Court Opinion

ID: 9884940
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:25:37.83876+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:42.763125
License: Public Domain

OPINION
NORTON, Judge.
Respondent Patricia Hartfiel commenced this garnishment action against appellant MSI Insurance Company in order to collect on a stipulated judgment entered against MSI’s insured, respondent Terry W. McLennan. The trial court granted partial summary judgment to strike two defenses which MSI asserted in its answer, but de*217nied summary judgment as to the reasonableness of the stipulation. Judgment was thereafter entered by stipulation of the parties. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand.
FACTS
On October 2,1976, Patricia Hartfiel was struck by Terry McLennan’s car while she was walking in the parking lot of Gloria’s 101 Club in Corcoran, Minnesota. On the date of the accident, McLennan had liability coverage regarding the operation of his vehicle through MSI Insurance Company.
MSI first received notice of the accident in a letter from an attorney retained by Hartfiel on February 14,1979. MSI denied liability coverage to McLennan in a letter dated June 5, 1979 due to its inability to adequately investigate the facts surrounding the accident because of McLennan’s failure to give timely notice. On December 4, 1979, Hartfiel commenced an action against McLennan for personal injuries which she received in the accident. Because MSI denied liability coverage, McLennan retained legal counsel on his own.
When MSI denied coverage of McLen-nan, Hartfiel sought uninsured motorist coverage from her insurer, Agricultural Insurance Company. Agricultural Insurance Company settled her claims for a payment of $15,000 in uninsured motorist benefits and $5,043.90 in PIP benefits. The action between Hartfiel and McLennan was settled when the parties stipulated that a $20,-483.90 judgment could be entered against McLennan, provided that Hartfiel would satisfy the judgment only from whatever liability insurance coverage McLennan had on the accident date. The settlement agreement was entered into pursuant to Miller v. Shugart, 316 N.W.2d 729 (Minn.1982). Based upon that settlement agreement, judgment was entered in favor of Hartfiel on October 17, 1984.
Hartfiel commenced the present garnishment action by serving a garnishment summons and disclosure form upon MSI on May 15,1986. The supplemental complaint in garnishment, pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 571.51, was served on August 25, 1986. The purpose of this action is to contest MSI’s denial of liability coverage and collect the money judgment. The supplemental complaint alleges that Agricultural Insurance Company is subrogated to any claim of its insured against Terry McLen-nan or MSI Insurance Company.
MSI interposed an answer to the supplemental complaint alleging two defenses: that Hartfiel’s claim was barred by the statue of limitations and that no coverage existed for McLennan because of a failure to give timely notice. The district court, on Hartfiel’s motion for partial summary judgment, had these two defense stricken from appellant’s answer on the grounds that appellant had wrongfully denied coverage to McLennan. Hartfiel then moved for summary judgment on the balance of her claim against MSI, asking the court to declare the settlement to be reasonable. The trial court denied this motion. Appellant and respondent then entered into a stipulation for entry of judgment. This appeal and notice of review followed.
ISSUES
I. May an insurance company assert defenses in an action brought by an injured party and her insurance company for sub-rogation?
II. Did the trial court err in denying summary judgment as to the reasonableness of the stipulated settlement?
ANALYSIS
On appeal from a summary judgment, the appellate court determines whether any genuine issue of material fact exists and whether the trial court erred in its application of the law. Betlach v. Wayzata Condominium, 281 N.W.2d 328, 330 (Minn.1979).
I.
MSI interposed two defenses in its answer to the supplemental complaint. These two defenses were stricken by the trial court on the basis that Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3(3) (1986) makes the insurer’s liabili*218ty absolute whenever injury or damage occurs. Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3 provides:
(3) Every plan of reparation security shall be subject to the following provisions which need not be contained therein:
(a) The liability of the reparation ob-ligor with respect to the residual liability coverage required by this clause shall become absolute whenever injury or damage occurs; such liability may not be cancelled or annulled by any agreement between the reparation obligor and the insured after the occurrence of the injury or damage; no statement made by the insured or on the insured’s behalf and no violation of said policy shall defeat or void said policy.
(emphasis added).
MSI argues that this statute applies only when the real party in interest is the injured. MSI claims that the real party in interest is not Hartfiel, but is Hartfiel’s insurance company, on the basis of the supplemental complaint which states, “Agricultural Insurance Company is subrogat-ed to any claim of its insured against Terry McLennan or MSI Insurance Company.”
This court has stated that section 65B.49 can only be invoked for the benefit of accident victims and not for insurance companies seeking to avoid their contractual liabilities. See Transamerican Insurance Company v. Austin Farm Center, Inc., 354 N.W.2d 503, 507 (Minn.Ct.App.1984), pet. for rev. denied (Minn. Feb. 6, 1985). In Transamerican, this court held that when the injured has been compensated, the purpose of the applicable insurance law is satisfied. Once the injured party was compensated, the question of which insurance company should ultimately bear the burden of loss had to be resolved according to the terms of the insurance policies involved. Id.
The supreme court made a similar decision when interpreting the predecessor statute, Minn.Stat. § 170.40, subd. 6(1) (1972). The supreme court held that the Minnesota Safety Responsibility Act, whose purpose was to assure that members of the traveling public are compensated for injuries, should be liberally construed to effect that legislative aim. Leppla v. American Family Insurance Group, 306 Minn. 478, 238 N.W.2d 592, 595 (1976). However, the statute is remedial only in favor of an injured third person, and the statute should not provide a defense when the injured party has been compensated and it is an insurance company seeking payment. See id.
In Leppla, American Family denied liability coverage to its insured on the basis that its insured failed to comply with policy provisions. The insured then stipulated to entry of judgment of $10,000 against him if the plaintiff looked to the defendant’s insurer for payment. Plaintiff then collected $19,000 in uninsured motorist benefits and agreed to reimburse its insurance carrier out of any recovery. Id. 238 N.W.2d at 593. Plaintiff then sued American Family to enforce the policy and collect the judgment. When American Family interposed the breach of policy defense, plaintiff sought to avoid the defense by interposing the statute. The court found that the plaintiff was not the real party in interest, because he had “no beneficial interest in the recovery” and that the uninsured motorist carrier was the party with the actual beneficial interest. Id. 238 N.W.2d at 594.
In the present case, it is clear that the injured party, Hartfiel, has been fully compensated for her injuries sustained in the accident. Hartfiel received $20,483.90 from her insurance company in PIP benefits and in uninsured motorist benefits. The judgment taken against McLennan was for this amount. Any amount received by Hartfiel would either be paid to her insurance company because of its contractual subrogation right or deducted to prevent double recovery of the amount already paid to her in PIP benefits. See Minn.Stat. § 65B.51, subd. 1 (1986). Therefore, Hart-fiel is not the real party in interest.
Based on Leppla and Transamerican, the provisions of Minn.Stat. § 65B.49, subd. 3(3) do not apply to this case, since it is apparent that two insurance companies are the real parties in interest. It is clear *219that the purpose of the no-fault insurance act has been fulfilled since Hartfiel has been fully compensated for any injuries which she sustained. The trial court erred in striking MSI’s defenses on the basis of section 65B.49. We do not reach the merits of these defenses, because the trial court did not consider them. Appellant is allowed to plead and prove on the merits, if it can, the defenses of statute of limitations and delayed notice.
II.
Hartfiel claims that the trial court erred in denying summary judgment as to the reasonableness of the Miller v. Shugart settlement. Miller v. Shugart, 316 N.W.2d 729 (Minn.1982) provides that where an insurance carrier has denied coverage for a liability claim brought against its insured, the insured may stipulate with the plaintiff injured party to entry of judgment against him. In that way, the insured can avoid any personal financial liability for the claim and the plaintiff may contest the insurer’s denial of coverage through a garnishment action.
In these circumstances, the judgment is binding and valid as between the stipulating parties, but it is not conclusive on the insurer. Id. at 735. If settlement occurs prior to trial, the burden of proof is on the claimant to show that the settlement is reasonable and prudent. Id. “The test as to whether the settlement is reasonable and prudent is what a reasonably prudent person in the position of the defendant would have settled for on the merits of plaintiff's claim. This involves a consideration of the facts bearing on the liability and damage aspects of plaintiffs claim, as well as the risks of going to trial.” Id. The reasonableness of the settlement involves a determination of whether the settlement was entered into at a time when it was clear that a jury “could have” found them liable and whether a jury “could have” found damages in excess of the amount of the settlement. Lemmer v. IDS Properties, Inc., 304 N.W.2d 864, 869 (Minn.1980).
On a motion for summary judgment, it is a trial court’s duty to determine under the guidelines of Miller that the judgment had indicia of reliability which support a finding that the settlement is reasonable and prudent, and thus enforceable against the insurer. See Traver v. Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., 418 N.W.2d 727, 732 (Minn.Ct.App.1988), pet. for rev. denied (Minn. Apr. 15, 1988).
The trial court did not give reasons for denying Hartfiel’s motion for summary judgment as to the reasonableness of the settlement between Hartfiel and McLen-nan. However, it is apparent to us that there are material facts in dispute which relate to the reasonableness of the Miller v. Shugart settlement. The degree of Hartfiel’s comparative negligence, if any, is disputed by the parties. This disputed material fact would affect the reasonableness of the settlement and distinguishes this case from Traver, 418 N.W.2d 727; Osgood v. Medical, Inc., 415 N.W.2d 896 (Minn.Ct.App.1987), pet. for rev. denied (Minn. Feb. 12, 1988); Buysse v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co., 428 N.W.2d 419 (Minn.Ct.App.1988) where this court has held that the determination of the question of reasonableness is a question of law for the court. All of these cases involved summary judgments where no questions of material fact were in dispute.
However, we dispute that the language in Economy Fire & Casualty Co. v. Iverson, 426 N.W.2d 195 (Minn.Ct.App.1988), pet. for rev. granted (Minn. July 28, 1988) where this court stated “the determination of the settlement’s reasonableness and finality requires a separate trial,” applies in all cases. In Economy,1 as in *220Miller,2, the specific policies provided that a judgment was not conclusive on the insurer until the insurer had the opportunity to litigate the issues of whether it was bound by the judgment. There is no evidence that MSI’s policy has this requirement.
We do not believe a jury trial is required under Miller. Two essential factors underlying the Miller decision are that an insurer who disputes coverage cannot compel an insured to forego a settlement which is in the insured’s best interest, and any risk that a judgment is within the insurer’s policy limits should be borne by the insurer who decided to contest the coverage. Miller, 316 N.W.2d at 734. The insurer could have chosen to fully participate in the litigation when its insured gave notice of the claim, but declined. There is no language in Miller which would lead us to believe that such an insurer would be entitled to a jury trial as to the reasonableness of a settlement in which it refused to participate. Rather, Miller allows the insurer to fully litigate whether the judgment is within the policy coverage. Id. at 733-34. The issue of whether MSI is liable for the settlement under the policy is distinct from the issue of whether a settlement is reasonable. Jostens, Inc. v. CNA Insurance/Continental Casualty Co., 403 N.W. 2d 625, 629 (Minn.1987).
It is for the trial court to determine the reasonableness of a settlement, when it has sufficient facts to make such a determination. The trial court may request any further evidence on remand so that it can make a determination of the reasonableness of the Miller v. Shugart settlement.
DECISION
The trial court erred in striking respondent’s defenses of statute of limitations and delayed notice. The trial court did not err in denying summary judgment as to the reasonableness of the settlement. We remand for further proceedings in accord with this opinion.
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED.

. The "no action” clause in Economy's policy read: "No action shall be brought against us unless there has been compliance with the policy provisions. No one shall have any right to join us as a party to any action against any insured. Further, no action with respect to Coverage E (liability) shall be brought against us until the obligation of the insured has been determined by final judgment or agreement signed by us.” Economy, 426 N.W.2d at 200-01, n. 4.

. The "no action” clause involved in Miller read: "No action shall lie against the company unless, as a condition precedent thereto, the insured shall have fully complied with all the terms of this policy, nor shall an action lie under the liability coverage until the amount of the insured’s obligation to pay shall have been fully determined either by judgment against the insured after actual trial or by written agreement by the insured, the claimant and the company.” Miller, 316 N.W.2d at 736, n. 7.