American Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Federated Mut. Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 03 October 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 49A05-0203-CV-115.,49A05-0203-CV-115. |
| Citation | 775 N.E.2d 1198 |
| Parties | AMERICAN FAMILY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant/Defendant, v. FEDERATED MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee/Co-Defendant, and Mark Bloom, Co-Defendant, and Patricia A. Brown and Daniel v. Brown, Plaintiffs. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
W. Brent Threlkeld, Neal F. Eggeson, Jr., Threlkeld & Reynolds, LLP, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.
Donald G. Orzeske, Jennifer L. Blackwell, Kari H. Halbrook, Goodin, Orzeske & Blackwell, P.C., Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
Appellant-Defendant, American Family Mutual Insurance Company ("American Family"), appeals from the trial court's granting of summary judgment in favor of the Appellee Defendant, Federated Mutual Insurance Company ("Federated").
We reverse and remand.1
American Family raises one (1) issue for our review, which we restate as follows: whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Federated by determining that Federated was not required to honor its policy of insurance and provide uninsured motorist coverage to the Appellees Plaintiffs, Patricia A. Brown and Daniel V. Brown ("Patricia" and "Daniel" individually and "the Browns" collectively).2
On January 2, 1999, at approximately 1:07 p.m., Daniel was operating a 1998 Ford van southbound on Shelby Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Patricia was a passenger in the van. At that time, a 1982 Ford F150 truck registered to Mark Bloom ("Bloom"), was parked unattended while idling in a gas station parking lot near 1600 Shelby Street. As the Browns proceeded southbound on Shelby Street, the unattended Ford F150 slipped into gear, rolled out of the gas station parking lot into traffic and collided with the van driven by the Browns. Bloom was uninsured at the time of this collision.
The van occupied by the Browns belonged to Daniel's employer, Allied Equipment Service Corporation ("Allied"), and was insured under a commercial insurance policy issued by Federated. After learning about the status of Bloom's insurance coverage, the Browns filed a claim with Federated in order to recover for injuries sustained in the collision. Federated is an insurance company authorized to write policies in Indiana. On the day of the accident, Federated covered Allied with a policy of insurance. At the same time, American Family provided uninsured motorist coverage to the Browns under their personal automobile insurance policy.
On January 5, 2001, Chuck Standiford (Standiford), a Federated claims supervisor, sent a letter to the Browns' counsel denying their claim based on the policy language that limited uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to "directors, officers, partners, and owners of the named insured" and "his or her family members." (Appellant's App. pp. 39, 84). Specifically, the letter stated the following:
Consequently, on December 27, 2000, the Browns filed a Complaint for Damages with Jury Demand alleging tortious conduct by Bloom. The Complaint also brought claims for uninsured motorist benefits against Federated and American Family. On February 8, 2001, Bloom filed his Answer. American Family filed its Answer to the Browns' Complaint for Damages, Affirmative Defenses and Request for Jury Trial on February 23, 2001. On April 9, 2001, Federated filed its Answer to the Browns' Complaint for Damages with Jury Demand.
On May 14, 2001, Federated filed its Verified Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment and for Costs, Including Attorney's Fees. Federated argued that the Browns' claim should be dismissed because Federated's uninsured motorist coverage was limited to "directors, officers, partners, and owners of the named insured" and "his or her family members." (Appellant's App. pp. 12-3).
On June 8, 2001, American Family filed its Cross Motion for Summary Judgment and Brief Opposing Federated Mutual Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment. In this motion, American Family argued that the Browns were primarily covered under the Federated insurance policy, rendering American Family's uninsured motorist coverage secondary to Federated's uninsured motorist coverage. American Family also claimed that Federated's position that uninsured motorist coverage applied only to directors, officers, partners, and owners of the named insured and his or her family members violated Ind.Code § 27-7-5-2.
Federated filed its Response to American Family's Cross Motion for Summary Judgment on August 21, 2001. Federated claimed that Patricia failed to qualify as an insured for liability purposes and, therefore, she was not entitled to uninsured motorist coverage under the insurance policy issued by Federated to Allied. On September 17, 2001, American Family filed its reply brief. On December 17, 2001, a hearing was held on all of the motions for summary judgment. On February 6, 2002, the trial court issued its Order on Federated Mutual Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment and for Costs, Including Attorney Fees. The Order stated, in pertinent part, as follows:
This cause comes before the Court on the Verified Motion of [Federated] for Summary Judgment and for Cost, Including Attorney's Fees, pursuant to Indiana Rules of Procedure, Trial Rule 56. The Court having found that there is no genuine issue of fact to be submitted to a jury, now concludes that Defendant Federated is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion of Defendant Federated for Summary Judgment is granted. There being no just reason for delay, final judgment shall be, and is hereby entered in favor of the Defendant Federated, dismissing this action with prejudice as against this Defendant only.
American Family now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.
In reviewing a trial court's ruling on summary judgment, this court stands in the shoes of the trial court, applying the same standards in deciding whether to affirm or reverse summary judgment. American Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hall, 764 N.E.2d 780, 783 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). We consider all of the designated evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id. Summary judgment should be granted only when the designated evidence shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). On appeal, we must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the trial court has correctly applied the law. Id. The party appealing the grant of summary judgment has the burden of persuading this court on appeal that the trial court's ruling was improper. The grant of summary judgment must be reversed if the record discloses an incorrect application of the law to the facts. Ayres v. Indian Heights Volunteer Fire Dep't, Inc., 493 N.E.2d 1229, 1234 (Ind.1986).
American Family argues that the trial court erred in granting Federated's motion for summary judgment. Specifically, American Family contends that the Browns are entitled to uninsured motorist coverage under the policy of insurance issued by Federated to Allied because Patricia is an "insured" as defined by the terms of the policy.
On January 2, 1999, the date of the accident, Allied was insured by Federated under a commercial insurance policy that included a business auto coverage form providing one million dollars ($1,000,000) of liability coverage and an endorsement providing five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of uninsured motorist coverage and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of underinsured motorist coverage "for any director, officer, partner, or owner of the named insured and his or her family members who qualify as an "insured" under the WHO IS INSURED provision of the Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage." (Appellant's App. p. 61).
Section II of the Business Auto Coverage Form of the Federated insurance policy which provides for liability coverage states, in pertinent part, as follows:
The insurance provided under the Business Auto Coverage Form is modified by an endorsement entitled "INDIANA UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE." The endorsement, in pertinent part, provides:
A. COVERAGE
1. We will pay all sums the "insured" is legally entitled to recover as compensatory damages from the owner or driver of an "uninsured motor vehicle." The damage must result from:
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