Edwards v. Bestway Trucking, Inc.
| Decision Date | 17 June 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 30122, 30123.,30122, 30123. |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
| Parties | Matthew EDWARDS, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Jeremy Matthew Edwards; Donald Ray Wood, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Jennifer Dawn Wood; James D. Wood, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Deborah Sue Mays; and Jessica Lynn Spradling, Plaintiffs Below, Appellees, v. BESTWAY TRUCKING, INC., an Indiana Corporation, Defendant Below, Appellant, Albert Victor Mays; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, a Maryland Company; Sentry Insurance a Mutual Company, a Virginia Company; and John Deere Insurance Company, an Illinois Company, Defendants Below, Appellees. and Matthew Edwards, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Jeremy Matthew Edwards; Donald Ray Wood, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Jennifer Dawn Wood; James D. Wood, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Deborah Sue Mays; and Jessica Lynn Spradling, Plaintiffs Below, Appellants, v. Bestway Trucking, Inc., an Indiana Corporation; Albert Victor Mays; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, a Maryland Company; Sentry Insurance a Mutual Company, a Virginia Company; and John Deere Insurance Company, an Illinois Company, Defendants Below, Appellees. |
Lonnie C. Simmons, Esq., Franklin S. Fragale, Jr., Esq., Fragale and Simmons, Charleston, for Matthew Edwards.
L. Dante DiTrapano, Esq., J. Timothy DiPiero, Esq., DiTrapano, Barrett & DiPiero, Charleston, for James D. Wood.
C. Michael Bee, Esq., Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee & Deitzler, PLLC, Charleston, for Jessica Lynn Spradling, et al.
Robert L. Massie, Esq., Marc E. Williams, Esq., Huddleston, Bolen, Beatty, Porter & Copen, LLP, Charleston, for Appellant Bestway Trucking, Inc.
Franklin L. Gritt, Jr., Esq., Winfield, for Albert Victor Mays.
Gary E. Pullin, Esq., Pullin, Knopf, Fowler & Flanagan, Charleston, for State Farm Insurance Company.
David L. Wyant, Esq., Patricia K. Gaudoin, Esq., Bailey & Wyant, PLLC, Wheeling, for Appellee Sentry Select Insurance Company.
This is an appeal by Matthew Edwards, Personal Representative of the Estate of Jeremy Matthew Edwards; Donald Ray Wood, Personal Representative of the Estate of Jennifer Dawn Wood; James D. Wood, Personal Representative of the Estate of Deborah Sue Mays; and Jessica Lynn Spradling, from an order entered by the Circuit Court of Kanawha County in a personal injury action.1 The circuit court ruled that a general umbrella liability insurance policy issued by John Deere Insurance Company, the predecessor of the appellee Sentry Insurance Company, did not cover a vehicle driven by Albert Victor Mays at the time of a vehicle accident which killed Jeremy Matthew Edwards, Jennifer Dawn Wood, and Deborah Sue Mays, and which severely injured Jessica Lynn Spradling. On appeal, the appellants claim that the circuit court's ruling was erroneous and that the court should have ruled that the policy did cover Mr. Mays at the time of the accident in question.
Albert Victor Mays, one of the parties in the present action, was a manager of Vision Automotive Group, LLC, and also sold vehicles outside the Elkins, West Virginia, area for the operation. To assist Mr. Mays in selling its automobiles, Vision Automotive Group, LLC, provided him with demonstrator vehicles.
Vision Automotive Group, LLC, maintained a commercial umbrella/excess liability insurance policy with John Deere Insurance Company, the predecessor of appellee Sentry Insurance Company, a mutual company. The commercial umbrella/excess liability insurance policy provided:
If the following are employed by you or are acting on your behalf in the conduct of your business to which this insurance applies, they are also insureds:
* * * * * *
10. Any person ... using an "auto" which you own ... providing the actual... use is by you or with your permission.
The phrase "conduct of your business" was not defined in the policy.
On January 30, 2000, Albert Victor Mays, while driving a demonstrator vehicle which had been provided by Vision Automotive Group, LLC, was involved in an accident near the Nitro-St. Albans I-64 bridge outside of Nitro, West Virginia. At the time, Mr. Mays was driving a group of individuals to church. Jeremy Matthew Edwards, Jennifer Dawn Wood and Deborah Sue Mays, who were in the vehicle, were killed. Jessica Lynn Spradling, another passenger, sustained severe personal injuries.
Following the accident, a question arose as to whether the general umbrella liability insurance policy issued by John Deere Insurance Company covered Albert Victor Mays at the time of the accident. To resolve the question, the personal representatives of the Estates of Jeremy Matthew Edwards, Jennifer Dawn Wood, and Deborah Sue Mays, as well as Jessica Lynn Spradling, in the present personal injury action prayed that the Circuit Court of Kanawha County issue a declaratory ruling relating to coverage. Following the filing of the action, various briefs, exhibits and depositions were submitted to the court and the case was orally argued. Ultimately, the court ruled that the coverage under the commercial general umbrella policy did not cover Albert Victor Mays' vehicle at the time of the accident since he was not, in fact, "on his way to sell or meet with a potential customer on the day of the accident."
In reaching its decision, the court noted that Mr. Mays had testified in his deposition that he did not have a potential specific customer for the vehicle at the church on the day of the accident. The court noted that the testimony proceeded as follows:
The court concluded from this:
The record is clear that what we have here factually is a father/husband taking his family to church at the time of the accident. This purely private endeavor does not rise to the level of acting in the "conduct of [his] business" [within the meaning of the policy in question].
In the present proceeding, the appellants claim that the trial court erred in concluding that the coverage of the general commercial umbrella liability policy in question was not available to Albert Victor Mays at the time of the accident in question.
In Syllabus Point 4 of Burgess v. Porterfield, 196 W.Va. 178, 469 S.E.2d 114 (1996), the Court stated:
Reduced to its essentials, the Court believes that the issue in this case is whether the policy issued by John Deere Insurance Company covers the accident in the present case. The specific language of the policy provides: "If the following ... are acting on your behalf in the conduct of your business... they are also insureds: ... Any person... using an `auto' which you own ... providing the actual ... use is ... with your permission."
According to the operating...
To continue reading
Request your trial