Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Ass'n v. Wolfe

DOWLING, J.,

This case of first impression involves a clash between an insurance carrier’s right of subrogation under section 319 of the Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act1 and an attorney’s contractual right to a contingency fee when the underlying third-party tort action is resolved on a structured basis and the front money at the time of settlement is insufficient to satisfy both claims.

The event which spawned this litigation occurred on December 19, 1981, when Ronald Wolfe, a defendant herein, was injured while making a delivery of soda on behalf of his employer, Allegheny Beverage…