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Farm Family Mutual Insurance Co. v. Peck6/16/1999
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Clerk/Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, Supreme Court Building, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.state.nh.us/courts/supreme.htm
Grafton
The plaintiff, Farm Family Mutual Insurance Company (Farm Family), appeals the decision of the Superior Court (Fauver, J.) granting defendant Margaret Ann Peck's motion for summary judgment and denying Farm Family's motion for summary judgment. We reverse.
This case arises from a December 1988 automobile accident involving Peck, who was en route to a staff meeting held by her employer. Both parties agree that the accident occurred while Peck was working. Peck claimed that the accident caused a ruptured cervical disc and triggered the onset of a multiple personality disorder. She brought an action against the tortfeasor. While that case was pending, she received workers' compensation benefits. Her workers' compensation benefits terminated after she settled with the tortfeasor's insurance carrier.
Once Peck depleted the funds from her settlement, she requested reinstatement of her workers' compensation benefits. The workers' compensation carrier denied her claim. Consequently, the department of labor (DOL) held a hearing to decide issues relating to: (1) the liability of a third person, see RSA 281-A:13 (Supp. 1993); (2) reimbursement for Peck's medical, hospital, and remedial care, see RSA 281-A:23 (Supp. 1993) (amended 1994, 1995, 1996); and (3) Peck's eligibility for compensation, see RSA 281-A:48 (Supp. 1993) (amended 1993, 1998).
The DOL denied Peck's request for reinstatement of benefits and payment of medical and psychiatric bills. She appealed to the compensation appeals board (board). The board affirmed the DOL's decision. No appeal was taken to this court.
Peck also brought an underinsured motorist claim against her insurance carrier, Farm Family. She sought recovery before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) pursuant to the terms of the policy. Farm Family filed a bill in equity in superior court to enjoin Peck from arguing that her neck and psychiatric conditions were caused by the automobile accident. Specifically, Farm Family claimed that the doctrine of collateral estoppel precluded Peck from litigating causation issues regarding her cervical and psychiatric conditions because those issues had "previously been heard and rejected at the worker's compensation tribunal level."
Peck subsequently moved for summary judgment, requesting a ruling that she is not collaterally estopped from litigating causation under negligence law in her action against Farm Family. Farm Family filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. The court held that collateral estoppel was inapplicable because the issues determined by the workers' compensation tribunals and the issues to be decided by the AAA were not identical. Consequently, the court granted Peck's motion for summary judgment and denied Farm Family's cross-motion. This appeal followed.
Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Goss v. City of Manchester, 140 N.H. 449, 450-51, 669 A.2d 785, 786 (1995). The parties dispute whether the issue of causation was litigated and decided by the board. In additi
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