Couch v. Farmers Ins. Co., Inc.

• Decision Date: 19 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. 08-389.,08-389.
• Citation: 289 S.W.3d 909,375 Ark. 255
• Parties: Ruth Ann COUCH, Administratrix of the Estate of Jennifer Ann Green, Deceased, Appellant, v. FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., and Mid-Century Insurance Company Los Angeles, California, Appellees.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

289 S.W.3d 909

375 Ark. 255

Ruth Ann COUCH, Administratrix of the Estate of Jennifer Ann Green, Deceased, Appellant, v. FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., and Mid-Century Insurance Company Los Angeles, California, Appellees.

No. 08-389.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

December 19, 2008.

Blair & Stroud, by H. David Blair, Batesville, AR, and Johnny L. Nichols, Harrison, AR, for appellant.

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC, by: Stuart P. Miller, Little Rock, AR, and Lindsey K. Bell, for appellees.

DONALD L. CORBIN, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees Farmers Insurance Company, Inc., and Mid-Century Insurance Company Los Angeles, California, a member of the Farmers group, in a case where Appellant Ruth Ann Couch, Administratrix of the Estate of Jennifer Ann Green, Deceased, sought recovery for underinsured-motorist (UIM) benefits under multiple policies issued by Appellees. Appellant raises three arguments on appeal, specifically that the trial court erred in finding that the other insurance provisions of the policies issued by Appellees were (1) unambiguously incorporated into the UIM endorsement; (2) not void as being in derogation of Ark.Code Ann. § 23-89-209 (Repl.2004); and (3) not void as against public policy when applied to the UIM coverage. As this appeal presents a question of statutory interpretation, our jurisdiction is pursuant to Ark. Sup.Ct. R. 1-2(b)(6). We find no error and affirm.

The record reflects that on January 15, 2000, Jennifer Ann Green was killed in a single-vehicle accident, while a passenger in Jason Reams's vehicle. At the time of her death, Jennifer was a named insured on an automobile insurance policy issued by Appellee, Mid-Century. This policy provided UIM coverage in the amount of $50,000 for all claims arising out of injury to a single person. After a settlement was reached whereby Reams's insurance carrier paid $20,000 to Appellant, Mid-Century paid benefits of $50,000, including $5,000 for a death benefit and $5,000 to cover funeral expenses, under the UIM coverage of the policy upon which Jennifer was the named insured.

Once Mid-Century paid out on Jennifer's policy, Appellant sought payment for UIM benefits under three additional policies in effect with Appellees, wherein Jennifer, as a family member of the three named insureds and a resident of the household, was an insured under those policies. Two of the policies at issue, each with $50,000 limits under the UIM coverage, were issued by Farmers: Policy No. 18146299762 and Policy No. 18146299763, with the named insureds under both policies being Joe and Ruth Ann Couch, Jennifer's stepfather and mother. The third policy, Policy No. 18150550870, also with a $50,000 limit of UIM coverage, was issued by Appellee Mid-Century and listed the named insured as Roddy Couch, Jennifer's sibling. Appellees refused to pay under the three additional policies, citing to other insurance provisions in those policies that Appellees asserted precluded Appellant from recovering under multiple policies.

Appellant filed suit, alleging that premiums had been paid for UIM coverage on each of the three policies, and because Jennifer was an insured under each of those policies, they were entitled to benefits from Farmers in the amount of $100,000, and benefits from Mid-Century in the amount of $50,000. Appellant also sought an award of statutory penalties, prejudgment interest, and all costs, including attorneys' fees. After filing an answer denying Appellant's allegations, Appellees filed a motion for summary judgment. Therein, Appellees stated that Mid-Century had paid out on the policy in which Jennifer was the named insured and that the Appellant sought to stack the UIM benefits from three additional policies, each of which contained anti-stacking provisions. Appellees asserted that because of the clear and unambiguous anti-stacking language, it was entitled to summary judgment. Thereafter, the trial court entered an order denying the motion for summary judgment.

Appellees filed a renewed and amended motion for summary judgment, again arguing that the three policies at issue each contained anti-stacking provisions that prohibited Appellant from recovering under multiple policies. After taking the motion under advisement, the circuit court entered a letter order on July 16, 2007, granting the motion for summary judgment. Therein, the circuit court acknowledged that it initially denied the motion for summary judgment, but upon review of the amended motion, which included an argument about a specific provision within the policies regarding stacking between multiple policies issued by the same insurance company, determined that summary judgment was warranted. A written order reflecting the trial court's ruling was entered of record on September 26, 2007. This appeal followed.

The law is well settled that summary judgment is to be granted by a circuit court only when it is clear that there are no genuine issues of material fact to be litigated, and the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Stromwall v Van Hoose, 371 Ark. 267, 265 S.W.3d 93 (2007). Once the moving party has established a prima facie entitlement to summary judgment, the opposing party must meet proof with proof and demonstrate the existence of a material issue of fact. See id. On appellate review, we determine if summary judgment was appropriate based on whether the evidentiary items presented by the moving party in support of the motion leave a material fact unanswered. See id. We view the evidence in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion was filed, resolving all doubts and inferences against the moving party. See id. Our review focuses not only on the pleadings, but also on the affidavits and documents filed by the parties. See id. The facts here are undisputed by the parties. As there is not a genuine issue of material fact, the case was appropriately determined as a matter of law. Therefore, the issue here is whether summary judgment was granted in favor of the correct party based upon the interpretation of the law at issue.

As her first point on appeal, Appellant argues that the circuit court erred in finding that the other insurance provisions of the policies were unambiguously incorporated in the UIM coverage endorsement. Specifically, Appellant asserts that the anti-stacking language contained in the UIM section is limited to intra-policy stacking and is thus inapplicable in this case. Appellant further argues that if the applicability of the other insurance clause is ambiguous, any ambiguity must be resolved in favor of the insured. Appellees counter that the anti-stacking provision is clear and unambiguous. We agree with Appellees.

When presented with an issue regarding interpretation of a contract, this court has stated:

The first rule of interpretation of a contract is to give to the language employed the meaning that the parties intended. In construing any contract, we must consider the sense and meaning of the words used by the parties as they are taken and understood in their plain and ordinary meaning. "The best construction is that which is made by viewing the subject of the contract, as the mass of mankind would view it, as it may be safely assumed that such was the aspect in which the parties themselves viewed it." It is also a well-settled rule in construing a contract that the intention of the parties is to be gathered not from particular words and phrases, but from the whole context of the agreement.

Health Resources of Ark., Inc. v. Flener, 374 Ark. 208, 211, 286 S.W.3d 704, 706 (2008) (citations omitted).

In granting summary judgment, the circuit court held that each of the four insurance policies at issue contained clear and unambiguous anti-stacking language that applied to the UIM coverage. Specifically, the court stated that the anti-stacking language appeared "to be applied by reference to the Under-Insured Motorists Endorsement and by its terms it unambiguously provides that the policy limits of the four policies in this case cannot be stacked." We now turn to the policy provisions at issue.

In one of the insurance policies¹ issued by Farmers on behalf of the named insureds, Joe Couch and Ruth Ann Couch, the following language is found:

PART II UNINSURED MOTORISTS

Coverage C-Uninsured Motorist Coverage

(Including Underinsured Motorist Coverage)

....

Other Insurance

....

4. If any applicable insurance other than this policy is issued to you by us or any other member company of the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, the total amount payable among all such policies shall not exceed the limits provided by the single policy with the highest limits of liability.

The following language is found in the endorsement for Underinsured-Motorist Coverage:

Under Part II of the policy the provisions that apply to Exclusions, Limits of Liability, Other Insurance and Arbitration remain the same and apply to this endorsement except where stated otherwise in this endorsement.

This endorsement is part of your policy. It supersedes and controls anything to the contrary. It is otherwise subject to all other terms of the policy.

Considering our rules of contract interpretation and giving the language employed the meaning the parties intended, we cannot say that the trial court erred in finding that the anti-stacking language clearly and unambiguously applied to the UIM coverage. Nothing in the insurance contracts demonstrates the existence of an ambiguity involving intra-policy stacking versus inter-policy stacking, as Appellant suggests. The language cited by Appellant, "[o]ur maximum liability under the UNDERInsured Motorist Coverage is the limits of the UNDERInsured Motorist Coverage stated in this policy," is not in conflict with the other insurance clause and simply sets forth the limits for liability under that particular policy....