Bufkin v. GEICO Ins. Agency

Decision Date12 May 2022
Docket Number2021-CA-00251-SCT
PartiesCRYSTAL N. BUFKIN AND JOHN B. BUFKIN v. GEICO INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Mississippi

CRYSTAL N. BUFKIN AND JOHN B. BUFKIN
v.
GEICO INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.

No. 2021-CA-00251-SCT

Supreme Court of Mississippi

May 12, 2022


DATE OF JUDGMENT: 02/26/2021

SIMPSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT HON. STANLEY ALEX SOREY, TRIAL JUDGE

TRIAL COURT ATTORNEYS: JOHN ALFRED WAITS CHRISTY VINSON MALATESTA ABBEY ADCOCK REEVES DANIEL DEWAYNE WARE

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS: DANIEL DEWAYNE WARE

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: EDWARD C. TAYLOR ABBEY ADCOCK REEVES

BEFORE KING, P.J., CHAMBERLIN AND ISHEE, JJ.

ISHEE, JUSTICE

¶1. At issue in this appeal is whether an employee, injured by her employer in an automobile accident, may recover under her own uninsured motorist policy. The question boils down to one of statutory interpretation-whether the plaintiff, Crystal Bufkin, is "legally entitled to recover" damages from her employer under the uninsured motorist statute, Mississippi Code Section 83-11-101(1) (Supp. 2021). This Court has previously held that employees are not legally entitled to recover from their employers and thus cannot make a

1

claim under uninsured motorist coverages. Medders v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 623 So.2d 979, 989 (Miss. 1993). Bufkin acknowledges that precedent precludes her claim, but she argues Medders and its progeny were wrongly decided because the uninsured motorist law should be liberally construed in her favor. We conclude that this Court has already rejected the arguments Bufkin presents today, and it was on solid ground to reach the decision it did. We decline to overrule Medders.

FACTS

¶2. Due the procedural posture of the case, these facts are largely drawn from the Bufkins' complaint. Crystal Bufkin was injured in automobile accident on October 27, 2017. The vehicle was operated by the owner/operator of her employer, and Bufkin was riding as a passenger. Bufkin's employer was responsible for the accident. Both Bufkin and the owner/operator were acting within the scope of their employment, and thus the negligent driver-Bufkin's employer-was immune from suit under the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Law. Bufkin filed a workers' compensation claim and received benefits. She and her husband subsequently filed suit against her employer and GEICO Insurance Agency, the Bufkins' uninsured motorist carrier. The employer was dismissed under the exclusive remedy provisions of the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Act. GEICO then filed a motion to dismiss under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), contending that no uninsured motorist coverage existed because Bufkin was not "legally entitled to...

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