Depina v. Safety Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 13 December 1994 |
| Citation | 643 N.E.2d 430,419 Mass. 135 |
| Parties | Fausta DEPINA v. SAFETY INSURANCE COMPANY. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
John T. Ronan, Boston, for plaintiff.
Alice Olsen Mann, Karyn T. Hicks, Boston, with her, for defendant.
Theodore F. Riordan & Kenneth Latronico, Boston, for Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., amicus curiae, submitted a brief.
Present LIACOS, C.J., and WILKINS, LYNCH and GREANEY, JJ.
This is the first of three cases that we decide today involving underinsured motorist coverage under a Massachusetts automobile insurance policy. We hold that, where a household member has her own motor vehicle insurance policy, providing coverage as to a vehicle insured in her name and also providing underinsurance coverage in an amount ($20,000/$40,000) in excess of the compulsory limits for bodily injury to another, she may not recover under the higher underinsurance coverage ($100,000/$300,000) provided under a motor vehicle insurance policy issued to her husband as the owner of a second vehicle.
This case is here after our allowance of the plaintiff's application for direct appellate review of a summary judgment dismissing her complaint. The material facts are not in dispute. We affirm the judgment.
The plaintiff, operating a motor vehicle owned by a third person, was injured in a motor vehicle accident on July 28, 1990, as the result of the negligence of the operator of another vehicle. Three other persons were also injured in that accident as a result of the negligence of that other driver. In settlement of her claim against the tortfeasor, the plaintiff received $29,333, which was substantially less than the damages she sustained. The tortfeasor had available insurance coverage of $100,000 for each accident which was allocated among the plaintiff and the three other injured persons. The defendant insurer (Safety) approved the settlement.
The plaintiff had a motor vehicle insurance policy issued by Safety for a one-year policy period that commenced on May 6, 1990. That policy provided underinsurance coverage of $20,000 for each person and $40,000 for each accident. Because the tortfeasor's limits for bodily injury liability insurance exceeded the limits of the underinsurance coverage provided under her policy, the plaintiff makes no claim that she is entitled to underinsurance coverage under that policy.
The plaintiff instead claims underinsurance benefits under her husband's motor vehicle insurance policy, which was issued for a one-year policy period that commenced on August 1, 1989,...
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