Collins v. Farris

897 So. 2d 634, 2003 La.App. 1 Cir. 1991
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 3, 2004
Docket2003 CA 1991
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 897 So. 2d 634 (Collins v. Farris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collins v. Farris, 897 So. 2d 634, 2003 La.App. 1 Cir. 1991 (La. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

897 So.2d 634 (2004)

Loyetta COLLINS
v.
Charles FARRIS, Salsbury's Dodge City, Inc., and Federated Mutual Insurance Company.

No. 2003 CA 1991.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

November 3, 2004.

*636 Richard G. Whitworth, Boudreaux & Whitworth, Baton Rouge, for Plaintiff-Appellant Loyetta Collins.

Bruce A. Cranner, Douglas P. Matthews, Gary L. Hanes, Frilot, Partridge, Kohnke & Clements, L.C., New Orleans, for Defendant-Appellee Evanston Insurance Company.

Before: FOIL, PARRO, and KUHN, JJ.

PARRO, J.

In this personal injury case, Loyetta Collins appeals a summary judgment in favor of her employer's business automobile liability insurance company, Evanston Insurance Company (Evanston), dismissing her claims against Evanston for uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM) coverage on that policy. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On February 13, 1999, Collins was driving her own car and making pizza deliveries for her employer, RPM Pizza, Inc. (RPM), when she was injured as the result of a hit and run accident. She sued the *637 owner and the operator of the other vehicle[1] and also sued Evanston, seeking coverage under the UM provisions of the business automobile liability policy issued to RPM. Evanston eventually filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking the dismissal of Collins' claims. She opposed the motion and filed a motion for partial summary judgment, seeking a finding of coverage under the UM provisions of the Evanston policy. Both motions were heard on May 19, 2003, and judgment was rendered in favor of Evanston. In oral reasons for judgment, the trial court stated:

I think that the policy, under Part Four, Section [C-4], excludes coverage in this instance. Bodily injury to any employee of the insured arising out of and in the course of his employment by the insured. Because the exclusion is clear on its face, not ambiguous at all, I'm going to grant summary judgment in favor of the defendant and deny the motion for partial summary judgment on behalf of the plaintiff.

On June 3, 2003, the trial court signed a judgment denying Collins' motion for partial summary judgment, granting Evanston's motion for summary judgment, and dismissing Collins' claims against Evanston.

Collins has appealed that judgment. In her first assignment of error, she claims the trial court erred in holding that the referenced employee exclusion removed her from liability coverage, and thus, from UM coverage under the policy. Her second assignment of error is that the trial court erred in failing to find omnibus coverage for her UM claims under the policy. In her third assignment, she challenges the court's conclusion that she did not have UM coverage as an employee, just because the only named insureds under the policy were corporations. Finally, she contends that ambiguity in the policy should have been interpreted in favor of coverage and against Evanston.

APPLICABLE LAW

Summary Judgment

In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, appellate courts conduct a de novo review of the evidence, employing the same criteria that govern the district court's determination of whether summary judgment is appropriate. Schwehm v. Jones, 03-0109 (La.App. 1st Cir.2/23/04), 872 So.2d 1140, 1144. The issue of whether an insurance policy, as a matter of law, provides or precludes coverage is a dispute that can be resolved properly within the framework of a motion for summary judgment. Johnson v. Allstate Ins. Co., 95-1953 (La.App. 1st Cir.5/10/96), 673 So.2d 345, 347, writ denied, 96-1292 (La.6/28/96), 675 So.2d 1126. When the issue before the court on the motion for summary judgment is one on which the party bringing the motion will bear the burden of proof at trial, the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact is and remains on the party bringing the motion. See LSA-C.C.P. art. 966(C)(2); Richardson v. Lott, 03-0189 (La.App. 1st Cir.11/7/03), 868 So.2d 64, 69, writ denied, 03-3324 (La.2/13/04), 867 So.2d 707.

An insurer seeking to avoid coverage through summary judgment has the burden of proof that coverage is not provided under the policy. See Gaylord Chemical Corp. v. ProPump, Inc., 98-2367 (La.App. 1st Cir.2/18/00), 753 So.2d 349, 352; Smith v. Terrebonne Parish Consol. *638 Gov't, 02-1423 (La.App. 1st Cir.7/02/03), 858 So.2d 671, 673. Summary judgment declaring a lack of coverage under an insurance policy may not be rendered unless there is no reasonable interpretation of the policy, when applied to the undisputed material facts shown by the evidence supporting the motion, under which coverage could be afforded. Reynolds v. Select Properties, Ltd., 93-1480 (La.4/11/94), 634 So.2d 1180, 1183; Brown v. Coregis Ins. Co., 99-0048 (La.App. 1st Cir.2/18/00), 752 So.2d 347, 352.

Interpretation of Insurance Policy

An insurance policy is a contract between the parties and should be construed using the general rules of interpretation of contracts set forth in the Civil Code. Louisiana Ins. Guar. Ass'n v. Interstate Fire & Cas. Co., 93-0911 (La.1/14/94), 630 So.2d 759, 763; see LSA-C.C. arts. 2045-2057. Analysis should begin with a review of the words in the insurance contract, and the contract must be enforced as written when the words are clear and explicit and lead to no absurd consequences. See LSA-C.C. art. 2046; Dyess v. American Nat. Prop. & Cas. Co., 03-1971 (La.App. 1st Cir.6/25/04), 886 So.2d 448, 451. If, after applying the other general rules of construction, an ambiguity remains, the ambiguous contractual provision is to be construed against the insurer who issued the policy and in favor of the insured. Smith v. Matthews, 611 So.2d 1377, 1379 (La.1993); see LSA-C.C. art. 2056.

UM Coverage

Under Louisiana's UM statute,[2] automobile liability insurance delivered or issued for delivery in Louisiana and arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle registered in Louisiana and designed for use on public highways must provide UM motorist coverage equal to the liability coverage provided to the insured for bodily injury, unless UM coverage has been validly rejected or lower UM limits have been selected. Jones v. Henry, 542 So.2d 507, 508 (La.1989). The object of UM coverage is to provide full recovery for automobile accident victims who suffer damages caused by a tortfeasor who is not covered by adequate liability insurance. Henson v. Safeco Ins. Companies, 585 So.2d 534, 537 (La.1991). Exclusionary provisions in automobile liability insurance policies are to be strictly construed in favor of coverage. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Noyes, 02-1876 (La.App. 1st Cir.2/23/04), 872 So.2d 1133, 1136.

Although Louisiana's public policy strongly favors UM coverage and a liberal construction of the UM statute, it is well-settled that a person who does not qualify as an insured for liability coverage under a policy of insurance is not entitled to UM coverage under the policy. Magnon v. Collins, 98-2822 (La.7/7/99), 739 So.2d 191, 196. UM coverage attaches to the person of the insured, not the vehicle, and any person who enjoys the status of insured under a Louisiana motor vehicle liability policy which includes UM coverage enjoys such coverage protection simply by reason of having sustained injury by an uninsured or underinsured motorist. Howell v. Balboa Ins. Co.,

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Bluebook (online)
897 So. 2d 634, 2003 La.App. 1 Cir. 1991, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-farris-lactapp-2004.