Collins v. Farmers Insurance

822 P.2d 1146, 312 Or. 337, 1991 Ore. LEXIS 85
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 12, 1991
DocketCC A8712-07559; CA A51200; SC S37212
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 822 P.2d 1146 (Collins v. Farmers Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collins v. Farmers Insurance, 822 P.2d 1146, 312 Or. 337, 1991 Ore. LEXIS 85 (Or. 1991).

Opinions

[339]*339PETERSON, J.

This declaratory judgment proceeding concerns the amount of liability insurance available under the defendant’s motor vehicle liability insurance policy. The plaintiff asserts that because an exclusion in the defendant’s policy is “illegal,” the exclusion must be disregarded, as a result of which $100,000 of insurance coverage is available. The defendant asserts that the exclusion is unenforceable only to the extent of the $25,000 mandated by the Financial Responsibility Law. We agree with the defendant.

Ernest and Irene Gali had a motor vehicle liability policy with the defendant, with liability limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. Their nephew, the plaintiff, lived with them.

The defendant’s policy contained these provisions, among others:

“Throughout this policy, ‘you’ and ‘your’ mean the ‘named insured’ shown in the Declarations and spouse if a resident of the same household. ‘We,’ ‘us’ and ‘our’ mean the Company named in the Declarations which provides this insurance.”
“Family member means a person related to you by blood, marriage or adoption who is a resident of your household.”
“Insured person means * * * you or any family member.”
“We will pay damages for which any insured person is legally hable because of bodily injury to any person and property damage arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a private passenger car, a utility car, or a utility trailer.” (Bold in original.)

The policy also contained exclusion 11(a):

“This coverage does not apply to * * * [ljiability for bodily injury to an insured person.”
The plaintiff agrees that he was a “family member” who therefore comes within the definition of “insured person.”

The policy also contained this sentence:

“Policy terms which conflict with laws of Oregon are hereby amended to conform to such laws.”

In 1987, the plaintiff was injured while riding as a passenger in the Galis’ car. At the time of the accident, the car [340]*340was being operated by the plaintiffs cousin, Stacey Gali, the daughter of Ernest and Irene Gali. The plaintiff made a claim for damages for bodily injuries. The defendant responded with this offer:

“This letter is to communicate our offer of settlement of $25,000.00.
“Our insured’s policy limits are $100,000.00, but that limit does not apply because of exclusion #11 (a) of the policy, which reads ‘This coverage does not apply to Liability for bodily injuxy to an insured person.’
‘ ‘The policy defines ‘Insured Person’ as ‘you or any family member.’ ‘Family Member’ is defined as ‘a person related to you by blood, marriage or adoption who is a resident of your household.’
“We understand that this exclusion does not apply to the 25/50 limits required by the financial responsibility statutes, and that is what our offer is based upon.”

The plaintiff disagreed with the defendant that only $25,000 of coverage was available and filed a complaint for declaratory judgment, asserting that the exclusion quoted above is unenforceable and that, therefore, the full liability limit ($100,000) was available.

Both sides moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted the plaintiffs motion, denied the defendant’s, and entered a judgment declaring that the insurance policy provides $100,000 liability coverage on the plaintiffs bodily injury claims. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Collins v. Farmers Ins. Co., 101 Or App 463, 791 P2d 498 (1990).

Under Oregon law, every motor vehicle liability insurance policy issued for delivery in Oregon must, at the least, provide coverage in the amounts required by statute. ORS 742.450.1 See Viking Ins. Co. v. Petersen, 308 Or 616, [341]*341621, 784 P2d 437 (1989) (because statute listing mandatory contents of motor vehicle liability policy refers to statute stating minimum coverage requirements, every such policy must contain that coverage as a minimum). The minimum coverage for bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident is $25,000. ORS 806.070(2)(a).

The only question before us concerns the effect of exclusion 11(a). Is the exclusion to be disregarded only as to the amount of the minimum liability coverage required by ORS 742.450 (and ORS 806.080)? Or is the exclusion to be disregarded totally? ORS 742.464 answers the question. It contains two sentences and three clauses:

“Any policy which grants the coverage required for a motor vehicle liability insurance policy under ORS 742.450, 806.080 and 806.270 may also grant any lawful coverage in excess of or in addition to the required coverage, and such excess or additional coverage shall not be subject to the [342]*342provisions of ORS 742.031, 742.400 and 742.450 to 742.464. With respect to a policy which grants such excess or additional coverage only that part of the coverage which is required by ORS 806.080 and 806.270 is subject to the requirements of those sections.”

Each sentence and clause of ORS 742.464 has an unambiguous meaning. The first clause — “Any policy which grants the coverage required for a motor vehicle liability insurance policy under ORS 742.450, 806.080 and 806.270 may also grant any lawful coverage in excess of or in addition to the required coverage” — means that liability insurers can write motor vehicle liability insurance policies with higher limits and coverage than that required by ORS 742.450, 806.080, and 806.270.

The second clause of the first sentence of ORS 742.464 — “and such excess or additional coverage shall not be subject to the provisions of ORS 742.031, 742.400 and 742.450 to 742.464” — means that the mandatory requirements of three statutes referred to in ORS 742.450

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Bluebook (online)
822 P.2d 1146, 312 Or. 337, 1991 Ore. LEXIS 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-farmers-insurance-or-1991.