Continental Insurance Co. v. Kenneth Bodie

682 F.2d 436, 1982 U.S. App. LEXIS 17901
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedJune 28, 1982
Docket81-1253, 81-1416/17
StatusPublished
Cited by197 cases

This text of 682 F.2d 436 (Continental Insurance Co. v. Kenneth Bodie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Continental Insurance Co. v. Kenneth Bodie, 682 F.2d 436, 1982 U.S. App. LEXIS 17901 (3d Cir. 1982).

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

WEINER, District Judge.

This is an appeal from the denial of plaintiff-appellant’s motion for summary judgment, grant of defendant-appellee’s cross-motion for summary judgment, and entry of judgment in favor of defendant-appellee and declaring defendant-appellee an insured driver under plaintiff-appellant’s liability insurance policy. Because we conclude that there are disputed issues of fact so that summary judgment was inappropriate in this matter, we shall remand for further proceedings.

I.

On August 8, 1975, Earl Drummond (Drummond) rented an automobile for a three day period from Preferred Rentals, Inc. (Preferred), a St. Croix, Virgin Islands car rental agency insured by Continental Insurance Co. (Continental). On the next day, August 9th, a daughter of Drummond was to be married, and while driving members of the wedding party to the ceremony, Kenneth Bodie, (Bodie), Drummond’s 25 year old brother, lost control of the rented car, and Lester Pool (Pool), Drummond’s nephew, was seriously injured. Drummond was not in the car at the time of the accident. Just how and why Bodie happened to be driving the vehicle is in essence the subject of this appeal. The district court said the following in its “Factual Background:” “Having the obligation of transporting members of the wedding party to the church, a few miles distant, Drummond turned over the rented car to his 25 year old brother, Kenneth Bodie, whom he had engaged to drive that group of ushers and bridesmaids.” App. 506a.

On February 22, 1980, Pool brought a personal injury action against Bodie, who notified Continental, the insurer of the car. Continental disclaimed coverage and refused to defend, and subsequently filed this action for a declaratory judgment that Bod-ie was not insured under the policy issued by Continental to Preferred. In the interim, Pool recovered a $2,720,700.00 judgment against Bodie. This appeal followed grant of summary judgment in favor of Bodie and against Continental.

II.

A.

At issue in this case is the coverage, with regard to the use of the automobile by Bodie, of the insurance policy issued by Continental to Preferred. The decision of this court in Buntin v. Continental Insurance Co., 583 F.2d 1201 (3d Cir. 1978) makes clear that the relevant document for the court’s consideration is the Continental insurance policy, issued to Preferred, not the rental agreement between Preferred and Bodie, for it is the former which governs the scope of Continental’s coverage. Id. at 1205.

Buntin involved the very same policy of Continental providing insurance to Preferred, and a similar issue of coverage to one other than Preferred's permittee. We held there that where the insured vehicle was being used for the purposes and benefit of the named insured’s permittee, and while [438]*438the permittee was travelling in the car, the person actually driving the car was included within the omnibus clause and was an additional insured under the policy. Id.

The Buntin court then ruled that the so-called “omnibus clause” of the policy, rather than the conflicting Endorsement No. Two rider, was the controlling definition of “insured.” The omnibus clause provides as follows:

“HI Definition of Insured
(a) With respect to the insurance for bodily injury liability and for property damage liability the unqualified word ‘insured’ includes the named insured and, if the named insured is an individual, his spouse if a resident of the same household, and also includes any person while using the automobile and any person or organization legally responsible for the use thereof, provided the actual use of the automobile is by the named insured or such spouse or with the permission of either. The insurance with respect to any person or organization other than the named insured or such spouse does not apply.”

B.

In resolving the question of whether Bod-ie was an “insured” within the meaning of the policy, the district court stated that “Bodie was using the car for Drummond’s purposes and benefit as he was transporting members of Drummond’s daughter’s wedding party when the accident occurred.” App. 511a. That finding was apparently based upon the statement in the court’s recital of the “Factual Background” that “Drummond turned over the rented car to his 25 year old brother, Kenneth Bodie, whom he had engaged to drive that group of ushers and bridesmaids.” App. 506a. The court thus found that “[sjince the vehicle was being utilized within the scope of the permitted use, that is by ... [Drum-mond], the person actually operating it would be included within the omnibus clause and would be an additional insured under the policy.” App. 511a.

Following that conclusion, the court then rejected Continental’s legal argument that permitted use under the omnibus clause extends only so far as to include coverage of one using the car while Preferred’s original permittee (here, Drummond) is in the car at the same time, but not when that permittee is not in the car, as was the situation here. App. 511a. The district court also refused to deny coverage on the basis of Bodie being an unlicensed driver. App. 512a.

III.

Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment may be entered only “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” This court has previously characterized summary judgment as a “drastic remedy,” and made clear “that courts are to resolve any doubts as to the existence of genuine issues of fact against the moving parties.” Hollinger v. Wagner Mining Equipment Co., 667 F.2d 402, 405 (3d Cir. 1981); Ness v. Marshall, 660 F.2d 517, 519 (3d Cir. 1981); Tomalewski v. State Farm Life Ins. Co., 494 F.2d 882, 884 (3d Cir. 1974).

Furthermore, “inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts contained in the evidential sources submitted to the trial court must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.” Hollinger v. Wagner Mining Equipment Co., 667 F.2d at 405; Goodman v. Mead Johnson & Co., 534 F.2d 566, 573 (3d Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1038, 97 S.Ct. 732, 50 L.Ed.2d 748 (1977). “Any reasonable inferences from the facts must be resolved in favor of the parties against whom the judgment is entered.” Peterson v. Lehigh Valley District Council, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, 676 F.2d 81, at 84 (3d Cir. 1982); Betz Laboratories, Inc. v. Hines, 647 F.2d 402, 404 (3d Cir. 1981).

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Bluebook (online)
682 F.2d 436, 1982 U.S. App. LEXIS 17901, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/continental-insurance-co-v-kenneth-bodie-ca3-1982.