We wrote to you in August 2003 to advise that the Pennsylvania Superior Court, in Swords v. Harleysville Insurance Companies, held that the owner of a currently registered but uninsured motor vehicle is ineligible for first-party benefits regardless of whether the uninsured vehicle is involved in the loss. The Supreme Court has now affirmed that ruling.
By way of background, Wayne Swords was injured while operating his father's truck which was properly insured by Harleysville. The son owned a registered vehicle for which he had never purchased insurance. He sought to recover first-party benefits under his father's policy, relying upon the decision of a panel of the Superior Court in Kafando v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Pa. Super. 1998). The Superior Court en banc rejected the son's argument, overruled Kafando, and held that the son was precluded by Section 1714 of the Financial Responsibility Law from recovering first-party benefits.
The Supreme Court agreed that §1714, which provides that "an owner of a currently registered motor vehicle who does not have financial responsibility . . . cannot recover first-party benefits," is unambiguous and contains no requirement that a claimant be operating or occupying the uninsured vehicle in order to be barred from obtaining benefits through others' policies. The Court refused to interject such a requirement into the statute. Further, §1714 must be construed as requiring that any and every registered vehicle owned by the claimant must be insured in order to obtain first-party benefits.
If you would like to read a copy of the opinion, please click here . You can also call Dawn Drapczynski at (215) 665-3317 and request a copy from her. If you have any questions about the opinion, please feel free to telephone me.
Very truly yours,
Moira Clare Duggan
For further information, please contact Moira Clare Duggan, Esquire.
Telephone: 215-665-3305
E-mail: duggan@bbs-law.com
