Suniland Corp. v. Radcliffe

ELLETT, Chief Justice:

Suniland sold a home to Radcliffe who later became dissatisfied with it. The parties settled their dispute by Suniland repurchasing the home, and as part of the agreement permitted Radcliffe to rent the house for one month while looking for another abode. Suniland took out an insurance policy to cover any loss it might sustain as a result of vandalism or malicious mischief.

At the end of the rental month the Rad-cliffes left the home in a damaged condition; in addition, they had removed the light fixtures, the drapes, and the shutters. Suniland sued Radcliffe for the damages and also joined its own insurance carrier as a party defendant.

The court, for reasons of its own, submitted forty instructions and eleven verdicts to the jury. When the verdicts are considered together, they assess damages as follows:

*848Against Radcliffe
(a) for removal of light fixtures, drapes, and shutters $ 840.00
(b) for breach of lease 1,777.00
(c) for attorney’s fees 2,200.00
TOTAL . $4,817.00
Against Insurance Carrier
for insurance policy. $1,777.00

The insurance company is not a party to this appeal, and the matter between it and Suniland is of no further concern to us in this case.

As best we can interpret the record, the net judgment against Radcliffe is computed as follows:

Damages $2,617.00
Attorneys’ fees 2,200.00
Total for Breach:. $4,817.00
Plus: Costs 800-31
TOTAL AWARD: . $6,617.31

The principal thrust of Radcliffe’s claim of error is that the plaintiff gets paid twice for its damage, once by Radcliffe and once by its insurance carrier. This argument is without any validity whatsoever. It is an attempt to overturn the doctrine of collateral source rule. When Suniland rented the house to Radcliffe, it paid a premium in order to get an insurance policy protecting it against loss due to vandalism, etc. The premium paid by Suniland was not paid in order to protect a tortfeasor; rather, it was paid to protect the insured. The terms of the policy were of no concern to Radcliffe. Whether or not the insurance carrier would be subrogated to the rights of the insured depends on the contract of insurance; and that would depend on the amount of premium paid.

The same principle applies where a person loses time because of tortious injury inflicted by the defendant. It may be that because of past performance on the part of the injured employee, the employer will continue to pay his salary. This is not done in order to protect the tortfeasor and is no defense to the claim for lost time. If payment of wages be made out of the goodness of the employer’s heart, the defendant does not get the benefit from it. The same is true when charitable agencies come to the rescue of an injured person; or in a situation where he may draw workman’s compensation. In all such cases the tortfeasor is responsible for the damages he caused.

In the case of Gatzweiler v. Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company,1 it was held that the amount received by an injured party under an accident policy for which he had paid the premiums could not be considered by way of partial or total satisfaction of damages claimed against the tort-feasor. Likewise, in the case of Harding v. Townshed,2 the defendant claimed that any amounts received by the plaintiff should be deducted from any recovery obtained against him. The court there held:

There is no technical ground which necessarily leads to the conclusion that the money received by the plaintiff of the accident insurance company could operate as a defense, or inure to the benefit of the defendant. The insurer and the defendant are not joint tort-feasors or joint debtors so as to make a payment or satisfaction by the former operate to the benefit of the latter. Nor is there any legal privity between the defendant and the insurer, so as to give the former a right to avail itself of a payment by the latter. The policy of insurance is collateral to the remedy against the defendant, and was procured solely by the plaintiff, and at his expense, and to the procurement of which the defendant was in no way contributory.

In the case of Cunnien v. Superior Iron Works Company3 the injured plaintiff received money from the government in the amount of $120.00 per month. The trial court told the jury to deduct the sum of $120.00 per month from any award. The Supreme Court reversed and ordered the trial court to modify the judgment so as to give the plaintiff his full damages from the tortfeasor.

*849None of the cases takes issue with the principle that the receipt of insurance payments are not to be deducted from awards assessed against tortfeasors.4

The plaintiff’s assertion that it was error to allow double recovery is made without regard to existing authority and is of no merit.5 He also claims that since the insurer was a party to the case, the costs of trial should have been divided between appellant and the insurer. This claim is also without merit. Any additional cost made necessary by reason of joining the insurance carrier would merely be the cost of introducing the insurance policy into evidence. The evidence required to hold Radcliffe is the very same evidence that would be required in case of a separate action by plaintiff against its insurer.

There is a further reason why Radcliffe cannot assert error in regard to the costs allowed Suniland. The cost bill was filed November 23, 1976. The objection to that cost bill was filed by Radcliffe on December 16, 1976. Rule 54(d)(2), Utah Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a party who is dissatisfied with the costs claim may file a motion to have the bill of costs taxed by the court within seven days after it is filed. Here, Radcliffe waited twenty-three days before he filed any objection to the cost bill.

Other claims of error made by Radcliffe have been considered but we deem them nonprejudicial and without merit.

The judgment is affirmed. Costs are awarded to the respondent.

CROCKETT, WILKINS and HALL, JJ., concur.

. 136 Wis. 34, 116 N.W. 633 (1908).

. 43 Vt. 536, 5 Am.R. 304 (1871).

.175 Wis. 172, 184 N.W. 767 (Wis.1921).

. See annotations in 18 A.L.R. 683, 75 A.L.R.2d 885, 4 A.L.R.3d 535, and 7 A.L.R.3d 516.

. The only interest which the defendant ought to have is to make sure that he does not have to pay twice.