Bean v. Kovacik

103 N.W.2d 899, 10 Wis. 2d 646, 1960 Wisc. LEXIS 424
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 7, 1960
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 103 N.W.2d 899 (Bean v. Kovacik) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bean v. Kovacik, 103 N.W.2d 899, 10 Wis. 2d 646, 1960 Wisc. LEXIS 424 (Wis. 1960).

Opinions

Dieterich, J.

This is an action by Robert Bean to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in a collision between the motorcycle driven by Dieter K. Lucas and a 1958 Ford sedan owned and operated by the defendant, Robert Kovacik. The plaintiff, Robert Bean, a minor, was a passenger on the rear seat of the motorcycle. The accident occurred on May 12, 1958, at the intersection of North Twenty-Fifth street and West Meinecke street, in the city of Milwaukee.

Dieter K. Lucas, a minor under eighteen years of age, is a son of Herbert H. Lucas and resides with his father in the [648]*648city and county of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The father, Herbert H. Lucas, pursuant to sec. 343.15, Stats. 1957, signed the application for an operator’s license for his son and, under the statute, became jointly and severally liable with his minor son in operating the motorcycle.

The minor plaintiff, Robert Bean, and his father, instituted an action against the driver of the automobile, Robert Kovacik, his insurance company, United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, and against the owner and operator of the motorcycle, Dieter K. Lucas and his father, Herbert H. Lucas. After the action was commenced, the attorneys for Dieter and Herbert Lucas tendered the defense to the appellant, National Fire & Marine Insurance Company, which refused to accept the tender on the basis of the exclusion of the liability coverage for anyone riding on the motorcycle as a passenger or driver contained in the policy. Thereafter, the attorneys for Dieter and Herbert Lucas interpleaded the National Fire & Marine Insurance Company as a party defendant. The appellant, National Fire & Marine Insurance Company then moved for summary judgment in its favor dismissing the cross complaints of the defendants on the basis of the liability-exclusion clause contained in its policy of insurance. On November 25, 1959, an order was entered denying the motion for summary judgment and the Insurance Company appealed.

The National Fire & Marine Insurance Company of Omaha, Nebraska, issued a policy of insurance to Dieter K. Lucas under date of April 21, 1958, with an expiration date of October 21, 1958. The premium for the six months’ policy was $34.50. The policy described the vehicle as a 1955 model, two-wheel motor. The Insurance Company in its usual practice issued its combination automobile policy attaching thereto indorsements so as to make its policy applicable to the type of vehicle which it was insuring. Three [649]*649pertinent indorsements were attached to the policy of insurance. (1) The use of other automobiles, (2) motorcycle restrictive-coverage indorsement, and (3) special indorsement — motor scooters, motor bikes, motorcycles. The first indorsement provided:

“. . . that such insurance as afforded by this policy shall apply only to vehicles of the type scheduled in the contract, and in no event shall the use of other automobiles coverage provided by this policy apply to automobiles.
“Nothing herein contained shall be held to vary, waive, alter, or extend any of the exclusions, conditions, or other terms of the undermentioned policy other than as above stated.”

The second indorsement provides:

“Motorcycle restrictive-coverage indorsement — Such insurance as is afforded by this policy shall not apply while the vehicle is being driven in any prearranged race, competitive-speed contest, or hill-climbing contest.”

The third indorsement provided:

“It is hereby understood and agreed that this policy does not cover any liability for injuries to anyone riding on or in or driving the . . . motorcycle described in this policy.
“This indorsement supersedes any terms or conditions of the policy to which it is attached, and condition 9 of the policy shall not apply if in conflict with this indorsement.”

Condition 9 provides:

“Financial-responsibility laws — Coverages A and B: When this policy is certified as proof of financial responsibility for the future under the provisions of the motor vehicle financial-responsibility law of any state or province, such insurance as is afforded by this policy for bodily injury liability or for property-damage liability shall comply with the provisions of such law which shall be applicable with respect to any such liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the automobile during the policy pe[650]*650riod, to the extent of the coverage and limits of liability required by such law, but in no event in excess of the limits of. liability stated in this policy. The insured agrees to reimburse the company for any payment made by the company which it would not have been obligated to make under the terms of this policy except for the agreement contained in this paragraph.”

' Coverages A and B (referred to in condition 9) provide:

“1. Coverage A — ■Bodily Injury Liability: To pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury, sickness, or disease, including death at any time resulting therefrom, sustained by any person, caused by accident and arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the automobile.
“Coverage B■ — Property Damage Liability: To pay on behalf of the insured all sums which the insured shall become legally obligated to pay as damages because of injury to or destruction of property, including the loss of use thereof, caused by accident and arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of the automobile.”

The National Fire & Marine Insurance Company contends that the exclusion clauses contained in the policy are valid and that the plaintiff passenger and rear-seat rider of the motorcycle cannot recover from it for personal injuries received as the result of the negligence of the operator of the motorcycle.

It is elementary that the right to contract is a fundamental right and parties to an insurance contract have the legál right to insert such provisions in the agreement as they see proper so long as the contract does not contravene the law or public policy.

The insurance carrier, in issuing a policy of liability insurance on a motorcycle, and the general public, are aware of the fact that there is a greater risk of injury involved in the operation as well as the riding upon the rear seat of a [651]*651motorcycle, it being common knowledge that the operation of the motorcycle requires proper balancing on the part of the operator as well as the passenger in order for it to be propelled upon the two wheels.

In Haussler v. Indemnity Co. (1923), 227 Ill. App. 504, and as quoted in Housner v. Baltimore-American Ins. Co. (1931), 205 Wis. 23, 28, 236 N. W. 546, and again in Bulman v. Bulman (1955), 271 Wis. 286, 289, 73 N. W. (2d) 599, it is stated:

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Bean v. Kovacik
103 N.W.2d 899 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1960)

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Bluebook (online)
103 N.W.2d 899, 10 Wis. 2d 646, 1960 Wisc. LEXIS 424, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bean-v-kovacik-wis-1960.