Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. v. Landis

• Citation: 698 N.E.2d 1218
• Decision Date: 26 August 1998
• Docket Number: No. 43A03-9705-CV-151,43A03-9705-CV-151
• Parties: 128 Ed. Law Rep. 1162 TIPPECANOE VALLEY SCHOOL CORPORATION and Employee Plans, Inc., Appellants-Defendants, v. Wayne L. LANDIS, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Indiana

Page 1218

698 N.E.2d 1218

128 Ed. Law Rep. 1162

TIPPECANOE VALLEY SCHOOL CORPORATION and Employee Plans, Inc., Appellants-Defendants, v. Wayne L. LANDIS, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 43A03-9705-CV-151.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Aug. 26, 1998.

Charles R. Rubright, George T. Patton, Jr., J. Christopher Janak, Bose McKinney & Evans, Indianapolis, for Appellant-Defendant Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation.

Mark W. Baeverstad, W. Douglas Lemon, Hunt Suedhoff, L.L.P., Fort Wayne, for Appellant-Defendant Employee Plans, Inc.

Richard J. Darko, Heather Lee Banner, Lowe Gray Steele & Darko, Indianapolis, for Appellee-Plaintiff.

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellants-defendants Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation (Tippecanoe) and Employee Plans, Inc. (Employee Plans) appeal the trial court's denial of their joint motion for summary judgment, claiming that it was error to permit appellee-plaintiff, Wayne L. Landis to recover certain medical expenses under the provisions of an employee benefit insurance policy.

FACTS ¹

Landis was a full-time school teacher employed by Tippecanoe. During summer breaks, Landis operated a two-man construction company with his friend, Scott Simpson. In the spring of 1994, Landis was awarded the bid to complete a roofing job on a nearby church.

On June 17, 1994, Landis arrived at the church to work on the roof. As Landis stood on some scaffolding, it suddenly collapsed and Landis fell approximately twenty feet to the ground. As a result of the accident, Landis suffered a broken spine and became paralyzed at the waist. At the time of the fall, Landis had insurance coverage under Tippecanoe's employee benefit plan, which was administered by Employee Plans. The policy excluded payments for injuries that were incurred while the insured worked at any occupation for wage or profit.

As a result of the injuries that Landis sustained, he incurred medical expenses in excess of $125,000. Landis submitted his claims for medical expenses to Employee Plans for payment. However, Employee Plans denied those claims after determining that Landis' injuries were work-related and were, therefore, excluded under the insurance policy. As a result of Employee Plans' refusal to pay the medical claims, Landis filed a complaint against Tippecanoe and Employee Plans on June 28, 1995 alleging, inter alia, that both parties had breached the insurance contract in refusing and failing to pay his medical expenses. Thereafter, Tippecanoe and Employee Plans filed a counterclaim against Landis in which they sought a declaratory judgment that Landis was precluded from recovering under the insurance contract because the policy provided that claims which arose out of or in the course of, any occupation for wage or profit were excluded from coverage. R. at 73. Tippecanoe and Employee Plans then filed a joint motion for summary judgment on July 1, 1996, arguing that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law because the provisions of the insurance contract barred Landis' claims. Following a hearing on the motion, the trial court denied the joint motion for summary judgment on August 21, 1996, and concluded that Landis "was a covered person and entitled to benefits under [Tippecanoe's] insurance plan." R. at 292-94.

On January 21, 1997, a jury trial commenced on Landis' claims against Employee Plans and Tippecanoe. Prior to submission of the case to the jury, Landis and Tippecanoe entered into a settlement agreement which provided that Tippecanoe would pay Landis' medical expenses. Thereafter, the trial court entered an order granting Landis' motion to dismiss Tippecanoe from the action but expressly reserved the right of both parties to appeal the denial of summary judgment. The trial then proceeded on Landis' claim that Employee Plans had administered the policy in bad faith. Following the presentation of evidence, the jury entered a verdict against Employee Plans in the amount of $200,000. Employee Plans and Tippecanoe now appeal the trial court's denial of their joint motion for summary judgment. ²

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard Of Review

When reviewing the denial of a motion for summary judgment, we apply the same standard as the trial court. Keith v. Mendus, 661 N.E.2d 26, 35 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), trans. denied. We resolve any doubt as to any fact, or inference to be drawn therefrom, in favor of the non-moving party. Henshilwood v. Hendricks County, 653 N.E.2d 1062, 1065 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), trans. denied. Summary judgment should be granted only when the designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind.Trial Rule 56(C). On appeal, we must determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact and whether the law has been correctly applied by the trial court. City of Elkhart v. Agenda: Open Government, Inc., 683 N.E.2d 622, 625 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied. We will reverse the trial court if it is determined that it misapplied the law. Hemingway v. Sandoe, 676 N.E.2d 368, 369 (Ind.Ct.App.1997). The party appealing a denial of summary judgment has the burden of persuading this court on appeal that the trial court's ruling was improper. Jordan v. Deery, 609 N.E.2d 1104, 1107 (Ind.1993).

The construction of a written contract is a question of law for which summary judgment is particularly appropriate. Robinson v. Century Personnel, Inc., 678 N.E.2d 1268, 1270 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied. Additionally, a court may not rewrite an insurance contract. Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Mallon, 409 N.E.2d 1100, 1103 (Ind.Ct.App.1980). If an insurance contract is clear and unambiguous, the language must be given its plain meaning. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Boles, 481 N.E.2d 1096, 1101 (Ind.1985).

II. The Insurance Contract

Tippecanoe and Employee Plans contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion for summary judgment because the plain language of Tippecanoe's employee benefit plan contract barred Landis' claims for medical payments for the injuries he sustained in the fall. In order to resolve this issue, we begin with an examination of the relevant provisions of the insurance contract. At the time of Landis' fall, Tippecanoe's employee benefit plan provided as follows:

GENERAL PLAN EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

The following exclusion and limitation apply to expenses incurred by all covered persons and will not be paid by the plan: ...

C. Charges arising out of, or in the course of, any occupation for wage or profit, or for which the covered Person is entitled to benefits under any Worker's Compensation or Occupational Disease Law, or any such similar law.

R. at 165.

In construing this language, Tippecanoe and Employee Plans maintain that the trial court improperly narrowed the definition of the term "occupation" as used in the contract to mean only the "continued or regular activity for the purpose of earning a livelihood." R. at 292. In support of their argument, Employee Plans and Tippecanoe point to this court's decision in Alderfer v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co., 670 N.E.2d 111 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), trans. denied.

In Alderfer, State Farm's insured, Lybarger, was operating a truck in his part-time employment as a volunteer fireman when he struck Alderfer, who was also a volunteer firefighter. Id. at 112. At the time of the accident, Lybarger was insured under an insurance policy issued by State Farm to his parents. Id. State Farm declined liability coverage to Lybarger in light of an exclusion in the policy for a non-owned vehicle used in "any other business or occupation." Id. Specifically, the policy provided that:

THERE IS NO COVERAGE FOR NON-OWNED CARS:

....

2. WHILE:

a. BEING REPAIRED, SERVICED OR USED BY ANY PERSON WHILE THAT PERSON IS WORKING IN ANY CAR BUSINESS; OR

b. USED IN ANY OTHER BUSINESS OR OCCUPATION. This does not apply to a private passenger car driven or occupied by the first person named in the declarations, his or her spouse or their relatives.

Id.

Following the accident, State Farm filed a complaint for declaratory judgment contending that there was no coverage for the fire truck operated by Lybarger in light of the policy exclusion. Id. The trial court granted State Farm's motion for summary judgment concluding that the "use of the word 'any' in the exclusion 'is all inclusive and therefore includes the occupation of firefighter whether or not that occupation is the activity in which one is primarily engaged.' " Id. at 112.

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