Am. Motorists Ins. Co. v. Kopka
| Decision Date | 02 June 1936 |
| Citation | 186 A. 335 |
| Parties | AMERICAN MOTORISTS INS. CO. v. KOPKA et al. |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Transferred from Superior Court, Hillsborough County; Burque, Judge.
Petition for declaratory judgment by the American Motorists Insurance Company against John Kopka, Sr., and another, wherein the trial court found the facts and transferred without ruling on the question.
Judgment for defendants.
Petition for a declaratory judgment to determine the extent of the plaintiff's liability under a policy of automobile liability insurance issued by it to the defendant Moulton. Trial by the court, which found the facts and transferred without ruling the question hereinafter stated.
By the terms of the policy the plaintiff agreed as follows: "To pay on behalf of the assured * * * all sums which the assured shall become obligated to pay by reason of the liability imposed upon him by law for damages * * * on account of bodily injuries or death * * * accidently suffered * * * by any person or persons due to any accident as a result of the ownership, maintenance or use * * * of the automobile described herein."
Upon August 9, 1932, John Kopka, Jr., minor son of the first named defendant, was injured while riding as a passenger in the automobile covered by this policy, then operated by the defendant Moulton. Thereafter two suits were instituted against the defendant Moulton; one by John Kopka, Jr., by his father and next friend John Kopka, Sr., to recover for personal injuries, and the other by John Kopka, Sr., individually "to recover for hospital and medical expenses incurred as a result of the injuries sustained by his son." A verdict of $1,000 was recovered by John Kopka, Sr., in the latter action.
"The question whether the term 'bodily injuries' includes a claim by the father for medical and hospital expenses which he incurred as a result of injuries to his minor son" was transferred without ruling by Burque, J.
Devine & Tobin and John A. Tobin, all of Manchester, for plaintiff.
Thomas J. Leonard and Neil Tolman, both of Nashua, for defendants.
Although the question transferred by the superior court is stated in restricted form and has specific reference only to the meaning of the term "bodily injuries," the apparent intent was to transfer the question whether the claim of the defendant John Kopka, Sr., comes within the coverage of the policy. The case has been argued and considered upon the assumption that this was its true intent and purpose. The answer hardly admits of...
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Burstein v. United States Lines Co., 123.
...v. New York Indemnity Co., 126 Cal.App. 284, 14 P.2d 598; Franklin v. Georgia Cas. Co., 225 Ala. 58, 141 So. 702; American Motorists Ins. Co. v. Kopka, 88 N.H. 182, 186 A. 335 (and compare also Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. v. Yeroyan, 90 N.H. 145, 5 A.2d 726); and Kula v. Jersey Mut. Cas. Ins. ......
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Calley v. Boston & Me. R. R.
...damage in the present case was “a necessary concomitant of the bodily injuries suffered” by his daughter. American, etc., Ins. Co. v. Kopka, 88 N.H. 182, 183, 186 A. 335, 336. Extraneous facts account for the division of damages, and liability to pay part of them but not the other part seem......
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American Asbestos Textile Corp. v. American Mut. Liability Ins. Co., 6806
...of Liability Insurance § 4.25, at 4-52 (1973); 7A J. Appleman, Insurance Law and Practice § 4571 (1962); see American, etc., Insurance Co. v. Kopka, 88 N.H. 182, 186 A. 335 (1936); Annot., 105 A.L.R. 1204, 1205 (1936). The master properly found and ruled that American is bound to defend Asb......