Frontier Ins. Co. v. Pinecrest Preparatory School Inc.

• Decision Date: 19 July 1995
• Docket Number: No. 93-2132,93-2132
• Parties: 20 Fla. L. Weekly D1664 FRONTIER INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. PINECREST PREPARATORY SCHOOL INC., a Florida Corporation, Paul Kupfer and Rhonda Kupfer, as Parents and Natural Guardians of Cassandra Kupfer, a Minor, Appellees.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 601

658 So.2d 601

20 Fla. L. Weekly D1664

FRONTIER INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant, v. PINECREST PREPARATORY SCHOOL INC., a Florida Corporation Paul Kupfer and Rhonda Kupfer, as Parents and Natural Guardians of Cassandra Kupfer, a Minor, Appellees.

No. 93-2132.

District Court of Appeal of Florida Fourth District.

July 19, 1995.

Rehearing, Rehearing En Banc, and Certification Denied Aug.

30, 1995.

Bambi G. Blum of Hicks, Anderson & Blum, P.A., Miami, for appellant.

Richard A. Sherman and Rosemary B. Wilder of Richard A. Sherman, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, and Alan L. Landsberg of Law Offices of Alan L. Landsberg, Hollywood, for Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest.

Shelley H. Leinicke of Wicker, Smith, Tutan, O'Hara, McCoy, Graham & Lane, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for appellee Pinecrest Preparatory School, Inc.

STONE, Judge.

We affirm a declaratory judgment holding that a Frontier Insurance general liability policy covers an injury to a child. The child fell from a trailer pulled by a pickup truck, which Pinecrest's day camp used as a playground ride, carrying campers through a field of sprinklers. The issue is whether policy exclusions in the general liability policy for automobile-related injuries apply.

The child's parents sued Pinecrest, alleging that camp personnel were negligent in supervising the injured camper. Hartford Insurance, Pinecrest's auto insurer, acknowledged coverage and began to defend. Frontier denied coverage and brought the instant declaratory action to resolve the coverage issue. Hartford intervened to protect its claims to equitable subrogation or contribution from Frontier if it was determined that the Frontier policy afforded coverage.

There is ambiguity in the Frontier policy. One exclusion provides, "This insurance does not apply to: ... g. Bodily injury ... arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use or entrustment to others of any ... 'auto' ... owned or operated by ... any insured." "Auto" is elsewhere defined to mean "a land motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer designed for travel on public roads, including any attached machinery or equipment. But 'auto' does not include 'mobile equipment.' " (emphasis added) Another exclusion, h. (1), provides that the insurance does not apply to an injury arising out of "[t]he transportation of 'mobile equipment' by an 'auto' owned or operated by ... any insured." "Mobile equipment" is defined to mean any of a variety of land vehicles, including the following: "a. Bulldozers, farm machinery, forklifts and other vehicles designed for use principally off public roads;" and "b. Vehicles maintained for use solely on or next to premises you own or rent." (emphasis added) The term "vehicle" is not defined.

The term "auto" in an automobile liability policy is usually broadly construed so as to afford coverage. Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Novak, 453 So.2d 1116 (Fla.1984). However, a more narrow construction of that term is appropriate in construing exclusionary language in a general liability policy. See St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Thomas, 273 So.2d 117 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. denied, 282 So.2d 638 (Fla.1973). See also Smith v. General Accident Ins. Co. of America, 641 So.2d 123 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). In any event, it is clear that an exclusionary clause should be strictly and narrowly construed against the drafter. E.g., Demshar v. AAACon Auto Transp., Inc., 337 So.2d 963 (Fla.1976); General Accident Fire & Life Assurance Corp., Ltd. v. Kellin, 391 So.2d 305 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980).

In this case, it is not the word "auto" standing alone that creates the difficulty in interpreting the exclusion, but the definition of "auto" within...