Allstate Insurance Company v. Clendening

289 So. 2d 704, 1974 Fla. LEXIS 4456
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJanuary 23, 1974
Docket43677
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 289 So. 2d 704 (Allstate Insurance Company v. Clendening) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allstate Insurance Company v. Clendening, 289 So. 2d 704, 1974 Fla. LEXIS 4456 (Fla. 1974).

Opinion

289 So.2d 704 (1974)

ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner,
v.
James S. CLENDENING et al., Respondents.

No. 43677.

Supreme Court of Florida.

January 23, 1974.
Rehearing Denied March 7, 1974.

*705 Raymond Ehrlich and Marion R. Shepard, of Mathews, Osborne, Ehrlich, McNatt, Gobelman & Cobb, Jacksonville, for petitioner.

David R. Lewis, of Blalock, Holbrook, Lewis, Paul & Isaac, Jacksonville, for respondents.

ROBERTS, Justice.

This cause is before us on certiorari granted to review the decision of the District Court of Appeal, First District in Allstate Insurance Company v. Clendening, et al., reported at 273 So.2d 800 (Fla.App. 1973), which purportedly conflicts with The Aetna Casualty and Surety Company v. Enright, 258 So.2d 472 (Fla.App. 1972).

On October 6, 1970, respondent-son, who was a defendant and counter-plaintiff below, while serving in the Navy at Jacksonville, was involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist which resulted in serious and permanent injury. James Clendening at the time of the accident was the minor son of Robert Clendening, defendant and counter-plaintiff below, and was a resident of his father's household. Stonewall Insurance Company, plaintiff-below, had a policy of automobile liability insurance issued in Florida in effect on October 6, 1970, insuring James Clendening, the son, for injuries and losses caused by the negligence of an uninsured driver in the maximum sum of $10,000. Respondent father, a resident of Tennessee, also had an insurance policy in effect on the date of the accident issued by petitioner, Allstate Insurance Company, plaintiff below, in Tennessee, insuring him for losses or damages sustained by him or relative resident in his household, caused by the negligence of uninsured drivers in the maximum sum of $10,000. Relative to uninsured motorist coverage, the Allstate policy provided, inter alia:

"Section II: Protection Against Bodily Injury by Uninsured Automobiles.
"Allstate will pay all sums which the insured shall be legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured automobile because of bodily injury sustained by the insured... .
"Trust Agreement.
"In the event of any payment under this Section II.
"1. Allstate shall be entitled to the award of such payment to the proceeds of any settlement or judgment that may *706 result on the exercise of any rights of recovery of the insured against any owner or operator of an uninsured automobile.
"Section III: Medical Expense, Part 1, Coverage "C" Automobile Medical Payment Insurance
"Allstate will pay all reasonable expenses incurred within one year from the date of accident for necessary medical, dental, surgical, x-ray, ambulance, hospital, professional nursing and prosthetic devices to or for an uninsured who sustains bodily injury caused by accident."

The Allstate policy contained, additionally, a $2,000 maximum medical expenses coverage sustained by Robert Clendening, or relatives resident in his household as a result of accident. Both policies provided that any disputes were to be settled by the process of arbitration through the American Arbitration Association. James Clendening filed a demand for arbitration upon Allstate Insurance Company and Stonewall Insurance Company. Both insurance companies brought an action for declaratory and injunctive relief in Florida. In their complaint, the insurance companies alleged, inter alia, that notwithstanding the offer of Stonewall Insurance Company to pay the full sum of $10,000 in settlement of its liability under its policy to all claimants thereto, which offer is continuing, and notwithstanding the fact that Allstate Insurance Company did on several occasions offer to pay the sum of $10,000.00 in full settlement of its liability to all claimants, which offer is now withdrawn and replaced by an offer to pay the sum of $2,000.00, under Coverage C1, Automobile Medical Payments Insurance, to such person or persons as may be entitled thereto, such offers were refused. Allstate alleged that there was and is other insurance applicable to the injury to James Clendening under the policy issued by Stonewall Insurance Company and that by virtue of the following condition of the endorsement in the Allstate Insurance policy executed in Tennessee, the liability of Allstate Insurance Company for uninsured motorist coverage does not in any event exceed the sum of $10,000.00 and such liability is reduced by the sum of $2,000.00 payable under automobile medical payments insurance, and such liability is further reduced by the amount of uninsured motorist coverage available under the Stonewall policy, so that in any event, the liability of Allstate to the claimants does not exceed the sum of $2,000.00. The aforementioned condition contained in the Allstate policy provides:

"Other Insurance. With respect to bodily injury to an insured while occupying an automobile not owned by the principal named insured, the insurance under this endorsement shall apply only as excess insurance over any other similar insurance available to such insured and applicable to such automobile as primary insurance, and this insurance shall then apply only in the amount by which the limit of liability for this coverage exceeds the applicable limit of liability of such other insurance.
"Except as provided in the foregoing paragraph, if the insured has other similar insurance available to him and applicable to the accident, the damages shall be deemed not to exceed the higher of the applicable limits of this insurance and such other insurance, and the company shall not be liable for a greater proportion of any loss to which this coverage applies than the limit of liability hereunder bears to the sum of the applicable limits of liability of this insurance and such other insurance." (e.s.)

The policy issued by Allstate in Tennessee was required to include uninsured motorist coverage by the provisions of § 56-1148, Tennessee Code Annotated, in the amount set out in § 59-1206, T.C.A.:

"... not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) because of bodily injury to or death of one (1) person in any one (1) accident, and, subject to said limit *707 for one (1) person to a limit of not less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) because of bodily injury to or death of two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident, and if the accident has resulted in injury to, or destruction of, property to a limit of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one (1) accident."

Allstate urged that Tennessee law should apply in determining the validity of the aforestated condition of the Allstate policy since the statutes of Tennessee unlike Florida law provide that so long as an injured person has available to him insurance coverage with limits not less than $10,000.00 required for proof of financial responsibility (T.C.A. § 59-1206) such statute shall not be construed to require insurance under one or more policies in excess of that amount. Section 56-1152, T.C.A., provides:

"Minimum policy limits not increased.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Watts v. Luedke
S.D. Georgia, 2023
Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. v. August
530 So. 2d 293 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1988)
LoCicero v. American Liberty Insurance Co.
489 So. 2d 81 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1986)
Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Diamond
472 So. 2d 1312 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1985)
Amica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Gifford
434 So. 2d 1015 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1983)
Allstate Ins. Co. v. Langston
358 So. 2d 1387 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
289 So. 2d 704, 1974 Fla. LEXIS 4456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allstate-insurance-company-v-clendening-fla-1974.