Titan Insurance loses bid to overturn arbitration award for PIP benefits.

Gina Brown was awarded $139,000 in PIP benefits (wages, medical including attendant care, and replacement domestic services) after she became "fully  disabled" as a result of a motor vehicle collision traumatic brain injury.  Titan had disputed benefits and after Brown sued, the parties agreed to binding arbitration.  The arbitration panel awarded the above benefits, however, Titan refused to pay the award.  It argued that since Brown's husband was operating an uninsured motor vehicle at the time of the injury, it should have the right to off-set all attendant care or replacement service benefits payable to Brown if they represented benefits provided by the husband.

The Court of Appeals rejected Titan's argument, noting that the parties stipulated that the case would be decided by a hand-picked arbitration panel and that Titan reserved only one issue of law to be decided by the Court.  Since the parties agreed to arbitrate the issues which Titan now claims the arbitrator's botched, the Circuit Court was obligated to affirm the arbitration award and the court no longer had jurisdiction to second-guess the arbitration award.