Court Opinion

ID: 9714281
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 05:34:35.007778+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:24.976890
License: Public Domain

Bashara, J.
(dissenting). 1 would dissent. The majority concludes that under no-fault, the Legislature intended tort liability to be precluded whenever an automobile is involved, even if the cause of the accident could in no way be attributed to the vehicle.
In my view, the statute does not speak to the probability that an owner or operator of a vehicle may be injured by a nonvehicular cause. It speaks only of liability. Indeed, the Commission’s comment to § 5 of the Uniform Motor Vehicle Accident Reparations Act, from which our no-fault legislation is patterned, states the following:
"Moreover, the only tort actions which are abolished are those which arise from the defendant’s ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle. Among the potential tort actions thus retained by an automobile accident victim would be those against an automobile manufacturer for products liability or against a railroad in the case of an automobile-train collision.” 1 Uniform Laws Annotated, Civil Procedural and Remedial Laws, § 3, Commissioner’s Comment, p 372. (Emphasis supplied.)
The above comments clearly suggest that one whose negligence may have caused damage, but who may not have been involved in a collision, should not be absolved from liability. Moreover, *772the majority’s interpretation of the statute would create an anomalous situation. A victim who suffers permanent disfigurement or serious impairment of a bodily function may maintain a tort action where the injuries are caused by the ownership, use or maintenance of a motor vehicle. Conversely, an owner or operator suffering the same injuries may not maintain such an action, merely because the causation did not arise from the ownership, use or maintenance of another automobile.
It is my opinion that had the Legislature intended to exclude this class of tortfeasors, an express provision could easily have been added to the statute. Until that is accomplished, fairness alone should dictate that we not enlarge upon the ambit of "no-fault” legislation.
I would reverse the decision of the trial court.