Court Opinion

ID: 9624144
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:52:17.635048+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:39.841058
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE COMPTON,
concurring.
As one of the dissenters in William v. City of Newport News, 240 Va. 425, 397 S.E.2d 813 (1990), I complained that the majority engaged in judicial legislation when it ruled that the City was bound to provide uninsured motorists protection in addition to workers’ compensation benefits when its employee was injured in a motor vehicle collision caused by the negligence of an uninsured motorist. Having lost that battle, I am bound by the majority’s holding in William and therefore concur in this decision, which is the logical extension of William.
I write only to point out that the result in this case demonstrates the mischief created by the judicial legislation in William. Now, we must hold that the self-insured City has “unlimited” exposure to this plaintiff. Had the General Assembly been the body to amend the legislation to reach the William result, it would have studied the matter thoroughly and could have acted to limit the financial exposure of cities when liable for a claim such as this, as was accomplished by the 1991 amendment to Code § 46.2-368(B). I suppose the taxpayers in Newport News can be thankful that this verdict is for only $550,000 rather than $550 million.