Timothy Frazier v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, alias, ABC Insurance Company

Summary

The Rhode Island Supreme Court vacated summary judgment for Liberty Mutual in a personal-injury action arising from a slip and fall. The Court held that the savings statute could apply to the plaintiff’s claim against the insurer because the insurer was sufficiently linked to its insured and was not a stranger to the original action, overruling Luft v. Factory Mutual Liability Insurance Co. of America to the extent inconsistent. Justice Indeglia dissented, arguing that longstanding precedent and the plain meaning of “stranger” required affirmance.

Holdings

1. An insurer that is sufficiently linked to its insured and appears on behalf of the insured in the original action is not a stranger to that action under Rhode Island's savings statute. The savings statute therefore may preserve a subsequent claim against the insurer.
2. The statute of limitations did not bar Frazier's claim against Liberty Mutual because the savings statute extended the time for filing the action.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Rhode Island's savings statute, G.L. 1956 § 9-1-22, preserved Frazier's claim against Liberty Mutual after the action against the insured was dismissed for insufficient service of process.
2. Whether an insurer that appeared on behalf of its insured in the original action was a stranger to that action for purposes of the savings statute.
3. Whether summary judgment for Liberty Mutual was proper on statute-of-limitations grounds.

Disposition

vacated