coleman received a counteroffer of $6,500.00 via fax. She accepted the counteroffer via fax. Bee Line's claims adjuster then faxed Coleman a Release of All Claims (Bee Line Release), which she signed and returned. The release said that Coleman agreed to hold the released parties harmless and indemnify them from any claims asserted by third parties ... including ... all medical providers and any other insurance carriers against the proceeds of this settlement. Nationwide ultimately sought statutory reimbursement from Zurich American Insurance, Bee Line's insurance carrier. Citing the indemnity provision of the Bee Line Release, Bee Line demanded that Coleman defend it in the arbitration proceeding with Nationwide and make payment; but Coleman refused. Through arbitration, Bee Line settled and paid Nationwide $4,737.00. Bee Line then sought indemnity from Coleman. She refused to pay, and Bee Line filed this lawsuit. The trial court ruled that although Coleman had no statutory obligation to reimburse Nationwide for the BRB payments it made to Bee Line under the Bee Line Release, Coleman had become contractually obligated. The court granted summary judgment for Bee Line on this issue. Based primarily on its finding that the Bee Line Release made Coleman liable for payment of her own BRB, the trial court further ruled that Coleman's counterclaims were without merit. It then granted Bee Line's motion to dismiss and denied Coleman's motion to reconsider. The Court of Appeals reviewed the release de novo, found it to be clear and unambiguous, and affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Bee Line. It also affirmed the dismissal of Coleman's counterclaims.