Adams v. King
| Decision Date | 26 November 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. SD 28783.,SD 28783. |
| Citation | 275 S.W.3d 324 |
| Parties | David ADAMS, Landon Adams b/n/f David Adams, and La Crysta Adams b/n/f David Adams, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Timothy KING d/b/a T.K. Stucco, Defendant, and Shelter Mutual Insurance Co., Defendant-Respondent. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
E. Ryan Bradley, St. Louis, for Appellants.
Samuel P. Spain, Poplar Bluff, for Respondent.
David Adams and his two children ("Appellants") brought this action against their own motor vehicle insurance company, Shelter Mutual Insurance Company ("Shelter"), after David's wife, La Jena, and his two children were involved in an accident with Timothy King, a motorist from Louisiana. Mrs. Adams died in the accident and the children were injured. Appellants alleged that Mr. King's truck crossed the center line and hit Appellants' vehicle head-on. The damages sustained by Appellants were stipulated to be in excess of $225,000.
Appellants had three policies issued by Shelter, all of which contained uninsured motorist coverage. The combined uninsured limits of the three policies were $100,000 per person and $200,000 per occurrence. At the time of the accident, Mr. King was a resident of Louisiana. His truck was registered, licensed, and principally garaged in Louisiana. The truck was covered by a policy with USAA Casualty Insurance Company ("USAA"). The policy was issued and delivered in Louisiana. The policy stated that it provides bodily injury liability coverage to Mr. King in the amount of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per occurrence. In addition, the policy had a provision, which read:
OUT OF STATE COVERAGE
If an auto accident to which this policy applies occurs in any state or province other than the one in which your covered auto is principally garaged, your policy will provide at least the minimum amounts and types of coverages required by law. However, no one will be entitled to duplicate payments for the same elements of loss. (Italics added.)
Appellants filed suit against their own insurer, Shelter, under the policy's uninsured motorist provision. Appellants contended that Mr. King was an uninsured motorist because he did not have the financial responsibility minimum insurance required by law in Missouri. Shelter countered that Mr. King was not an uninsured motorist because although his insurance company, USAA, provided limits of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per occurrence, USAA offered to pay the minimum of the Missouri financial responsibility insurance.1 The trial court granted summary judgment to Shelter, finding that Mr. King was not the operator of an uninsured motor vehicle because USAA's policy provided liability coverage in the minimum amounts set forth in Missouri's financial responsibility law.
Summary judgment is proper "where the moving party has demonstrated, on the basis of facts as to which there is no genuine dispute, a right to judgment as a matter of law." ITT Commercial Finance v. Mid-Am. Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371, 376 (Mo. banc 1993). When reviewing appeals from summary judgments, this Court will review the record in the light most favorable to the party against whom the judgment was entered. Id. Because the trial court's decision is founded on the record submitted and the law, this Court's review is de novo. Id. The standard used by this Court to test the propriety of summary judgment is the same standard as that which should have been used by the trial court to determine whether to sustain the motion. Bridges v. White, 223 S.W.3d 195, 198 (Mo.App. S.D. 2007). Summary judgment "is the undisputed right to judgment as a matter of law; not simply the absence of a fact question." ITT Commercial, 854 S.W.2d at 380.
Under Missouri law, an out-of-state motorist is deemed to be uninsured if the bodily injury liability limits of his insurance policy are below the statutory minimums required by section 303.030.5. Ragsdale v. Armstrong, 916 S.W.2d 783, 784-85 (Mo. banc 1996); Cook v. Pedigo, 714 S.W.2d 949, 950-52 (Mo.App. E.D. 1986). In Cook, the insured defendant carried insurance of only $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident. Id. at 950. The plaintiff tried to collect under the uninsured motorist provision of the plaintiff's own insurance policy. Id. The plaintiff's insurance company argued that because the insured defendant had an insurance policy, he was an underinsured motorist, not an uninsured motorist. Id. The Cook court held that because the insured defendant's policy provided less than the amounts required under section 303.030.5, he was an uninsured motorist and his motor vehicle was an uninsured motor vehicle for purposes of Missouri's uninsured protection statute, section 379.203.1. Id. at 952.
Shelter contends that because USAA volunteered to pay out benefits equal to the amount required by Missouri's financial responsibility law, Mr. King's vehicle was not uninsured and Appellants were not entitled to uninsured motorist benefits from their own carrier. Appellants' counter that, by the plain language of Mr. King's policy, USAA would pay at least the minimum amounts required by law. Appellants argue that there is no law, Missouri or otherwise, that increases a Missouri non-resident's minimum liability coverage to that required of Missouri residents. Therefore, that provision, Part IV(d), of Appellants' policy regarding uninsured motorist coverage, should not have excluded Mr. King's vehicle from being considered as an uninsured motor vehicle and Appellants should have been permitted to collect uninsured motorist coverage under their policies with Shelter.
The language of Mr. King's policy clearly states that the coverage that will be provided is any coverage required by law. Shelter does not argue that there is any Louisiana law that requires Mr. King to have coverage above the $10,000 per person/ $20,000 per occurrence liability coverage, which he had with his policy. We look to Missouri statutes to determine whether there is Missouri law which requires Mr. King, a Louisiana resident, to have the minimum financial responsibility limits. Section 303.030.5 provides the financial responsibility limits. It states:
No such policy ... shall be effective under this section unless issued by an insurance company or surety company authorized to do business in this state, except that if such motor vehicle was not registered in this state, or was a motor vehicle which was registered elsewhere than...
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Adams v. King
...uninsured motor vehicle and we reversed the summary judgment the trial court had granted to Appellant Insurance Carrier. Adams v. King, 275 S.W.3d 324, 327–328 (Mo.App. S.D.2008). In the second appeal by Appellant Insurance Carrier, where the trial court entered summary judgment on the peti......
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... ... any decision on coverage in this proceeding would not be binding on State Farm or Anderson since they are not parties.Bedell's reliance on Adams v. King, 275 S.W.3d 324 (Mo.App.2008), as authority for obtaining such a declaration is misplaced. In Adams, the UM claimants were involved in an ... ...
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