Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. McMahon

• Decision Date: 13 April 2005
• Docket Number: No. 5:04-CV-263-H(2).,5:04-CV-263-H(2).
• Citation: 365 F.Supp.2d 671
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
• Parties: NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. James L. McMAHON, Michael McMahon, and State Farm Automobile Insurance Co., Defendants.

365 F.Supp.2d 671

NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. James L. McMAHON, Michael McMahon, and State Farm Automobile Insurance Co., Defendants.

No. 5:04-CV-263-H(2).

United States District Court, E.D. North Carolina, Western Division.

April 13, 2005.

Susan K. Burkhart, Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog, Raleigh, NC, for plaintiff.

James L. McMahon, Pro Se, Jamestown, NC, Paul D. Coates, Pinto, Coates, Kyre & Brown, Greensboro, NC, John T. Honeycutt, Yates McLamb & Weyher, Raleigh, NC, for defendants.

ORDER

HOWARD, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on the parties' cross motions for summary judgment. Proper responses and replies have been filed, and these motions are ripe for adjudication. Also before the court is defendant James McMahon's motion to change venue. Although the time for plaintiff to respond to this motion has not run, the court does not need a response from plaintiff in order to adjudicate this motion.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Plaintiff Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company ("Nationwide") filed this action for declaratory judgment on April 16, 2004, against James McMahon ("James"), Michael McMahon ("Michael"), and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State Farm"). Nationwide issued a homeowner's policy to James, policy number 61 32 MP 423 307, effective from October 18, 2002, to October 18, 2003 (the "policy") (See Appendix A to plaintiff's complaint). State Farm provided uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to Michael, policy number 6266-C25-33P which would apply if there were no liability coverage on the automobile that was involved in the incident.

In August 2003, an incident occurred in which Michael was injured attempting to start a vehicle owned by James on the insured property. Michael asserted a negligence claim against his father, James, who in turn demanded that Nationwide, under the homeowner's policy, indemnify him for any damages.

In this action, Nationwide seeks a declaration regarding the parties' legal rights and responsibilities under the homeowner's policy. Nationwide asserts that the homeowner's policy does not provide coverage for any property damage or bodily injury that may have occurred as a result of the August 2003 incident. Nationwide argues that State Farm should afford such coverage pursuant to the uninsured motorist coverage.

Defendant James McMahon filed his answer on May 6, 2004, and indicated that the accident occurred when he and Michael were attempting to start James' 1986 Ford LTD in order to move it to a different location. On May 28, 2004, defendant Michael McMahon filed his answer, also admitting that his injuries were a result of attempts to start the vehicle in order to move it.

Defendant Michael McMahon filed a counterclaim against Nationwide seeking a declaratory judgment that it must provide coverage for his injuries under James' homeowner's policy. Michael also filed a cross-claim against State Farm, alleging it must provide coverage pursuant to his uninsured motorist coverage. State Farm's answer to Nationwide's complaint, filed June 4, 2004, admitted that State Farm would be obligated to provide coverage for the damages under the uninsured motorist coverage in the absence of other coverage. State Farm also filed a cross-claim and counterclaim seeking a declaratory judgment that State Farm is not obligated to provide any such coverage.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

James McMahon and his wife, Wanda, live at the insured property on Joy Drive in Jamestown, North Carolina. The vehicle at issue is a 1986 Ford LTD owned by the McMahons. Mrs. McMahon drove this car prior to her retirement. The McMahons also owned two other vehicles, a 1994 pick-up truck, and a 1973 Bronco, which James kept for winter use. James testified at his deposition that the LTD was operable and had no mechanical problems at the time Wanda stopped driving it to work. After she stopped driving it to work, the McMahons parked it in their yard.

At the time of the incident, August 2003, the LTD was parked in the yard parallel to the McMahon's house. It had been parked in this spot for seven to nine months. The LTD had passed inspection in April 2002; however, it was not insured at the time of the accident because James had canceled the insurance in October 2002 approximately eleven months prior to the incident.

James periodically started the LTD. On the day prior to the incident at issue, James attempted to start the LTD. He intended to start the car and drive it to another location on the property. He testified it had been about four to six months since the last time he started the LTD. He poured some gasoline into the carburetor and turned the ignition. The motor turned over, but the car did not start. About that time, his wife called him inside for lunch, and James did not attempt to start the car again that day.

The next day, August 23, 2003, the McMahon's son, defendant Michael McMahon, was visiting his parents in order to help his dad pressure wash a camper. The camper had been sitting in the front yard along side the LTD for so long it had turned black. The Ford LTD has also turned black, and the grass underneath the car had died. Michael washed the camper and then helped his father move the camper to another part of the property.

After finishing with the camper, James asked his son Michael to help him start the LTD in order to move it to another part of the property so he could seed that part of the lawn. He intended to move it to a field where he kept items he used, such as farm equipment, plows, cultivators, and a mechanical wood-splitter. He testified that he did not intend to use the car any more.

In order to start the LTD, James poured two to three gallons of gasoline into the gas tank of the LTD. He then poured approximately one inch of gasoline into a tin container and handed it to Michael. James instructed Michael to prime the carburetor of the LTD by pouring the gasoline into it. While Michael was still under the hood of the car, James attempted to start the LTD by turning the ignition. The motor turned over; then he heard a loud "whoosh" and saw fire shoot out from under the hood of the car. When James got out of the car, he saw Michael lying on the ground, injured and burned from the fire.

COURT'S DISCUSSION

I. Motion to Change Venue

On March 21, 2005, James McMahon wrote a letter to the undersigned, asking that this case be moved to the Middle District of North Carolina due to defendant's age and disability. What defendant James McMahon requests is a change in venue; therefore, this letter shall be treated as a motion to change venue. No response has been received regarding Mr. McMahon's motion; however, none is needed by this court. Mr. McMahon failed to follow the local rules of this court. He has not supported his motion with a memorandum detailing the legal reasons supporting his motion, as required by Local Rule 7.1. Mr. McMahon's motion must fail. Although Mr. McMahon is a pro se party, he still must follow the rules of this court. Therefore, defendant James McMahon's motion to change venue is denied.

II. Standard of Review for Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 when no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Once the moving party has met its burden, the non-moving party may not rest on the allegations or denials in its pleading, see Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, but "must come forward with `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). As this court has stated, summary judgment is not a vehicle for the court to resolve disputed factual issues. Faircloth v. United States, 837 F.Supp. 123, 125 (E.D.N.C.1993). Instead, a trial court reviewing a claim at the summary judgment stage should determine whether a genuine issue exists for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

In making this determination, the court must view the inferences drawn from the underlying facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962) (per curiam). Only disputes between the parties over facts that might affect the outcome of the case properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Accordingly, the court must examine "both the materiality and the genuineness of the alleged fact issues" in ruling on this motion. Faircloth, 837 F.Supp. at 125.

III. Application of State Law

This case involves the interpretation and application of an insurance policy. As such, this court is required to follow state law. See, e.g., Wake County Hosp. System, Inc. v. National Cas. Co., 804 F.Supp. 768, 773 (E.D.N.C.1992). This case involves the meaning of certain words in the insurance policy. Specifically, the dispositive issue in this case is whether the accident fits within the homeowner's policy exclusion for liability arising out of the "ownership, maintenance, use, loading or unloading of motor vehicles .... owned or operated by or rent or loaned to an insured," and whether the exception to the exclusion for a "vehicle or conveyance not subject to motor vehicle registration which is ... [i]n dead storage on an insured location" applies to bring the accident within the coverage of the policy.

Under North Carolina law,

[i]t is the insured that has the burden of bringing himself within the insuring language of the policy. Once it has been...