A.N. Nwadike v. Bureau of Motor Vehicles ( 2021 )

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Anthony N. Nwadike :
:
v. :
:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, :
Department of Transportation, :
Bureau of Motor Vehicles, : No. 796 C.D. 2020
Appellant : Submitted: July 9, 2021
BEFORE: HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, Judge
HONORABLE ANNE E. COVEY, Judge
HONORABLE CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge
OPINION NOT REPORTED
MEMORANDUM OPINION
BY JUDGE FIZZANO CANNON FILED: August 23, 2021
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation
(Department), Bureau of Driver Licensing (Bureau), appeals from the July 9, 2020
order of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County (trial court) sustaining the
statutory appeal of Anthony N. Nwadike (Nwadike) from the Bureau’s imposition
of a three-month suspension of the registration pursuant to Section 1786(d) of the
Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (Vehicle Code), 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d),
on Nwadike’s vehicle, the insurance for which had lapsed for a period during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Upon review, we reverse.
The basic facts underlying the instant matter are not in dispute.
Permanent General Assurance Company of Ohio (Permanent General) cancelled a
policy of insurance for Nwadike’s 2011 Honda station wagon (Vehicle) on March
23, 2020, and reported the termination of coverage to the Bureau. See Reproduced
Record (R.R.) at 18a-19a. In correspondence dated March 25, 2020, the Bureau
informed Nwadike that it had received notification of Permanent General’s
termination of coverage and requested that Nwadike supply updated information
regarding the status of insurance coverage for the Vehicle. See R.R. at 18a-19a.
Thereafter, by notice mailed May 11, 2020, the Bureau advised Nwadike that, as a
consequence of his failing to supply insurance information, the Vehicle’s
registration would be suspended for a period of three months, effective June 15,
2020, pursuant to Section 1786(a) of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d). See
R.R. at 4a-5a.
Nwadike filed a statutory appeal of the suspension on May 19, 2020.
See R.R. at 2a-3a. The trial court conducted a hearing on Nwadike’s appeal on July
9, 2020. See Notes of Testimony, July 9, 2020 (N.T.), R.R. at 8a-20a. At the
hearing, Nwadike admitted that the Vehicle was uninsured for 68 days from March
23, 2020, through May 30, 2020, but explained that he did not drive the Vehicle
during that time period as a result of his work having been temporarily shut down in
response to the stay-at-home order issued by Pennsylvania’s Governor on March 19,
2020, at the beginning of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. See N.T. at 2-
3, R.R. at 9a-10a. The Bureau argued that Nwadike’s testimony and the
documentation presented1 proved that the Vehicle had been uninsured for more than
31 days, requiring that the Bureau suspend the Vehicle’s registration. See N.T. at 4,
R.R. at 11a.
1
The trial court reviewed an insurance card from Nwadike’s new insurance policy for the
Vehicle, which had an effective date of May 30, 2020. See N.T. at 4, R.R. at 11a.
2
The trial court sustained Nwadike’s appeal, noting that, although the
Vehicle was uninsured more than 31 days, “we are also living through a pandemic.”
See N.T. at 4, R.R. at 11a. The Bureau appealed.
On appeal,2 the Bureau argues that the trial court erred in sustaining
Nwadike’s appeal on the basis of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau argues that
the trial court created a new exception to the Vehicle Code’s requirement that drivers
maintain current motor vehicle insurance or face a three-month vehicle registration
suspension. We agree.
Section 1786(a) of the Vehicle Code provides that “[e]very motor
vehicle of the type required to be registered under this title which is operated or
currently registered shall be covered by financial responsibility.” 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(a).
Section 1786(d)(1) of the Vehicle Code further provides:
The Department [] shall suspend the registration of a
vehicle for a period of three months if it determines the
required financial responsibility was not secured as
required by this chapter and shall suspend the operating
privilege of the owner or registrant for a period of three
months if the [D]epartment determines that the owner or
registrant has operated or permitted the operation of the
vehicle without the required financial responsibility.
75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(1). Accordingly, where a lapse in financial responsibility
occurs, a three-month suspension of a vehicle registration is mandatory. See Pray
v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 708 A.2d 1315, 1317 (Pa. Cmwlth.
1998).
2
“Our scope of review is limited to determining whether the trial court findings are
supported by competent evidence and whether the trial court committed an error of law or abused
its discretion.” Greenfield v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 67 A.3d 198, 200 n.6
(Pa. Cmwlth. 2013).
3
In a vehicle registration suspension case for failure to maintain the
required financial responsibility, the Department bears the initial burden to show
that: (1) the vehicle is of a type that is required to be registered; and (2) the
Department received notice that financial responsibility on the vehicle had been
terminated or that the owner or registrant of the vehicle did not provide proof of
financial responsibility. See 75 Pa. C.S. § 1786(d)(3)(i)-(ii). Satisfaction of this
initial burden by the Department creates a presumption that the vehicle lacked the
requisite financial responsibility. See 75 Pa. C.S. § 1786(d)(3)(ii). An owner or
registrant may overcome this presumption by “producing clear and convincing
evidence that the vehicle was insured at the time it was driven” or that one of the
three defenses set forth in Section 1786(d)(2) of the Vehicle Code is applicable. Id.;
see also 75 Pa. C.S. § 1786(d)(2)(i)-(iii). Section 1786(d)(2)(i) of the Vehicle Code
sets forth the only defense of possible relevance in this matter3 and provides that a
vehicle registration should not be suspended where
[t]he owner or registrant proves to the satisfaction of the
department that the lapse in financial responsibility
coverage was for a period of less than 31 days and that the
owner or registrant did not operate or permit the operation
of the vehicle during the period of lapse in financial
responsibility.
75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(2)(i).
In the instant matter, the Department met its initial burden of proving
that the Vehicle was of the type that the Vehicle Code requires to be registered, and
3
The remaining defenses relate to certain members of the armed services and the expiration
of seasonal registrations and are inapplicable to the instant matter. See Section 1786(d)(2)(ii) &
(iii) of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(2)(ii) & (iii).
4
that Nwadike’s insurance policy had been terminated for the 68-day period in
question. No question exists that a 2011 Honda station wagon is required to be
registered in Pennsylvania. Additionally, evidence existed that the Vehicle’s
insurance policy had been cancelled as of March 23, 2020. As a result, the
Department created a presumption that the Vehicle lacked the requisite financial
responsibility policy. Nwadike did not overcome this presumption. In fact,
Nwadike conceded that the lapse in insurance coverage extended from March 23,
2020, through May 30, 2020, a period of more than 31 days. Therefore, the
exception set forth in Section 1786(d)(2)(i) of the Vehicle Code does not apply,4 and
Section 1786 of the Vehicle Code mandates that the Department must impose a
three-month suspension of Nwadike’s vehicle registration. 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(1);
Pray.
The trial court cited the occurrence of the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic as its reason for sustaining Nwadike’s appeal while acknowledging that
the Department would appeal its determination, stating:
I understand that [the lapse in Nwadike’s insurance
exceeded 31 days]. But we are also living through a
pandemic.
You know what, I am going to sustain this appeal.
I will let the Department appeal me.
....
4
In addition to the exceptions listed in Section 1786(d)(2), the Vehicle Code contains a
provision whereby an owner or registrant may avoid a registration suspension by surrendering the
vehicle’s license plate and registration to the Department, which will reinstate the plate and
registration to the owner or registrant at a later date upon receipt of proof of financial
responsibility. See 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(g)(2). Additionally, an owner or registrant may avoid a
registration suspension by furnishing proof of financial responsibility and paying the Department
a civil penalty and a $500 fee. See 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(1.1). We note that Nwadike did not avail
himself of either of these options.
5
They’ll probably appeal me. And this will go round
and round. But I cannot punish people because of a lapse
because of this nonsense that’s going on.
N.T. at 4, R.R. at 11a. In its opinion filed in response to the Department’s Pa. R.A.P.
1925(b) Concise Statement of Errors Complained of On Appeal, the trial court
attempted to expand on this COVID-19 reason for sustaining Nwadike’s appeal by
referring to the orders entered by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Governor
Wolf in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. See Trial Court Opinion dated
November 5, 2020, at 2-3 (pagination supplied).
While we appreciate the sentiment in the trial court’s determination, in
so sustaining Nwadike’s appeal the trial court disregarded our holding in Pray. By
sustaining Nwadike’s statutory appeal for this reason, the trial court improperly
created an additional exception to the financial responsibility requirements of the
Vehicle Code beyond the exceptions listed in the Vehicle Code, based solely on
the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic. See 75 Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(2). The
creation of such an exception was not within the trial court’s power. Pray; 75
Pa.C.S. § 1786(d)(1).
For these reasons, we must conclude that the trial court committed an
error of law and abused its discretion by sustaining Nwadike’s appeal.
__________________________________
CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge
6
IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Anthony N. Nwadike :
:
v. :
:
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, :
Department of Transportation, :
Bureau of Motor Vehicles, : No. 796 C.D. 2020
Appellant :
ORDER
AND NOW, this 23rd day of August, 2021, the July 9, 2020 order of
the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County is REVERSED.
__________________________________
CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge