Illinois Farmers Ins. Co. v. Hall

• Court: Appellate Court of Illinois
• Writing for the Court: Hall
• Citation: Illinois Farmers Ins. Co. v. Hall, 844 N.E.2d 973, 363 Ill.App.3d 989 (Ill. App. 2006)
• Decision Date: 14 February 2006
• Docket Number: No. 1-05-0161.,1-05-0161.
• Parties: ILLINOIS FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant and Cross-Appellee, v. Arrid HALL, Tracy Hall, Darius Hall and Arrid Hall, Jr., a minor, by and through his parent and next friend, Arrid Hall, Defendants-Appellees and Cross-Appellants.

Page 973

844 N.E.2d 973

ILLINOIS FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant and Cross-Appellee, v. Arrid HALL, Tracy Hall, Darius Hall and Arrid Hall, Jr., a minor, by and through his parent and next friend, Arrid Hall, Defendants-Appellees and Cross-Appellants.

No. 1-05-0161.

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Second Division.

February 14, 2006.

Rehearing Denied March 20, 2006.

Mary F. Sitko, Danny L. Worker, Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, Chicago, for Appellant.

Gregory A. Harris, Law Offices of Gregory A. Harris, Maywood, for Appellees.

Justice HALL delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Illinois Farmers Insurance Company (Farmers), filed an action for declaratory judgment against the defendants, Arrid Hall, Tracy Hall, Darius Hall and Arrid Hall, Jr. Farmers sought a declaration that, under the provisions of its automobile insurance policy providing coverage to Arrid Hall, the defendants' claims for loss of consortium were subject to the $250,000 per-person limit of liability and that section 2-1117 of the Code of Civil Procedure (the Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-1117 (West 2002)), imposing joint and several liability, did not apply to an uninsured motorist arbitration proceeding.

The defendants filed a countercomplaint for declaratory judgment, maintaining that the $500,000 per-occurrence limit applied to each of the tortfeasors because more than one claimant existed. The defendants further maintained that, if the per-occurrence limit applied, they were entitled to receive up to $500,000, regardless of the value of their individual claims. Finally, the defendants asserted that joint and several liability applied in the arbitration context.

The circuit court granted summary judgment to the defendants, finding that the defendants' claims were controlled by the higher per-occurrence limit of liability. The court granted summary judgment to Farmers, finding that section 2-1117 of the Code did not apply to arbitration proceedings. Farmers appeals, and the defendants cross-appeal from the orders of the circuit court.

On appeal, Farmers raises the following issues: whether the per-occurrence limit of liability in its policy applies to loss of consortium claims and whether the per-occurrence limit of liability in its policy is subject to the policy's per-person limit. In their cross-appeal, the defendants contend that section 2-1117 of the Code applies to uninsured motorist arbitration proceedings.

Arrid Hall sustained personal injuries when a vehicle, driven by an unidentified driver, struck a vehicle driven by a Mr. Almore, which then struck Mr. Hall and two other pedestrians. At the time he sustained his injuries, Mr. Hall was married to but estranged from defendant Tracy Hall and had two children, defendants Darius and Arrid Hall, Jr. Mr. Hall was insured under a policy issued to Clifton Hall, providing uninsured coverage limits of $250,000 per-person and $500,000 per-occurrence. Farmers paid $250,000 to Mr. Hall, representing the uninsured motorist coverage for the liability of the unidentified vehicle.

The defendants asserted claims for uninsured motorist benefits for the alleged liability of Mr. Almore. Farmers and the defendants disagreed as to whether the defendants' claims for loss of consortium were subject to the per-person limit of $250,000 or the per-occurrence limit of $500,000. Assuming that the per-occurrence limit applied, Farmers maintained that the validity of the defendants' loss of consortium claims would have to be arbitrated. The defendants maintained that the value of the claims was not subject to arbitration. Finally, the parties disputed whether the principles of joint and several liability applied to uninsured motorist arbitration proceedings.

Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. Relying on Roth v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 324 Ill.App.3d 293, 257 Ill.Dec. 781, 754 N.E.2d 439 (2001), the circuit court held that the $500,000 per-occurrence limit applied and that the per-occurrence limit was not subject to the per-person limit. Therefore, both Mr. Hall's bodily injury claim and the loss of consortium claims of the other defendants combined to be covered under the aggregate per-occurrence limit. The circuit court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment and denied Farmers' motion for summary judgment on the policy limits issue. The court further found that joint and several liability under section 2-1117 did not apply to arbitration proceedings. The court granted Farmers' motion for summary judgment and denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment as to that issue. This timely appeal and the cross-appeal followed.

ANALYSIS

The pertinent uninsured motorist provisions of the automobile policy issued in this case provide as follows:

"Coverage C—Uninsured Motorist Coverage

We will pay all sums which an insured person is legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle because of bodily injury sustained by the insured person. The bodily injury must be caused by an accident and arise out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the uninsured motor vehicle.

* * *

Limits of Coverage

The amounts shown in the Declarations are the limits of liability for Uninsured Motorist which apply subject to the following:

1. The uninsured motorist bodily injury limit for `each person' is the maximum we will pay for all damages resulting from bodily injury sustained by one person in any one accident or occurrence. Included in this limit, but not as a separate claim or claims, are all the consequential damages sustained by other persons, such as loss of services, loss of support, loss of consortium, wrongful death, grief, sorrow and emotional distress.

2. The uninsured motorist bodily injury limit for `each occurrence' is the maximum amount we will pay for two or more persons for bodily injury sustained in any one accident or occurrence.

* * *

Arbitration

If an insured person and we do not agree (1) whether the person is legally entitled to recover damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle, or (2) as to the amount of payment under this part, either that person or we may demand, in writing, that the issue be determined by arbitration. The arbitrators' decision will be binding unless the amount of the award for damages exceeds the minimum required limits set forth in the Illinois Financial Responsibility Law."

I. Standard of Review

The court reviews motions for summary judgment de novo. Chubb Insurance Co. v. DeChambre, 349 Ill.App.3d 56, 59, 283 Ill.Dec. 487, 808 N.E.2d 37 (2004). Summary judgment is proper if, and only if, the pleadings, depositions, admissions, affidavits and other relevant matters on file show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. DeChambre, 349 Ill.App.3d at 59, 283 Ill.Dec. 487, 808 N.E.2d 37.

By filing cross-motions for summary judgment, the parties invite the court to determine the issues as a matter of law and enter judgment in favor of one of the parties. Wolfram Partnership, Ltd. v. LaSalle National Bank, 328 Ill.App.3d 207, 262 Ill.Dec. 404, 765 N.E.2d 1012 (2001). Summary judgment should only be allowed when the right of the moving party is free from doubt. Elliott v. Williams, 347 Ill.App.3d 109, 112, 282 Ill.Dec. 882, 807 N.E.2d 506 (2004).

II. Whether the Policy Per-Occurrence Limit Applies to Loss of Consortium Claims

"An insurance policy is a contract, and the general rules governing the interpretation of other types of contracts also govern the interpretation of insurance policies." Hobbs v. Hartford Insurance Co. of the Midwest, 214 Ill.2d 11, 17, 291 Ill.Dec. 269, 823 N.E.2d 561 (2005). The court's primary objective in construing an insurance policy is to ascertain and give effect to the intentions of the parties as expressed in the policy language. Gillen v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 215 Ill.2d 381, 393, 294 Ill.Dec. 163, 830 N.E.2d 575 (2005).

"If the policy language is unambiguous, the policy will be applied as written, unless it contravenes public policy." Hobbs, 214 Ill.2d at 17, 291 Ill.Dec. 269, 823 N.E.2d 561. "Whether an ambiguity exists turns on whether the policy language is subject to more than one reasonable interpretation." Hobbs, 214 Ill.2d at 17, 291 Ill.Dec. 269, 823 N.E.2d 561. If the policy language is susceptible to more than one reasonable meaning, it will be considered ambiguous and will be construed against the insurer. Gillen, 215 Ill.2d at 393, 294 Ill.Dec. 163, 830 N.E.2d 575. "Although `creative possibilities' may be suggested, only reasonable interpretations will be considered." Hobbs, 214 Ill.2d at 17, 291 Ill.Dec. 269, 823 N.E.2d 561, quoting Bruder v. Country Mutual Insurance Co., 156 Ill.2d 179, 193, 189 Ill.Dec. 387, 620 N.E.2d 355 (1993). Thus, the court will not strain to find an ambiguity where none exists. Hobbs, 214 Ill.2d at 17, 291 Ill.Dec. 269, 823 N.E.2d 561. "Although policy terms that limit an insurer's liability will be liberally construed in favor of coverage, this rule of construction only comes into play when the policy is ambiguous." Hobbs, 214 Ill.2d at 17, 291 Ill.Dec. 269, 823 N.E.2d 561.

Farmers contends the circuit court erred when it determined that the $500,000 per-occurrence limit applied to the loss of consortium claims of the defendants. Farmers relies on this court's decision in Martin v. Illinois Farmers Insurance, 318 Ill.App.3d 751, 252 Ill.Dec. 310, 742 N.E.2d 848 (2000). The defendants rely on Roth. Roth and Martin construed the same policy language but reached different conclusions.¹

In Martin, this court rejected the plaintiff's argument that her loss of society claim constituted a separate compensable injury subject to its own per-person limits of Farmers' uninsured motorist coverage. In determining that the policy language was clear and unambiguous, the court...