Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Brown

• Decision Date: 08 February 1984
• Docket Number: No. 53996,53996
• Citation: 446 So.2d 1002
• Parties: GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY v. Robert BROWN and Peggy Ann Brown.
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

Page 1002

446 So.2d 1002

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY v. Robert BROWN and Peggy Ann Brown.

No. 53996.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Feb. 8, 1984.

Rehearing Denied March 14, 1984.

John L. Hunter, W. Harvey Barton, Cumbest, Cumbest & Hunter, Pascagoula, for appellants.

William M. Rainey, Franke, Rainey & Salloum, Gulfport, for appellee.

Before WALKER, BOWLING and PRATHER, JJ.

PRATHER, Justice, for the Court:

Mississippi Supreme Court Rule 46 ¹ provides for certification of unsettled substantive questions of Mississippi law from certain federal courts when the answer will determine the litigation in the federal forum. Such certification procedure permits this Court to render a definitive opinion and provide a controlling precedent for the federal litigation on questions of substantive Mississippi law.

This case was certified to this Court by the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit to define and construe the "limits of liability" clause under uninsured motorist coverage of motor vehicle liability policy. See Government Employees Insurance Co. v. Brown, 675 F.2d 645 (5th Cir. May 3, 1982).

The certified question of unsettled law is whether the language contained in this specific Government Employees Insurance Company policy under the "limits of liability" clause is sufficiently clear and unambiguous to prevent the aggregation of uninsured motorist coverage and limit liability to $10,000.00, where separate premiums are charged for more than one unit vehicle under a single policy.

I.

The certified statement of facts are as follows:

On December 5, 1979, the Appellants, Robert Brown and his wife, Peggy Ann Brown, were riding in a vehicle owned by Robert Brown and insured by Government Employees Insurance Company. At that time, they were approaching the intersection of Magnolia Street and Howard Street in Moss Point, Jackson County, Mississippi, when they were involved in a collision which took place with an alleged uninsured motorist, Betty J. Battles.

The policy of insurance which the Appellants had in full force and effect on the date of the accident provided, among other things, for payment of damages as a result of the injuries caused by the negligence of an uninsured motorist. While both insureds were involved in the automobile accident, it was Peggy Ann Brown who claimed the more serious injuries as a result of this accident and made a claim that her damages collectable from an uninsured motorist would exceed $30,000.00.

After this demand was made, the Appellees filed a Bill of Complaint alleging as their cause of action 28 U.S.C.A. Section 2201, commonly known as Federal Declaratory Judgment Action. This action was filed on February 25, 1981 to have the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi define and construe the limits of liability clause under the uninsured motorist coverage of this policy.

In conjunction with the filing of the Declaratory Judgment action, the Appellee tendered the sum of $10,000.00 into the registry of the U.S. District Court proposing that this was the total amount of coverage which would be provided under the policy of insurance.

Subsequent to the filing of the Declaratory Judgment action, the Appellants, Peggy Ann Brown and Robert Brown, each filed their own Declaration in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, on or about April 22, 1981. These actions were civil suits naming as Defendants, the uninsured motorist, Betty J. Battles, and the Appellee insurance company, Government Employees Insurance Company.

In conjunction with the filing of these lawsuits in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, the Appellants also filed a Motion to Dismiss the Declaratory Judgment action, pursuant to Rule 12(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Thereafter, on May 5, 1981, Government Employees Insurance Company filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in the United States District Court based on their Declaratory Judgment action.

As a result of the hearings on both Motions filed, the United States District Court issued an order dated June 9, 1981, overruling the Brown's Motion to Dismiss and sustaining Government Employees Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment. From that order, Appellants prosecuted their appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case was argued on February 4, 1982.

After studying the record, briefs of counsel and the applicable law, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided that certain unsettled questions of Mississippi law may control the disposition of this appeal.

II.

The provisions of Mississippi Code Annotated section 83-11-101 (1972) ² contain the requirement of uninsured motorist coverage for Mississippi residents as follows:

No automobile liability insurance policy or contract shall be issued or delivered after January 1, 1967, unless it contains an endorsement or provisions undertaking to pay the insured all sums which he shall be legally entitled to recover as damages for bodily injury or death from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, within limits which shall be no less than those set forth in the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Law, as amended, under provisions approved by the commissioner of insurance....

The Mississippi Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Law, Mississippi Code Annotated section 63-15-11 (Supp.1982) now requires minimum liability coverage of $10,000.00 per person injured and an aggregate limitation of $20,000.00 per accident.

The amount of coverage available to an insured under the uninsured motorist statute has given rise to much litigation. A motorist is often covered under the uninsured provisions of more than one policy or, in the case of a single policy, by premiums for multi-vehicular coverage. By "stacking" the coverages under different policies or on different vehicles, the injured party may "aggregate" the amounts of coverage up to the amount of damage sustained.

The aggregation of claims, or stacking, has been permitted in certain situations to provide the insured with the difference between the minimum statutory requirement of uninsured coverage and the total amount of a judgment against an uninsured defendant. Harthcock v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 248 So.2d 456 (Miss.1971) (allowing aggregation of coverage of plaintiff as a passenger on uninsured motorcycle with plaintiff's own vehicle). Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Ins. Co. v. Roberts, 323 So.2d 536 (Miss.1975) (allowing aggregation of coverage from three separate uninsured motorist policies on three separate vehicles owned by insured). Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co. v. Bridges, 350 So.2d 1379 (Miss.1977) (allowing aggregation of coverage on an intra-policy for which a separate premium was charged and paid on each vehicle). Pearthree v. Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co., 373 So.2d 267 (Miss.1979) (allowing aggregation of coverage from multiple premiums under one policy). ³ Contra: Talbot v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 291 So.2d 699 (Miss.1974) (the limitation clause was clear and unambiguous and therefore stacking was denied).

Insurance companies in defending these cases have asserted as their defense the contractual provisions of the policies. Harthcock, supra. ("other insurance" clause). Talbot, supra. ("limits of liability" clause).

Inter alia, the policy in question contains the following provision as to the limitation of liability for uninsured motorist coverage:

Regardless of the number of automobiles or trailers to which this policy applies, the limit of liability for uninsured motorist coverage stated in the declarations as applicable to 'each person' is the limit of the company's liability for all damages, including damages for care or loss of services, because of bodily injury sustained by one person as the result of any one accident; and, subject to the above provisions respecting each person, regardless of the number of automobiles or trailers to which this policy applies, the limit of liability stated in the declarations as applicable to 'each accident' is the total limit of the company's liability for all damages, including damages for care or loss of services, because of bodily injury sustained by two or more persons as a result of any one accident.

Further, the policy shows a declaration sheet describing three...