Barcena v. Hawaiian Insurance & Guaranty Co.

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

NAKAMURA, J.

The dispositive question in these consolidated appeals from the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit is whether Ann Marie Barcena, formerly Ann Marie Lewis, who was insured under a “no-fault policy” that apparently provided no payments to defray expenses incurred for physical therapy because she was a recipient of public assistance when the auto accident causing her harm occurred, was nonetheless entitled to the “no-fault benefits” designed to cover such expenditures when she became ineligible for public assistance thereafter.

While a literal application of a…