Lawson v. Hoke

Defendant appeals a judgment awarding plaintiff noneconomic damages in a negligence action arising from an automobile accident. In his answer to plaintiffs complaint, and again in a motion for summary judgment, defendant asserted that, because plaintiff did not have liability insurance at the time of the accident, ORS 18.592(1) barred her from recovering noneconomic damages. The trial court ruled that ORS 18.592(1) violates plaintiffs right to a remedy under Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution and interferes with her right to a jury trial under Article I, section 17. The parties…