Franklin v. Healthsource of Arkansas

W.H.“Dub” Arnold, Chief Justice.

This case involves a dispute between an insured, Curtis Lee Franklin, and his insurer, Healthsource of Arkansas, over allocation of the proceeds of a policy limit settlement in a personal-injury action; both parties claim exclusive right to the proceeds. The trial court ruled that as a matter of law pursuant to Higginbotham v. Ark. Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 312 Ark. 199, 849 S.W.2d 464 (1993), Healthsource was entitled to receive the proceeds because its conventional right of subrogation, which arose from a subrogation agreement, took priority over Franklin’s…