Agosto v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.
This text of 687 A.2d 1267 (Agosto v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
This appeal presents nearly the same issue, with a slightly different factual basis, that we decided today in the companion case of Hansen v. Ohio Casualty Ins. Co., 239 Conn. 537, 687 A.2d 1262 (1996). Specifically, the sole issue in this appeal is whether, under the facts of this case, the estate of the decedent, Jorge A. Agosto, is entitled to underinsured motorist benefits, as a covered insured, pursuant to the automobile liability insurance policy (policy) issued to the decedent’s employer, the state of Connecticut (state). The policy was issued to the state in order to insure the fleet of state police and division of criminal justice vehicles, as well as various other state vehicles. This policy also contained an uninsured/underinsured motorist endorsement (uninsured motorist endorsement). The plaintiff, Debra Ann P. Agosto, as administratrix of the estate of her husband, brought an action to recover underinsured motorist benefits, as a result of his death, under the policy issued by the defendant, Aetna Casualty and Surety Company. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment claiming that the decedent was not a covered insured under the uninsured motorist endorsement issued to the state. The trial court granted the motion and rendered summary judgment for the defendant. The plaintiff appealed from the judgment of the trial court to the Appellate Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to Practice Book § 4023 and General Statutes § 51-199 (c). We now reverse.
The undisputed facts are as follows. The decedent, in his official capacity as a state trooper, effected a traffic stop of a vehicle on the highway. The decedent exited his police cruiser and proceeded to approach the stopped vehicle at the side of the road when a third vehicle struck and killed him. After exhausting the tortfeasor’s motor vehicle liability policy, the plaintiff [551]*551brought an action against the defendant for underinsured motorist benefits. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the uninsured motorist endorsement issued to the state was not ambiguous, and that the decedent did not fall within the definitions of an insured. The trial court found that the only way that the decedent could have been an insured covered by the uninsured motorist endorsement was if he was “occupying”1 his vehicle, as defined by the uninsured motorist endorsement, at the time of his fatal accident.
The plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly concluded that the uninsured motorist endorsement was unambiguous. The plaintiff essentially argues that the policy was ambiguous because it contained language oriented toward both individuals and family members and, therefore, it should be construed in favor of coverage for the plaintiffs decedent. Within the context of an uninsured motorist endorsement issued to a corporation, we addressed this very same policy language in Hansen v. Ohio Casualty Ins. Co., supra, 239 Conn. 537, and, for the reasons set forth therein, we reverse the judgment of the trial court in this case. Because the uninsured motorist endorsements are practically identical,2 we see no reason to distinguish this [552]*552case from Hansen on the ground that this policy was issued to a governmental entity, the state, as opposed to a corporation. The same problematic language exists here.3 On the basis of our reasoning in Hansen, the defendant in the present case should not have issued an uninsured motorist endorsement containing language referring to individuals and family members when the named insured was a governmental entity. The plaintiffs decedent is entitled to coverage under the uninsured motorist endorsement.
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings according to law.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack
687 A.2d 1267, 239 Conn. 549, 1996 Conn. LEXIS 491, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/agosto-v-aetna-casualty-surety-co-conn-1996.