Peagler v. Usaa Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 24 June 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.A. 2:02-3977-18.,CIV.A. 2:02-3977-18. |
| Citation | 325 F.Supp.2d 620 |
| Parties | David PEAGLER, Personal Representative of the Estate of Kathy Marie Thompson, Plaintiff, v. USAA INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina |
J. Calhoun Land, IV, Land, Parker and Reaves, Manning, SC, for Plaintiff.
William O Sweeny, III, Sweeny, Wingate and Barrow, Columbia, SC, for Defendant.
This matter comes before the court on the parties' cross motions for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. Plaintiff seeks a declaration from this court that the tragic death of Kathy Marie Thompson ("Mrs. Thompson") is a covered event under an automobile insurance policy issued by defendant, USAA Casualty Insurance Company ("USAA"). The facts of the case are undisputed and have been formally stipulated to by the parties.
Mrs. Thompson died suddenly on August 31, 2001 as a result of wounds she received from the discharge of a shotgun. At the time of her death, she was seated in the driver's seat of a 4 × 4 SuperCab, 2000 Ford F-150 pickup truck (hereinafter referred to as "the truck"), owned by her husband, Greg Thompson ("Mr. Thompson").1
Both parties agree that Mrs. Thompson's death was the result of a terrible accident. On the morning of her death, Mrs. Thompson was in the process of loading her children into her Ford Taurus to take them to school. She was unable to start the Taurus and Mr. and Mrs. Thompson agreed that she would take the children to school in the pickup truck while Mr. Thompson attempted to repair the Taurus at their home. Once Mrs. Thompson and the Thompsons' older son were sitting in the truck, their younger son noticed that two cased shotguns were laying on the backseat. The guns were left in the truck from the day before, when Mr. Thompson and his older son were target shooting in preparation for the upcoming hunting season. At Mrs. Thompson's request the younger son asked his father to remove the shotguns from the truck. When Mr. Thompson came to retrieve the guns from the truck he was under the mistaken assumption that both guns were unloaded. Tragically, the gun which the older son had used during the previous day was still loaded with its safety off. As Mr. Thompson removed the guns the loaded gun discharged, killing Mrs. Thompson almost instantaneously.2 At the time of the accident, the truck was in park and was idling, but both parties agree that this fact was not a contributing cause of the accident.
Plaintiff thereafter brought this action for declaratory relief pursuant to S.C.Code Ann. § 15-53-10 et seq. seeking a determination that Mrs. Thompson's death is covered under the USAA automobile insurance policy. For the reasons set forth below, the court concludes that judgment should be granted in plaintiff's favor.
Summary judgment shall be granted when the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the moving party carries its burden of showing that there is an absence of evidence to support a claim, then the non-moving party must demonstrate by affidavit, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Id. at 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548. An issue of fact is "genuine" when the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). An issue of fact is "material" only if establishment of the fact might affect the outcome of the lawsuit under the governing substantive law. Id. When determining whether there is an issue for trial, the court must view the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Perini Corp. v. Perini Constr., Inc., 915 F.2d 121, 123-24 (4th Cir.1990).
Both parties acknowledge that the fundamental issue facing the court is whether Mrs. Thompson's death may be interpreted as arising out of the "ownership, maintenance or use" of the truck in which she was fatally shot. This specific issue arises from statute, as S.C.Code Ann. § 38-77-30 defines the term, "policy of automobile insurance," in relevant part as "a policy or contract for bodily injury or property damage liability insurance issued or delivered in this State covering liability arising from the ownership, maintenance or use of any motor vehicle...."3 (Def.'s Mem. in Supp. at 3).
The parties additionally agree that the South Carolina Supreme Court has addressed this issue and has provided a three-pronged test for its determination. First, the party seeking coverage must establish a causal connection between the vehicle and the injury. Second, there must exist no act of independent significance breaking the causal link. And third, it must be shown that the vehicle was being used for transportation purposes at the time of the accident. Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Auto World of Orangeburg, Inc., 334 S.C. 137, 511 S.E.2d 692, 698 (App.1999) (citing State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Aytes, 332 S.C. 30, 503 S.E.2d 744, 745 (1998)). Each of these elements must be shown by the plaintiff before coverage will be extended. Of course, the parties' disagreement on the application of this test has brought the matter before this court. USAA contends that none of the three elements are satisfied by the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Thompson's untimely death, while plaintiff asserts that each element is fulfilled. As discussed below, this court is of the opinion that each element is satisfied and, therefore, concludes that Mrs. Thompson's death is covered under the terms of the subject policy.
With respect to this first element, the South Carolina Supreme Court observed in Aytes that:
The causation required is something less than proximate cause and something more than the vehicle being the mere site of the injury. The injury must be foreseeably identifiable with the normal use of the vehicle. The required causal connection does not exist when the only connection between an injury and the insured vehicle's use is the fact that the injured person was an occupant of the vehicle where the shooting occurred.
Aytes, 503 S.E.2d at 745-46 (citations omitted). In other words, where it may be said that the vehicle's use was merely "incidental" to the harm caused, then coverage does not apply.4 Rather, the "use" of the vehicle and the attendant injury must be "inextricably linked." Travelers Indemnity Co., 511 S.E.2d at 696 (quoting Home Ins. Co. v. Towe, 314 S.C. 105, 441 S.E.2d 825, 827 (1994)).
In arguing that the requisite causal connection is absent in this case, USAA contends that the shooting death of Mrs. Thompson could just as easily have occurred at some other location as within the truck and, therefore, asserts that the accident was not dependent upon the "use" of the truck. In USAA's words, "this was purely a firearm accident, not a vehicle accident." (Def.'s Mem. in Supp. at 6). Furthermore, USAA contends that the fact that Aytes involved an intentional assault, as opposed to an accidental shooting, does not distinguish it from the factual circumstances of this dispute. USAA is correct as to this latter point, as it was observed in Towe that: "No distinction is made as to whether the injury resulted from a negligent, reckless, or intentional act." 441 S.E.2d at 827. Therefore, the sole issue for this court's determination with respect to the first element is whether a sufficient causal connection existed between the use of the truck and Mrs. Thompson's death.
Plaintiff insists that such a connection is present in this case. Specifically, plaintiff asserts that:
Mrs. Thompson had placed herself in the driver's position and started the engine for the purpose of transporting her children to school and herself to work. She directed that the shotguns, which were being transported in the truck for hunting purposes, be removed so that her 9 year old son could sit on the rear seat.... But for the use of the truck would Mrs. Thompson have been placed in the position to cause the damage by the negligent unloading of the shotguns[?] The loading of passengers and unloading of firearms and resulting discharge are causally connected to the truck. The connection here is close to the proximate cause of the injury and is certainly more than the truck being the mere site of the injury.
(Pl.'s Mem. in Opp. at 3-4).
It must be acknowledged that while several other jurisdictions have dealt with coverage disputes involving the accidental discharge of a firearm in or near a vehicle, the parties have not directed the court to any precedent directly on point within this State nor has this court been able to locate any precedent addressing an injury arising out of the unloading of a firearm from a vehicle. Nevertheless, this court concludes that a causal connection exists. Mr. Thompson was clearly "using" the truck at the time of the accident in that he was unloading the firearms from the truck at the time the accident occurred. Moreover, this use was a reasonable one and, as such, it was neither unforeseeable nor unexpected. Indeed, given that the particular vehicle in question was a 4 × 4 pickup truck, it was entirely foreseeable that it would have been used at some point by its owners for hunting purposes....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Peagler v. Usaa Ins. Co.
...this case. The federal district court granted Plaintiff's motion, finding that coverage existed, and denied Insurer's motion. Peagler v. USAA Ins. Co., 325 F.Supp.2d 620 (D.S.C.2004). Insurer appealed to the Fourth Circuit, which has certified the following question to this Did Decedent's f......