Court Opinion

ID: 9586372
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:09:58.141171+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:30:00.202060
License: Public Domain

Justice Frye
dissenting.
This case represents a triumph of form over substance. After being permanently and totally disabled in 1989 as the result of an automobile accident, Mrs. Hieb convinced a jury that she was entitled to damages in excess of $1.2 million and judgment was entered by the trial court accordingly. After two trips to the Court of Appeals and further review in this Court, the majority now concludes that, by interaction of two statutory provisions and various procedural bars, *411Mrs. Hieb is not legally entitled to access to any of the funds available under her own underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage policy. I dissent.
The result of the majority’s holding in this case is that because Mrs. Hieb obtained a judgment in excess of $1.2 million rather than settling the claim with her own insurance company, the superior court judge had no authority under N.C.G.S. § 97-10.2Q) to “determine, in his discretion, the amount, if any, of the employer’s lien and the amount of cost of the third-party litigation to be shared between the employee and employer.” Under'N.C.G.S. § 97-10.2Q), Mrs. Hieb could have settled with her UIM carrier for $475,000, the amount available under her UIM coverage. Had she done so, she could have applied to the superior court for a determination of the amount of the subrogation lien for the workers’ compensation carrier. The court then, in its discretion, could have divided the sum of $475,000 between Mrs. Hieb and the workers’ compensation carrier. Even after the jury verdict, Mrs. Hieb and her UIM carrier could have agreed on a settlement of the claim in the amount available under the UIM coverage, and the trial court would then have been authorized to determine the subrogation amount. However, having the court enter a judgment in the amount of the jury verdict essentially deprived Mrs. Hieb of access to any of the funds awarded to her by the jury which were available under her own insurance policy. I believe that such a result was not intended by the legislature in the enactment of N.C.G.S. § 97-10.2(j) or under Rule 60(b) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. Accordingly, I cannot join the majority opinion.