Coombs v. Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Company

531 P.2d 1145, 23 Ariz. App. 207, 1975 Ariz. App. LEXIS 512
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedFebruary 20, 1975
Docket1 CA-CIV 2262
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 531 P.2d 1145 (Coombs v. Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coombs v. Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Company, 531 P.2d 1145, 23 Ariz. App. 207, 1975 Ariz. App. LEXIS 512 (Ark. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

OPINION

DONOFRIO, Judge.

This is an appeal from a declaratory judgment action in which summary judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff-appellee insurance company adjudging that the appellee was not liable on an automobile insurance policy issued to defendant-appellant Wayne Garroutte. We are called upon to determine whether the trial court committed error in granting plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment.

In approaching this question we are governed by the rule that when the pleadings, depositions, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits and exhibits, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact involved in the issues formed by the pleadings, the trial court may grant summary judgment. See Rule 56, Rules of Civil Procedure, 16 A.R.S.

In the declaratory judgment complaint plaintiff sought to have the court declare that a Family Automobile Policy issued to Wayne Garroutte did not cover an automobile purchased by his son, David Garroutte, and driven by his son, Michael Garroutte, which was involved in an accident on January 31, 1970 in which Steven Coombs and David E. Peterson were injured. Coombs and Peterson are seeking to recover for those injuries in a separate action.

The record contains certain admissions of defendant Wayne Garroutte in which he admitted that when his son, David Garroutte, left for military service he left the 1956 Chevrolet, which David had purchased, at Wayne Garroutte’s home for the regular use of the members of Wayne Garroutte’s household. In considering the statements of fact in the various instruments, they are to be taken as true except when the facts are stated as mere conclusions of ultimate fact or of law. Lujan v. MacMurtrie, 94 Ariz. 273, 383 P.2d 187 (1963) (referrring to the test as contained in Rule 56(c)).

The facts leading to this appeal which must be viewed in the light most favorable to the defendants, the parties opposing the summary judgment, are as follows. The automobile in question was purchased by David Garroutte, the son of defendant Wayne Garroutte, on or about January 19, 1970, while David was home on leave from the armed services. David returned to duty on or about January 23, 1970, leaving the automobile in the custody and control of his father, Wayne Garroutte, for the use and benefit of the members of Wayne Garroutte’s household. On or about January 31, 1970 defendant Michael Garroutte, the brother of David and the son of Wayne, was home on a seventy-two hour pass from the armed services and was given permission by his father, Wayne Garroutte, to drive the automobile. While driving it, he was involved in a one-car accident in which the appellants, Steven Coombs and David E. Peterson, were injured. Coombs and Peterson brought suit against Michael Garroutte and Wayne Garroutte in which they allege the negligence of the driver, Michael Garroutte.

David Garroutte had purchased no insurance on the automobile prior to his returning to his duty station. Defendant Wayne Garroutte had a family automobile policy with the plaintiff company, which policy insured certain “owned” and “non-owned” automobiles used by the family. The coverage of said policy is the subject of this appeal. The issues were raised by cross-motions for summary judgment.

Defendant Wayne Garroutte gave a statement concerning the accident to the Ed Greenwood Insurance Agency (through which the family automobile policy was obtained) on February 12, 1970. It is undis *209 puted that the accident and the statement made by Wayne Garroutte to the Greenwood Insurance Agency occurred within thirty days of the time David Garroutte purchased the car and turned it over to his father. It is to be noted at this point that under the provisions of the policy the insured had thirty days in which to notify the company that he had acquired ownership of an additional automobile. This thirty-day grace period would not apply, however, unless the automobile were an “owned” automobile. It is also undisputed that David used his own money for the purchase and that title and registration for the automobile were in David’s name.

A careful analysis of the policy shows that it provided coverage for any automobile of which the insured actually acquired “ownership” during the policy period, and it also covered the insured and members of his family while driving certain “non-owned” cars, provided that those cars were not furnished for the “regular use” of either the named insured or any relative, other than a temporary substitute automobile. It also provided coverage for the operation of an automobile under a provision automatically insuring automobiles “owned” by the insured for 30 days after acquisition of same.

First we must pass upon whether the language of the policy is ambiguous. The question of whether a contract is ambiguous or uncertain is a question of law for the court to decide. Here both parties having moved for summary judgment and there being no dispute of fact or as to the wording of the policy, it is our duty now to construe the contract as a matter of law. Carrick v. Sturtevant, 28 Ariz. 5, 234 P. 1080 (1925) ; Sleizer v. Arizona Title Ins. and Trust Co., 9 Ariz.App. 361, 452 P.2d 526 (1969); Kintner v. Wolfe, 102 Ariz. 164, 426 P.2d 798 (1967); Valentine v. Shepherd, 19 Ariz. 241, 168 P. 643 (1917); University Realty & Development Co. v. Omid-Gaf, Inc., 19 Ariz.App. 488, 508 P.2d 747 (1973); Gardiner v. Gaither, 162 Cal.App.2d 607, 329 P.2d 22 (1958). The mere fact that parties to an instrument disagree as to its meaning does not establish its ambiguity. 17A C.J.S. Contracts § 294. We are unable to find any ambiguity in the policy.

The terms “owned” and “non-owned” automobiles to which coverage extended are defined in the policy. The court is then left with the responsibility of construing the insurance contract in the light of the admissions of defendant Wayne Garroutte. Rule 36(b) of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, 16 A.R.S., provides that any matter admitted under this rule is conclusively established unless the court on motion permits withdrawal or amendment of the admission. Where a written contract is clear and unequivocal, its meaning must be determined by its contents alone, and a meaning cannot be given to it other than that expressed. Kreig v. Hammels, 29 Ariz. 280, 240 P. 1031 (1925) ; Brady v. Black Mountain Inv. Co., 105 Ariz. 87, 459 P.2d 712 (1969); Goodman v. Newzona Inv. Co., 101 Ariz. 470, 421 P.2d 318 (1966).

We find that the record does not indicate the existence of a genuine issue as to any material fact, and that the trial judge was correct in his construction of the insurance contract and award of summary judgment.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
531 P.2d 1145, 23 Ariz. App. 207, 1975 Ariz. App. LEXIS 512, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coombs-v-lumbermens-mutual-casualty-company-arizctapp-1975.