American States Ins. Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 85-681
| Decision Date | 13 March 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-681,85-681 |
| Parties | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 656 AMERICAN STATES INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Charles J. Condon, Orlando, for appellant.
Timothy E. De Palma, of Smalbein, Eubank, Johnson, Rosier & Bussey, P.A., Orlando, for appellee.
When a dog which is riding in the back of a pickup truck bites a passenger who has just exited from it, does the injury to the passenger arise "out of the use, operation or maintenance" of the truck? The trial court held that under the facts of this case it did not. We affirm.
The case was tried before the court on stipulated facts, which are summarized here. William C. Connor drove his mother's pickup truck to a store to make a purchase. Accompanying him in the truck was a friend, William J. Sullivan. In the back of the pickup, which was equipped with a topper and rear window, was William Connor's pit bull dog, Lila, just along for the ride. When they reached the store, Connor stopped the truck and both men got out. As Sullivan passed the open rear window, Lila bit him, causing serious injury.
Sullivan made a claim against William's mother, June V. Connor, who referred the claim to American States Insurance Company (American States), her homeowner's insurance carrier. American States settled the claim with Sullivan, took an assignment of June Connor's rights, then in turn filed this action for reimbursement against Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate), June Connor's automobile insurance carrier. Allstate denied liability, asserting lack of coverage because the incident did not arise "out of the ownership, maintenance or use" of the motor vehicle, as required by the policy of insurance.
This court has previously held that where a motor vehicle is merely the situs of an injury that could have happened anywhere, the injuries do not arise out of the "ownership, maintenance or use" of the motor vehicle. Reynolds v. Allstate Insurance Company, 400 So.2d 496 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). Other courts have applied the same principle in various factual situations. See Doyle v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 464 So.2d 1277 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (); Allstate Insurance Company v. Famigletti, 459 So.2d 1149 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) (); Hutchins v. Mills, 363 So.2d 818 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), cert. denied, 368 So.2d 1368 (Fla.1979) (); Watson v. Watson, 326 So.2d 48 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976) (...
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