Allstate Insurance Co. v. Eggermont

535 N.E.2d 1047, 180 Ill. App. 3d 55, 129 Ill. Dec. 282, 1989 Ill. App. LEXIS 242
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 3, 1989
Docket2-88-0480
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 535 N.E.2d 1047 (Allstate Insurance Co. v. Eggermont) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allstate Insurance Co. v. Eggermont, 535 N.E.2d 1047, 180 Ill. App. 3d 55, 129 Ill. Dec. 282, 1989 Ill. App. LEXIS 242 (Ill. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

JUSTICE LINDBERG

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate), appeals from an order of the circuit court of Winnebago County denying plaintiffs motion and granting defendant Ralph David Banks’ (Banks’) motion for judgment on the pleadings in a declaratory judgment action seeking an interpretation of a homeowners insurance policy issued by plaintiff to defendant Chris Eggermont.

On August 26, 1984, defendant Chris Eggermont (Eggermont) and her children, Maria and Louis Montez, were staying at the home of Eggermont’s parents, defendants James and Marilyn Stewart (Stewart). Maria was injured in an accident involving a riding lawn mower driven by Louis. Maria, by her mother and next friend Eggermont, filed suit against the Stewarts and their gardener, defendant Banks, for the injuries. The Stewarts and Banks counterclaimed against Eggermont seeking contribution and indemnification. Eggermont tendered the counterclaim to plaintiff, Allstate, for defense and indemnification under her homeowners policy purchased from Allstate in August 1984. Allstate accepted the tender under a reservation of rights and filed this declaratory judgment action contending that it has no obligation to defend or indemnify Eggermont under the homeowners policy. This is the second time this case has come before us on appeal. In Allstate Insurance Co. v. Stewart (1987), 158 Ill. App. 3d 129, 511 N.E.2d 188, we reversed the trial court’s determination that the Stewart’s home was not an “insured premises” as defined under Allstate’s homeowners policy issued to Eggermont. We then remanded the case to the trial court to determine the second issue raised by the parties: whether section 143.01 of the Illinois Insurance Code (the Code) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 73, par. 755.01) renders the family household exclusion clause contained in the policy issued by Allstate to Eggermont inapplicable to a suit for contribution against Eggermont for the injuries sustained by her daughter, Maria. The trial court ruled that section 143.01 of Code did not apply to the policy in the instant case. However, the trial court found an ambiguity in the policy on the issue of coverage and construed the contract against Allstate and in favor of the insured, ruling as a matter of law that Allstate was required to defend and, if the contribution suit was successful, pay up to the policy limits of the homeowners policy issued to Eggermont.

The policy in the instant case was entitled “Allstate Deluxe Homeowners Policy.” The policy’s “Family Liability Protection” section contains a general description of the losses it covers which provided:

“Losses We Cover:

Allstate will pay all sums arising from an accidental loss which an insured person becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage covered by this part of the policy.” (Emphasis in original.)

Immediately below this grant of coverage under “Losses We Do Not Cover” is a list of 12 specific losses the homeowners policy does not cover (exclusions). The relevant exclusions in the instant case are the family household exclusion and the vehicle exclusion. The household exclusion provides:

“2. We do not cover bodily injury to an insured person or property damage to property owned by an insured person.” (Emphasis in original.)

The vehicle exclusion provided:

“5. We do not cover bodily injury or property damage arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use occupancy, renting, loaning, entrusting, loading or unloading of any motorized land vehicle or trailer. However, this exclusion does not apply to:
(a) a motorized land vehicle in dead storage or used exclusively on an insured premises;
(b) any motorized land vehicle designed principally for recreational use off public roads unless that vehicle is owned by an insured person and is being used away from an insured premises;
(c) a motorized wheel chair;
(d) a vehicle used to service an insured premises which is not designed for use on public roads and not subject to motor vehicle registration;
(e) a golf cart owned by an insured person when used for golfing purposes;
(f) a trailer of the boat, camp, home or utility type unless it is being towed or carried by a motorized land vehicle;
(g) bodily injury to a residence employee.” (Emphasis in original.)

The parties agreed that Maria, as a dependant residing with the insured, Chris Eggermont, was an “insured person” under the terms of the policy. Allstate argued that the nature of the defendant’s contribution claim was controlled by the underlying claim, which was a bodily injury to Maria. Since Maria was an “insured person” and the household exclusion excluded coverage for bodily injury to an insured person, Allstate had no duty to defend or indemnify Eggermont in a contribution suit against her for injuries sustained by her daughter, Maria. Defendants do not dispute this interpretation and application of the family household exclusion. Defendants argued that the vehicle exclusion contains numerous explicit exceptions and thus provides insurance coverage for vehicles. Since the policy provides insurance for certain vehicles, it is a policy of vehicle insurance as defined in Class 2(b) of section 4 of the Code (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 73, par. 616(b) (Class 2)) and is subject to applicable laws regulating provisions contained in policies of vehicle insurance. Defendants argued that one such regulation is section 143.01(a) of the Code, which renders a family household exclusion contained in a policy of vehicle insurance inapplicable to a third-party’s suit for contribution against a member of the injured person’s family. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 73, par. 755.01(a).) The trial court, relying on a case with similar facts (State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Holeczy (1987), 152 Ill. App. 3d 448, 504 N.E.2d 971), ruled that section 143.01 of the Code was not applicable to the homeowners policy issued by Allstate, and, therefore, the family household exclusion was not thereby rendered inapplicable to the contribution suit filed against Eggermont. However, the trial court found that a plain reading of exception (d) of the vehicle exclusion provided coverage for bodily injuries arising out of the use of a vehicle used to service an insured premises, i.e., a riding lawn mower. The trial court reasoned that the family household exclusion, which when read alone would exclude coverage for the contribution suit, was ambiguous in light of the granting of coverage contained in the exceptions to the vehicle exclusion. Having found an ambiguity on the issue of coverage for the injuries sustained by Maria, the trial court construed the contract against Allstate and in favor of coverage and granted defendant Banks’ motion for judgment on the pleadings.

On appeal, Allstate argues that the trial court erred when it found the policy ambiguous.

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Bluebook (online)
535 N.E.2d 1047, 180 Ill. App. 3d 55, 129 Ill. Dec. 282, 1989 Ill. App. LEXIS 242, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allstate-insurance-co-v-eggermont-illappct-1989.