Connolly v. Great Basin Insurance Company

431 P.2d 921, 6 Ariz. App. 280, 1967 Ariz. App. LEXIS 560
Court of Appeals of Arizona·Decided September 12, 1967·No. 2 CA-CIV 407·Published·Cited by 38 cases

Opinion

*282 MOLLOY, Judge.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment rendered in favor of a liability insurance company against three individuals, who bear to one another the relationship of father, mother, and son, and who will be referred to in this opinion as “the Connollys.” The judgment decrees that the Connollys and a certain Donaldson had no coverage under a liability policy issued by the defendant insurance company as to claims arising out of an accident because of provision in the policy excluding coverage for automobiles “furnished for regular use” of the son. In addition to the problem of insurance coverage posed by the briefs, this court finds a problem of “indispensable parties” involved in this appeal.

The facts upon which the judgment below is based were established by pretrial discovery procedures, including depositions, interrogatories and requests for admission. The father and mother, hereinafter referred to as “the parents,” were covered by another insurance company, Home Indem- ' nity Company, for liability on two automobiles owned by them, a 1962 Chevrolet Impala, two-door coupe, a 1963 Volkswagen, two-door sedan (neither of these cars were involved in the accident in question). Home Indemnity, because of the ‘driving record of the son, had placed in its liability policy an endorsement excepting ‘all coverage for the son.

The insurance agent from whom the Connollys regularly purchased insurance thereafter attempted to secure insurance for the son through the “Automobile Assigned Risk Plan,” with offices in San Francisco, California. This agency refeived the request to the appellee, Great Basin Insurance Company, and a policy of insurance was issued with the son as the named insured, which policy is the subject of this appeal. The policy issued was on a standard form usually used to provide insurance for a specific motor vehicle, or vehicles. However, there is no vehicle described in the policy and in that part of the policy in which the description of the insured vehicle would ordinarily be placed, there were typed the words “NON-OWNER POLICY.” Under “Insuring Agreement V” of the policy, it provided coverage for “use of other automobiles,” which coverage will hereinafter be discussed in more detail.

The written application in pursuance of which this policy was issued had typed at the beginning: “PLEASE ISSUE A NON-OWNER POLICY.” Under “Item 5” of the application, under which there was to be given a description of “ALL motor vehicles owned by applicant or any member of the same household” (the son lived with his parents), there were listed only the two cars covered by the other insurance company. The application under “Item 7” indicated that there were no motor vehicles furnished for the regular use of the applicant or his spouse (the son was not married). As to the two motor vehicles covered by Home Indemnity, it was indicated (“Item 13”) that neither vehicle was “owned or principally operated by an' unmarried male under 25.” The applicant was 18 years of age at the time of the application.

When this application was made, the son had been constructing a custom-built roadster for more than a year, fabricating it out of a 1964 Corvette frame and engine and parts specially purchased. The car was not actually test driven until after the issuance of the Great Basin liability policy. Registration for the car was issued after the policy, and the registration indicated the father to be the owner of the new car.

The policy issued by Great Basin in Insuring Agreement V, pertaining to “Use of Other Automobiles,” states in pertinent part:

“V. Use of Other Automobiles. If the named insured is an individual or husband and wife and if during the policy period such named insured, or the spouse of such individual if a resident of the same household, owns a private passenger automobile covered by this policy, such *283 insurance as is afforded by this policy * * * with respect to said automobile applies with respect to any other automobile, subject to the following provisions :
“(a) With respect to the insurance for bodily injury liability and for property damage liability the unqualified word ‘insured’ includes (1) such named insured and spouse, and (2) any other person or organization legally responsible for the use by such named insured or spouse of an automobile not owned or hired by such other person or organization.” ******
“(d) This insuring agreement does not apply: (1) to any automobile owned by or furnished for regular use to either the named insured or a member of the same household other than a private chauffeur or domestic servant of such named insured or spouse;” * *
(Emphasis added.)
s|: ijc s|í sji

At about the time the custom-built roadster began to be used, the parents’ insurance agent wrote to Great Basin as follows:

“The named insured may become a principal driver of an automobile owned by his parents. We have excluded coverage for this boy on the family contract and would like to have your recommendations as to what changes, if any, should be made.”

To this letter, Great Basin responded that if the named insured became the “principal driver of an automobile owned by his parents,” there would be an additional premium, raising the premium from the sum of $288, which had previously been paid by the parents, to the sum of $542. This information, according to the deposition of the insurance agent, was transmitted to the parents, who never indicated that they wished the additional coverage, never paid the additional premium, and hence the Great Basin policy was never changed. The testimony of this insurance agent stands unrefuted. Requests for admissions, which were not answered by the Connollys, establish for the purposes of this record, Rule 36(a) Rules of Civil Procedure, 16 A.R.S., that the custom-built roadster was a vehicle “bought and maintained” by the parents for the “regular use of the son” and that the son was the “principal driver of said vehicle.”

At the time of an accident which occurred on May 17, 1964, a date within the time limits of the Great Basin policy, a Robert Donaldson was driving the roadster, with the son and a Donna Morrison as passengers.

The only tort claims mentioned in the complaint are those of the passenger, Donna Morrison, “against the plaintiffs, Joseph A. Connolly and Margaret Connolly, husband and wife, claiming negligence.” The complaint alleges that serious injuries were sustained by the son in the collision in question, but refers to no claims or contentions of liability made by him. There is no suggestion in the record that the parents or Donaldson have any claims arising out of the accident. Neither Morrison nor Donaldson were joined in this action.

The “complaint for declaratory judgment” alleges that “an actual controversy” exists between the parties “ * * * relating to the legal rights and duties of the parties under and by virtue of said contracts of insurance by reason of the accident herein before described.” It is further alleged that Great Basin has denied “ * * * any claims or rights of the plaintiffs * * * ” by reason of the subject policy of insurance.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Connolly v. Great Basin Insurance Company, 431 P.2d 921, 6 Ariz. App. 280, 1967 Ariz. App. LEXIS 560 (Ark. Ct. App. 1967).

431 P.2d 921 (Connolly v. Great Basin Insurance Company) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Hirschi v. Hirschi
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2024
Maricopa v. Rana
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2020
Turley v. Beus
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2017
Desert Gardens v. Town of Quartzsite
Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2015
Marriage of Gerow v. Covill
960 P.2d 55 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1998)
Safeway Insurance v. Collins
963 P.2d 1085 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1998)
Quinnan v. New Hampshire Ins. Co.
97 F.3d 1460 (Ninth Circuit, 1996)
Worth v. Civil Service Commission
746 S.W.2d 364 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1988)
Worth v. CIV. SERVICE COM'N OF EL DORADO
746 S.W.2d 364 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1988)
Orada v. MGIC Indemnity Corp.
608 F. Supp. 383 (D. Hawaii, 1985)
Darner Motor Sales, Inc. v. Universal Underwriters Insurance
682 P.2d 388 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1984)
State Compensation Fund v. Industrial Commission
666 P.2d 542 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1983)
Western Casualty & Surety Co. v. Evans
636 P.2d 111 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1981)
Motor Club of America Insurance v. McCroskey
400 N.E.2d 269 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1980)
Parks v. American Cas. Co. of Reading, Pa.
572 P.2d 801 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1977)
Sellers v. Allstate Insurance Company
555 P.2d 1113 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1976)
Sellers v. Allstate Insurance
544 P.2d 699 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1976)
Citizens' Committee for the Recall of Williams v. Marston
507 P.2d 113 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1973)
Planned Parenthood Center of Tucson, Inc. v. Marks
497 P.2d 534 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1972)