Brill v. Indianapolis Life Ins. Co., 85-3633

Decision Date24 March 1986
Docket NumberNo. 85-3633,85-3633
Citation784 F.2d 1511
PartiesGail S. BRILL, James R. Whitley, II, and Ellis National Bank of Jacksonville, a national banking association, successor in interest to Jacksonville National Bank, as Co-Trustees of the Testamentary Trusts of Barry L. Green, deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. INDIANAPOLIS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, a mutual insurance company chartered under the laws of Indiana, Defendant-Appellant. Non-Argument Calendar.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Dana G. Bradford, II, Lawrence J. Hamilton, II, Ellen F.M. Posner, Jacksonville, Fla., for defendant-appellant.

William E. Kuntz, Timothy W. Volpe, Jacksonville, Fla., for plaintiffs-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before FAY, JOHNSON and CLARK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

This is an appeal from a summary judgment order in favor of the plaintiffs entered by the district court, 606 F.Supp. 265, in an insurance action.

The facts giving rise to this litigation are undisputed. We adopt the findings of fact of the district court. On July 29, 1982, Barry L. Green ("decedent") died when the helicopter carrying him and three of his business colleagues, all executives with The Charter Company or its wholly-owned subsidiary, Charter Oil Company, crashed near Galway, Ireland. The helicopter was to transport the decedent and his colleagues from the Ballynahinch Castle Hotel to the Shannon Airport. At the airport, they were to board a private company plane for a business flight to France.

The helicopter was owned by Irish Helicopters Ltd. ("IHL") and the pilot was an employee of IHL. IHL is the sole helicopter air service company in Ireland and is a subsidiary of the national airline of Ireland. IHL is licensed by the Irish Government as a Class C authorization holder to carry passengers, cargo, and mail. As a Class C carrier, IHL can provide only non-scheduled service. Passengers receive no ticket and their baggage is not checked.

IHL charges its customers a flat rate per flying hour. Flying time begins when the helicopter leaves IHL's hangar and ends when the helicopter returns to IHL's hangar. Although the Irish Government has the authority to regulate charges, it has not done so.

IHL regularly advertises its charter flight services to the public, including advertisements in the Irish equivalent of the yellow pages, business and trade journals, as well as newspapers of general circulation.

The Charter Company verbally leased the helicopter through LUQA, Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiary in charge of providing airplane and other travel related services. The helicopter was hired only for specific flights and not for a particular length of time. Thus, the service provided to The Charter Company was not a part of IHL's contract business, but rather, was a part of its general passenger transportation business. An example of IHL's contract business would be the lease of a helicopter for several months.

On July 28, 1982, the evening before the flight, the helicopter had been piloted from Shannon Airport carrying one passenger. The pilot and the aircraft remained at Ballynahinch Castle Hotel overnight in anticipation of the early morning flight the next day. IHL was to provide helicopter service for the specific flights to and from the airport (including picking the decedent up on his return the same day from France for transportation back to the hotel). When each flight concluded, the helicopter was free to service other customers.

This action was commenced by plaintiffs, Gail S. Brill, James R. Whitley, II, and Ellis National Bank, successor in interest to Jacksonville National Bank, to recover as beneficiaries under the double indemnity provisions of two policies insuring the life of the decedent. The policies were issued by the defendant, Indianapolis Life Insurance Company. Each policy contains a clause providing that the accidental death benefit to be paid will be doubled "[i]f such proof also shows that the death was the result of an injury sustained while the Insured was a fare-paying passenger in a public conveyance then being operated by a licensed common carrier for passenger service...." (emphasis added).

The only issue on appeal is whether the accident falls within the purview of the above clause requiring that the defendant pay the plaintiffs double the accidental benefit payments provided in the policies. In order to fall within the purview of the double indemnity provision, the plaintiffs must show that at the time of the accident: (1) the decedent was a fare-paying customer, (2) the IHL helicopter was being operated as a public conveyance, and (3) the IHL helicopter was a common carrier.

1. FARE-PAYING CUSTOMER

The defendants position is that under the agreement with IHL, the charge for the flight was computed solely on the number of flying hours and the size of the helicopter, and not on a per passenger basis. Since IHL did not charge on an individual basis for its service, the defendant concludes that a "rate" was paid to IHL for the flight rather than a "fare."

We find that the defendant reads the term "fare" too narrowly. It is well settled that terms used in an insurance policy should be construed in light of the skill and experience of ordinary people. Morrison Assurance Co. v. School Board, 414 So.2d 581, 581 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1982) (citations omitted); Stewart v. State Farm Mutual Insurance Co., 316 So.2d 598, 599 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1975). In construing terms appearing in insurance policies, Florida courts commonly adopt the plain meaning of words contained in legal and non-legal dictionaries. See Government Employees Insurance Co. v. Novak, 453 So.2d 1116, 1118 (Fla.1984).

The word "fare" has been defined as "the price charged to transport a person or persons...." Webster's Third New International Dictionary 824 (1966). The term "fare" has been further defined as "[a] transportation charge, as for a bus or taxi." The American Heritage Dictionary 476 (1969). Viewed in light of the skill and experience of an ordinary person, the term fare, as it appears in the double indemnity provision of the two policies, includes the pay arrangement in this case.

The helicopter flight was not gratuitously provided to the decedent. Rather, the transportation was provided in exchange for some form of payment made by The Charter Company. An individual whose business flight is arranged and paid for by his employer will often board an air carrier without having actually handed over ticket fare. When a business concern arranges its employee's flight, any combination of pay arrangements may be made, depending on such variables as prior dealings with the particular carrier and group and other discount rates. See, e.g., Florida East Coast Railway v. Booth, 148 So.2d 536, 537-38 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.) (a transit pass issued by a railroad to its employees, as part of a collective bargaining agreement between the railroad and the employees' union, is issued for consideration and not as a gratuity), cert. denied, 155 So.2d 551 (Fla.1963). The clear import of the requirement that the insured be a "fare-paying customer" is that a sum be paid or promised to the carrier in exchange for the transportation of passengers. In this case the decedent was to be transported to Shannon Airport in IHL's helicopter as a result of a sum having been paid or promised to IHL; therefore, the decedent was a fare-paying customer.

2. PUBLIC CONVEYANCE

The defendant relies on Greyhound Rent-A-Car, Inc. v. Carbon, 327 So.2d 792 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.), cert. denied, 336 So.2d 1182 (Fla.1976) to support its contention that the IHL helicopter was not a public conveyance. In Carbon, a couple were injured while driving a rented automobile. They sued the car rental agency under a Florida statute which provided for personal injury benefits. The statute excluded recovery for injuries involving a motor vehicle used as a public conveyance.

In determining whether the rental car was a "public conveyance", the court referred to the definitions given the term by legal authorities. Based upon these definitions, the court concluded that the rental car was not a public conveyance since "it was not subject to indiscriminate use by the general public without limitation to particular persons, particular times or special terms." Id. at 793. On the contrary, the vehicle was rented by an individual for a particular length of time, governed by the special terms of the rental...

To continue reading

Request your trial
12 cases
  • J.C. Penney Life Ins. Co. v. Pilosi
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)
    • December 28, 2004
    ...of the conveyance. Terminal Taxicab, 241 U.S. at 255, 36 S.Ct. 583; Primrose, 81 A. at 213-14; see also Brill v. Indianapolis Life Ins. Co., 784 F.2d 1511, 1514 (11th Cir.1986) (holding that hiring a helicopter on a particular occasion limited the helicopter's "operation; however these limi......
  • Feldman v. Imperium Ins. Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
    • October 5, 2015
    ...Florida courts "commonly adopt the plain meaning of words contained in legaland non-legal dictionaries." Brill v. Indianapolis Life Ins. Co., 784 F.2d 1511, 1513 (11th Cir. 1986). One dictionary definition of "demand" is "to ask for urgently or firmly, leaving no change for refusal or denia......
  • Oak Ford Owners Ass'n v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
    • February 28, 2007
    ...and courts commonly look to the plain meaning of words as set forth by legal and non-legal dictionaries. Brill v. Indianapolis Life Ins., Co., 784 F.2d 1511, 1513 (11th Cir.1986). Policies are construed "to provide a reasonable, practical, and sensible interpretation consistent with the int......
  • Continental Casualty Co. v. Wendt
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit)
    • March 7, 2000
    ...dictionaries.' " Watson v. Prudential Property & Cas. Co., 696 So.2d 394, 396 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)(quoting Brill v. Indianapolis Life Ins. Co., 784 F.2d 1511, 1513 (11th Cir.1986)(internal citations omitted)). The plain meaning of the word "relate" is "to show or establish a logical or causal......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT