Interinsurance Exchange of Automobile Club v. Superior Court

Churchill & Kaplan, Robert J. Kaplan and Beth S. Schiralli for Real Party in Interest.

OPINION

TODD, J.

After the trial court overruled its general demurrer based on the doctrine of collateral estoppel, Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club of Southern California (Auto Club) petitions for a writ of mandate seeking to compel the trial court to sustain its demurrer. The subject of the demurrer is the April 5, 1988, complaint of real party in interest Jackie L. Packham against the Auto Club for damages for "BAD FAITH BREACH OF INSURANCE CONTRACT (i.e., TORTIOUS BREACH OF THE IMPLIED COVENANT OF GOOD FAITH AND FAIR DEALING); VIOLATION OF STATUTORY DUTIES; CONSTRUCTIVE FRAUD AND FRAUDULENT DECEIT."

We have concluded the issue of the effectiveness of Packham's assent to a January 1985 release she executed was finally adjudicated in a July 2, 1986, summary judgment which was affirmed on appeal. Her assent was adjudicated to be effective. Thus, the release was an effective bar to her personal injury action against Simone Billuni, who with Packham was insured by the Auto Club. The matters in Packham's present complaint, including fraud and overreaching, were within the scope…

Preliminarily, I want to acknowledge there is an intuitive pull in this case to affirm the judgment. That desire is probably motivated by the understandable wish to eliminate a case from our overburdened courts when the allegedly aggrieved party has had the opportunity to seek redress from the person whose culpability initially caused her injuries. As I shall explain, however, I believe there are a number of valid and significant reasons why the law does not permit that result in the circumstances of this case.

The majority appear to recognize the subtleties associated with analyzing when a party will be barred from relitigating a matter. Their opinion reflects an appreciation that this case presents a question of issue preclusion, i.e., we are dealing with the collateral estoppel effect of a prior judgment on an admittedly different cause of action. I agree that where an issue was previously resolved, the losing party will be estopped to relitigate that issue even when a different theory is proffered in the second action which was not raised and resolved in the first. In other words, I would be satisfied here if Packham could have raised a theory as a basis for obtaining…

After the trial court overruled its general demurrer based on the doctrine of collateral estoppel, Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club of Southern California (Auto Club) petitions for a writ of mandate seeking to compel the trial court to sustain its demurrer. The subject of the demurrer is the April 5, 1988, complaint of real party in interest Jackie L. Packham against the Auto Club for damages for “Bad Faith Breach of Insurance Contract (i.e., Tortious Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing); Violation of Statutory Duties; Constructive Fraud and Fraudulent Deceit.”

We have concluded the issue of the effectiveness of Packham’s assent to a January 1985 release she executed was finally adjudicated in a July 2, 1986, summary judgment which was affirmed on appeal. Her assent was adjudicated to be effective. Thus, the release was an effective bar to her personal injury action against Simone Billuni, who with Packham was insured by the Auto Club. The matters in Packham’s present complaint, including fraud and overreaching, were within the scope of the summary judgment adjudication of the effectiveness of Packham’s assent to the release, the…