Central Transport, Inc. v. Blake

985 S.W.2d 805, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 2327, 1998 WL 1021746
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 10, 1998
DocketNo. 74095
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 985 S.W.2d 805 (Central Transport, Inc. v. Blake) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Central Transport, Inc. v. Blake, 985 S.W.2d 805, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 2327, 1998 WL 1021746 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

SIMON, Presiding Judge.

Benjamin Blake (Blake), plaintiff, appeals from a judgment in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, granting Central Transport Inc.’s (Central) motion for summary judgment.

On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred in granting Central’s motion for summary judgment based on the finding that Central was not required to have insurance pursuant to section 303.350 RSMo 1994 (all references hereinafter shall be to RSMo 1994 unless otherwise indicated) or under the lease agreement between the parties because section 379.203 applies to all insurance contracts delivered in Missouri and common carriers are not exempted from this requirement.

Essentially the facts are not disputed. Blake was injured on January 25,1990, when the motor vehicle (vehicle) he was operating collided with the railing on Interstate 44, near Springfield, Missouri, as he avoided an uninsured motorist whose automobile had spun out of control. Blake owned the vehicle he was operating at the time of the accident but had leased it to his employer, Central. Central is a transport company with its principal place of business in the state of Michigan, but was conducting business in the state of Missouri at the time of the accident.

On December 13, 1983, Blake and Central had entered into an owner-lessor agreement in the state of Missouri (agreement) regarding the vehicle, whereby Central was to provide insurance coverage for the vehicle. The agreement provides in pertinent part:

OWNER LESSOR LEASE AGREEMENT
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8. The Lessee has the legal obligation to maintain insurance coverage for the protection of the public pursuant to regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission. ...
9.The Lessee shall furnish and pay the cost of job liability, property damage, and cargo insurance on the equipment while same is operated in the service of the Lessee. The Lessee shall keep and maintain this insurance coverage at or above the minimum amounts required by the applicable laws of the states in which the equipment travels.
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Further, at the time of the accident Blake had in “full force” tvro contracts of insurance with State Farm Insurance Company (State [807]*807Farm), an insurance company operating under the laws of Missouri.

Pursuant to the agreement, Central purchased an insurance policy (policy) from the National American Insurance Company (NAIC), located in Chandler, Oklahoma. The policy was negotiated in Michigan, and written by NAIC in Oklahoma. The policy was delivered to Central’s place of business in Michigan.

The policy applies to “ALL EQUIPMENT OWNED AND/OR OPERATED BY THE NAMED INSURED,” and provides in pertinent part:

SECTION II-LIABILITY COVERAGE 2. COVERAGE EXTENSIONS
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b. Out of State Coverage Extensions. While a covered “auto” is away from the state where it is licensed we will:
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(2) Provide the minimum amounts and types of other coverages, such as no-fault, required of out of state vehicles by the jurisdiction where the covered “auto” is being used.
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Initially, we note that Blake’s original petition is not part of the record. However, in his second amended petition (petition) against Central, and State Farm, Blake essentially alleges that pursuant to section 379.203, Central must comply with the agreement which includes a provision that Central provide uninsured motorist coverage for Blake. In count two of his petition, Blake alleges that pursuant to two personal insurance contracts provided by State Farm, Blake was to receive uninsured motorist coverage from State Farm. Blake later filed a motion to dismiss count two of his petition against State Farm, leaving only the claims against Central.

Subsequently, Central filed its answer to Blake’s petition admitting that Central was a corporation doing business in Missouri as a transport company, and that Blake had leased a vehicle to Central. However, Central denied essentially all of the allegations made by Blake. In addition, Central raised several affirmative defenses including: (1) Blake’s failure to state a cause of action against Central for which relief could be granted because (a) under the applicable laws of Missouri Central was not required to provide uninsured motorist coverage because of the exemption afforded common carriers; and (b) Blake failed to state a cause of action under section 379.203; (2) Blake’s cause of action was barred by the sole remedy of worker’s compensation; and (3) whatever injuries and/or damages Blake allegedly sustained, they were caused and/or contributed to in whole or in part by his own negligence in failing to keep a careful lookout for his own safety and any recovery should be reduced by the amount of plaintiffs comparative fault.

On August 30, 1996, Central filed a motion for summary judgment, accompanied by exhibits A, B, and C. Exhibit A is Blake’s petition; exhibit B is the affidavit of Mark Dadabbo (Dadabbo), President of Liberty Bell Agency (Liberty Bell), who has personal knowledge of Central’s operations and the issuance of an insurance policy to cover its leased vehicles, in which he states that after negotiations between Central in Michigan with NAIC in Oklahoma, the policy was issued to Central by NAIC, and was delivered to Central at its principal place of business and place of incorporation in Michigan. In Exhibit C, Central provided the opinion in Weaver v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 936 S.W.2d 818 (Mo.App. E.D.1996) (now reported as 936 S.W.2d 818 (Mo. banc 1997)), which indicates that section 303.360 exempts common carriers from the requirements of Chapter 303. In its motion, Central prays that: (1) section 379.203 did not apply as the insurance policy was delivered in the state of Michigan; (2) common carriers are exempt from providing uninsured motorist coverage pursuant to section 303.350; and therefore Central was not required to provide uninsured motorist coverage for the accident.

On or about October 8,1996, Blake filed an untimely response and memorandum in opposition to Central’s motion for summary [808]*808judgment, accompanied by his affidavit, and a copy of the agreement, exhibit A; a copy of the endorsement changes to the policy as of 1987, exhibit B; a copy of the endorsement changes to the policy as of 1988, exhibit C; and exhibit D, which is two letters Blake had received from: (1) Pam Semany, a claims representative of Liberty Bell, stating that Liberty Bell was the claim agent for Central and NAIC, and the policy did not include uninsured motorist coverage; and (2) John Rehmer, a claims representative at State Farm, stating that Blake did have two policies in force with State Farm, worth $25,000 each, on the date of the accident.

In his response, Blake reiterates the allegations set forth in his petition. Further, Blake’s affidavit states that upon entering into the agreement with Central, Blake signed the agreement in St.

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Bluebook (online)
985 S.W.2d 805, 1998 Mo. App. LEXIS 2327, 1998 WL 1021746, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/central-transport-inc-v-blake-moctapp-1998.