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Show uD I j i Foriali. (r.I.r University rf IV.- - ji u-- n Ut? h palt LllkeCity, lit':h f.112 i h ii I VOLUME 17, NUMBER 65 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH THURSDAY. APRIL 5. 1973 Most Insurers Write Utah Supreme Court Decision Subrogation Case Abortion Coverage Now INSURANCE CARRIER TO BEAR SHARE OF ATTORNEY FEES JERRY K. LANIER, Plaintiff and Respondent v. HAROLD D. PYNE and GIBBONS & REED COMPANY, Defendants and Respondents LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO., Intervenor and Appellant Justice J. Alan Crockett wrote the majority opinion. Controversy: Whether Liberty Mutual must bear proportionate share of fees paid to the plaintiffs attorneys. Liberty Mutual asserted subrogation rights to plaintiffs claim against Gibbons & Reed. Plaintiff was paid workmens compensation from Liberty Mutual for injuries received while driving a cab in a collision with a truck owned by Gibbons & Reed Construction. Supreme Court: . . . rights conferred upon the insurance carrier should be regarded as secondary to the plaintiffs interest, Justice F. Henri Henroid dissenting: They allow an attorneys fee to get an award from the Industrial Commission at tax-.- .. 3 payers expense, I think another attorneys fee of to sue a third party, and then another 33 to 50 for whatever is collected from the insurance company by virtue of a statute that flies in the teeth of the purpose and intent of the Workmens Compensation statute Chief Justice Callister concurs in dissent -- Plaintiff counsel: Gayle Dena Hunt, 915 Continental Bank Bldg. Dwight C. King, 2121 S. State Defendant counsel: Moffat, Welling, Taylor & Paulson ' Richard H. Moffat, 9th Floor Tribune Bldg. See details page 6. 33-1- NEW YORK (ACCN) Most in- benencs were made available by surance companies routinely pay for companies. abortions, the Health Insurance The big difference today is that Institute reported recently. the vast majority of abortions is This was true, first for therapeuconsidered legal. tic abortions and then in the sevEarlier, this was true in only a eral states which made abortion tiny percentage of cases. legal, even before the recent U.S. Legality Established And legality was established by Supreme Court ruling setting down more liberal guidelines on the con- the Supreme Court decision of troversial issue. January 22. The key question, according to For the first 12 weeks of pregthe Institute, has always been legal- nancy, the high court said, the deity. Once this was established, cision to have an abortion lies with the woman and her physician, the woman has a right of privacy in which the state cannot interfere. For the last six months, sttaes may regulate the abortion procedure in ways reasonably related to maternal health, such as licensing and regulating the persons and facilities involved. However, in the last 10 weeks of pregnancy, when the fetus has the capability of meaningful life outside the mothers womb," states ... Utah Stars, champion of tho ABAs western division, wrapped up regular season play with a 55-2-9 won-lorecord, the third consecutive season they have won more than 50 games. No other ABA team j j st Legal Briefs Is A An Automobile Dune-Bugg- y WHAT HAPPENED? Donald, a skillful car mechanic, discovered a new winter sport. He s' and his friends raced their on the frozen surface Of Lake Dunmore. One Sunday afternoon, Donald towed his buggy, a stripped-dow- n Volkswagen with no windshield or fenders, to the lake to test some new tires. It proved to be the opposite of a dry run when Donald and his y plunged through the ice 100 yards from shore. Following the funeral, Donalds widow wrote his insurance company to collect on a $25,000 policy in the event of death payable caused by accident in an automodune-buggie- to pay. We dont owe a cent, said the claims agent Our policy only pays for death in an automobile. y A is not an automonor could it bile, pass state safety inspection requirements. Besides, it wasnt even operating on a highway. y Donalds widow took the dune-bugg- com-.pan- to court Insurance com- panies cannot define words for their won convenience. I want die courts definition," she pleaded. WHO WON? According to Webster the widow wins, ruled the court An automobile is any land motor vehicle not operated on rails or treads, said the judge. y had at one time This been registered as an ordinary bile. The insurance company refused automobile. It did not lose its basic identity merely by being stripped down. (Based on a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Vermont as reRitter and Paul Levine The tightest, most closely com- told by John of the University of iMami School petitive WHL season in years of Law.) comes to a end this week with five clubs still battling for positions. The Phoenix Roadrunners bumped the Eagles from first place for the first time since Dec. 13 (15 weeks) with a home ice victory over Portland Saturday while the Eagles were bowing to San Diego, 41.2. The Runners have three games remaining (2 at home, 1 road) and the Eagles have four remaining (1 home, 3 away). In the eyes of the Salt Lakers, the top spot is still attainable. (UPI)-P- aul WASHINGTON Friday night the Golden Eagles return home hosting the red-hBosak, Jr.' a coal miner from Totems. Last time the Totes came Tarentum, Pa., was declared the to town they earned a ll tie after winner March 23, of the Cadillac The trailing at one stage, of limousine deposed United Totems boast the leagues top scorMineworkers President W. A. er, Bobby Walton, who is about to Tony Boyle, when Bosaks name dethrone Portlands Art Jones who tie for drawn to break a two-dawas has owned the scoring championbid. the five for the past high years. ship Bosak, Arthur Hensley of Friday will be Awards Night, e with presentation of Longmont, Col., and William Barnes awards to several Golden Eagles. dune-bugg- dune-bugg- Hockey News Drawing on Tie Bid Wins Boyle Auto for Miner ot 4-a- 3-- 0. y post-gam- can claim that achievement, and only the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls of the NBA have accomplished the feat. The Stars home record of 37-- 5 this year was the best ever in ABA history, breaking the 36--5 standard compiled by the Denver Rockets in 1969-7Overall in three seasons of play the Stars have posted a won-lorecord regular-seaso105-2- 1 at home and 67- of 172-859 on the road. With playoff games added in, the clubs total record is 0. st n 0, an outstanding 7 home and 72-6- 191-9- 118-2- 0, on 3 at unfriendly courts. Shooting Records The Stars also established new team shooting records this year eclipsing their own ABA standard from the free throw line with .794 proficiency and breaking the club record from the field with a .496 percentage. Free Throw Shooting From the charity stripe, Ron Boone lost the ABA free throw shooting title the last week of the season, but still wound up with an excellent .866 mark, a new team record. Other Stars to shoot better than 80 per cent were Beasley .866 (he didnt have enough attempts to qualify for league laurels), Warren .861, Glen Combs .815 and Beaty .803, Jones was close at .799. Govan Spearheaded Beaty led the team in rebounding with 801 for a 9.8 average with Gerald Govan a close second with 795 and a 9.5 norm. Govan spearheaded a Stars' defensive effort which resulted in the lowest average ever posted by the clubs opposition, 110.0. point-per-ga- NEW YORK- -A report published today by the Ford Foundation need for continued support firms for public interest law firms. Ac- cording to the report, such firms attempt to keep government responsive to a wide range of public interests and to hold government agencies and private parties to legally established standards of af-tot- performance, assist in the al in- - and provide terpretation information to help courts and agencies in adjudicating conflicts. The Foundation also announced renewed support for three public interest law firms: the Center for Law in the Public Interest to continue its work in the environmental field, mostly in the Los Angeles area; the Institute for Public Interest Representation at the Georgetown University law Center for its program of encouraging more responsive and innovative action by federal agencies and departments; the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund for defense of the environment through legal action. The report, The Public Interest of law, Law Firm: New Voices for New Constituencies, examines the rationale for public interest law, traces its development, describes ten public interest law firms that of Luzerne, Pa., tied with high bids receive Foundation support, and of $2,500 for the 1967 Cadillac used by Illustrates some of the issues few case histones before he was defeated for re-- volved through a election last December by Arnold .1 in-Bo- foreword to BkTname vheldonbythea wm dnWfroTa working in front o( the UMW headquarters! ward V ft, Univer,itM Chicago, entral report Ed-- f ,laU(that. SrcSnmig2d necessary to presrve the life or health of the mother, the Supreme Court ruled. Extreme Caution So far state governments and the medical profession have moved with extreme caution in implementing the ruling. When there has been a question as to the legality of an abortion, most insurance companies have deferred payment until a clear ruling could be made. Otherwise, payment for legal abortions are considered routine under the category of . normal maternity coverage, which usually will pay for the operation through the first 28 weeks of pregnancy, and in some contracts if legal even longer. Type Coverage This type of coverage can be obtained by virtually all female employees, single or married, through a group policy. Male employees can likewise select family coverage under which they can receive payments for an abortion for their wives, and in some cases for their unmarried daughters. It boils down to this: if an insurance policy includes maternity benefits it will under normal circumstances pay for an abortion. It should be noted, though, that many policies specify that the operation must be performed in a hospital and benefits may not apply if the surgery is done in an abortion clinic. What is the basic reason for the present insurance stance on abortions? According to the Institute: health insurance has consistently followed the patterns of our nation. That is why, following todays more liberal trend toward womens rights, the benefit' packages provided by most companies help pay for types of medical expenses previously considered not insurable. socio-econom- ic emerge out of the conflict of special interests. The public interest law firm seeks to improve this will better giving process by representation to certain interests. Speaking of the future of public interest law, Dr. Levi says, the fact that the public interest law firm is not a set model, but takes many experimental forms, is itself a hopeful sign that this new effort can result in improvements in the working of our legal system. Since 1970, the Ford Foundation has become a major source of support for public interest law firms. Its interest in the field grew out of more than twenty years of efforts to improve the administration of justice through such activities as legal defender services for the indigent, the reform of legal education, and the advancement of legal rights of minority groups. The report was adapted from a paper prepared by Gordon Harrison, officer in charge of the Foundations , Office of Resources and En- vironment, and Sanford M. Jaffe, program officer, Office of Government and Law. |