Selected Risks Ins. Co. v. Miller
Decision Date | 07 December 1961 |
Docket Number | No. 93,93 |
Citation | 175 A.2d 584,227 Md. 174 |
Parties | SELECTED RISKS INSURANCE CO. v. James E. MILLER, Infant, etc., et al. |
Court | Maryland Court of Appeals |
John J. Pyne, Bethesda (John A. Beck, Bethesda, on the brief), for appellant.
No appearance for appellees.
Before BRUNE, C. J., and HENDERSON, PRESCOTT, HORNEY and MARBURY, JJ.
The only issue herein involved is one of insurance coverage. The case was tried below upon a stipulation of facts that may be summarized as follows:
On June 20, 1959, Herbert Eads purchased an automobile from an automobile dealer in Mt. Rainier, Maryland. Since he was unemployed, he arranged to have the automobile titled in the sole name of his wife, Peggy Louise Eads, in order to obtain financing from an automobile loan company.
On September 17, 1959, the wife, individually as the named insured, purchased through a sales agent of the appellant a combination family automobile policy and paid $56.08 for one year's coverage. The policy included liability coverage against bodily injury and property damage claims, and provided in pertinent part:
'Persons Insured:
'The following are insured under Part I:
'(2) any other person using such automobile, provided the actual use thereof is with the permission of the named insured;
'(b) With respect to a non-owned automobile,
'(1) the named insured '(2) any relative, but only with respect to a private passenger automobile or trailer, provided the actual use thereof is with the permission of the owner;
provided the actual use thereof is by a person who is an insured under (a) or (b) above with respect to such owned automobile or non-owned automobile.
'The insurance afforded under Part I applies separately to each insured against whom claim is made or suit is brought, but the inclusion herein of more than one insured shall not operate to increase the limits of the company's liability.
'Definitions--Under Part I:
On March 31, 1960, Eads secured an Alabama registration and license plates in the name of Mrs. Eads to replace the expired Maryland registration and license tags obtained when the car was first purchased. He did not notify or secure her permission to effect the Alabama registration, and, as a matter of fact, forged her name to the licensing papers required by Alabama.
On May 2, 1960, he returned to the metropolitan area of Washington, D. C., but continued to live apart from Mrs. Eads. He resided at various motels near Washington, at all times keeping the car in his custody and control.
On May 28, 1960, one Richard E. Hall, while driving Eads' automobile with his permission and while Eads was a passenger, negligently injured the minor appellee. A jury awarded him and his mother, appellees, damages against Hall and a writ of attachment was issued against appellant.
At no time from January 4, 1960, when Eads separated from her until the accident did Mrs. Eads operate the motor vehicle or have custody or control of it. Also, at no time prior to the accident did the appellant have any knowledge that Mrs. Eads was merely a record owner for the convenience of Eads, that Eads was unemployed, that he and Mrs. Eads were separated after January 4, 1960, or that Mrs. Eads had neither custody nor control of the car after January 4, 1960.
The trial court held (without stating his reasons) that the appellant was liable, under the terms of its policy, for the judgments rendered against Hall, and entered judgment in favor of the appellees on the writ of attachment. This appeal followed.
It is obvious that if this ruling of the trial judge is to be sustained, Hall must come within the scope of one of the three categories ([a], [b] or [c]) of 'Persons Insured' under the policy. We shall consider the categories seriatim.
If the automobile involved in the accident be considered as an 'owned-automobile' under the policy, it is apparent that Hall was not the 'named insured,' nor was he a 'resident of the same household,' hence, under this heading, it is only necessary to determine whether he was a person using the automobile with...
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