Bush v. STATE FRAM MUT. AUTO. INS. CO.

882 N.E.2d 821
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 20, 2008
Docket71A03-0706-CV-286
StatusPublished

This text of 882 N.E.2d 821 (Bush v. STATE FRAM MUT. AUTO. INS. CO.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bush v. STATE FRAM MUT. AUTO. INS. CO., 882 N.E.2d 821 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

882 N.E.2d 821 (2008)

Maggie BUSH and Leonard Bush, Appellants-Plaintiffs,
v.
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee-Defendant.

No. 71A03-0706-CV-286.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

March 20, 2008.

*822 Edmond W. Foley, South Bend, IN, Attorney for Appellants.

Michael P. Blaize, Crown Point, IN, Attorney for Appellee.

OPINION

KIRSCH, Judge.

Maggie Bush and Leonard Bush ("the Bushes") appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State Farm"). They raise two issues, of which we find one dispositive: whether State Farm's automobile policy violates Indiana's uninsured motorist statute because it requires that an insured sustain bodily injury and not just damages as a result of the conduct of an uninsured motorist before uninsured motorist benefits are available.

We reverse and remand.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On March 10, 2004, Leonard Bush, Jr. ("Leonard"), the Bushes' adult son, was killed in a single vehicle automobile accident that occurred in New Mexico. The vehicle in which Leonard was a passenger was being driven by Arnett Washington who was uninsured. Washington was negligent in causing the accident. Leonard was not a resident of the Bushes' household and did not have a policy of automobile insurance, which provided coverage for the accident. At the time of Leonard's death, the Bushes maintained an automobile insurance policy with State Farm. The policy contained coverage for accidents involving uninsured motorists, and the parties stipulated that Washington met the definition of an "uninsured motorist" under the State Farm policy.

The Bushes submitted a claim to State Farm for uninsured motorist benefits to compensate them for the damages they suffered as a result of the loss of their son. State Farm denied the claim because Leonard was not an insured under the policy as he was not a resident of his *823 parents' household at the time of his death and because the Bushes did not suffer "bodily injury" as defined under the policy. On May 10, 2006, the Bushes filed a complaint for breach of contract and declaratory judgment, alleging that Indiana's uninsured motorist statute requires that there be coverage for the damages they suffered as a result of the conduct of an uninsured motorist and that State Farm's policy must comply with the statute. They also contended that the definition of "bodily injury" under the policy was ambiguous and that it should be interpreted in their favor to encompass the loss they suffered as a result of the death of their son. Both sides filed motions for summary judgment, and after a hearing on these motions, the trial court granted State Farm's motion, determining that there was no genuine issue of material fact because Leonard was not an insured under the policy because he did not reside with the Bushes at the time of the accident. Appellant's App. at 5. The Bushes now appeal.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

When reviewing a grant or denial of summary judgment, we apply the same standard as the trial court: summary judgment is only appropriate when the designated evidence shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C); Jacobs v. Hilliard, 829 N.E.2d 629, 632 (Ind. Ct.App.2005), trans, denied. On appeal, we consider all of the designated evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Walton v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., 844 N.E.2d 143, 146 (Ind.Ct.App. 2006), trans, denied. Our standard of review is not altered by cross-motions for summary judgment." Ind. Ins. Co. v. Am. Cmty. Servs., Inc., 718 N.E.2d 1147, 1152 (Ind.Ct.App.1999). The trial court's order granting a motion for summary judgment is cloaked with a presumption of validity, and a party appealing from a summary judgment decision has the burden of persuading the court that the grant or denial of summary judgment was erroneous. Am. Home Assurance Co. v. Allen, 814 N.E.2d 662, 666 (Ind.Ct.App.2004), trans, dismissed (2005).

The Bushes argue that the trial court erred when it granted State Farm's motion for summary judgment because State Farm's automobile policy violates Indiana's uninsured motorist statute. They specifically contend that the language in the policy that purports to limit recovery of damages to instances where bodily injury was sustained by the insured is in violation of the statute and therefore void. The Bushes claim that they are persons who are legally entitled to recover damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle and that the policy language is void because it attempts to limit their recovery provided under the uninsured motorist statute.

"Generally, an insurer has the right to limit its coverage of risks and its liability, and in so doing may impose exceptions, conditions, and exclusions upon its contractual obligations that are not inconsistent with public policy." Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Federated Mid. Ins. Co., 775 N.E.2d 1198, 1206 (Ind.Ct.App. 2002). A contract will be declared void when it actually contravenes a statute. Id.

The purpose of uninsured motorist coverage is to make available the same protection to a person injured by an uninsured motorist, as he would have enjoyed if the offending motorist had carried liability insurance. Rice v. Meridian Ins. Co., 751 N.E.2d 685, 690 (Ind.Ct.App.2001), traits, denied. "`Any language in the insurance policy which limits or diminishes the protection required by statute is contrary *824 to public policy.'" Greenfield v. All-state Pers. Prop., 806 N.E.2d 856, 860 (Ind.Ct.App.2004), trans, denied (quoting Whitledge v. Jordan, 586 N.E.2d 884, 886 (Ind.Ct.App.1992), trans, denied). A policy violates the uninsured motorist statute when it specifically limits coverage as to persons who would otherwise qualify as insureds for liability purposes. Id.

Indiana's uninsured motorist statute states in pertinent part:

(a) The insurer shall make available, in each automobile liability or motor vehicle liability policy of insurance which is delivered or issued for delivery in this state with respect to any motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this state, insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for bodily injury or death suffered by any person and for injury to or destruction of property to others arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle, or in a supplement to such a policy, the following types of coverage:
(1) in limits for bodily injury or death . . .

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Bush v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
882 N.E.2d 821 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
882 N.E.2d 821, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bush-v-state-fram-mut-auto-ins-co-indctapp-2008.