Crenwelge v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co.

277 So. 2d 155, 1973 La. App. LEXIS 6994
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 12, 1973
Docket4090
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 277 So. 2d 155 (Crenwelge v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co.) 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
Crenwelge v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 277 So. 2d 155, 1973 La. App. LEXIS 6994 (La. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

277 So.2d 155 (1973)

David CRENWELGE et al.
v.
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY et al.

No. 4090.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

March 12, 1973.
Rehearing Denied April 4, 1973.

*156 Lunn, Irion, Switzer, Johnson & Salley, by Harry A. Johnson, Shreveport, for defendants-appellants.

Makar & Whitaker, by John B. Makar, Natchitoches, for defendant-appellant.

Gahagan & Kelly, by Donald G. Kelly, Natchitoches, for plaintiff-appellee.

Before SAVOY, HOOD and CULPEPPER, JJ.

CULPEPPER, Judge.

David Crenwelge, individually and as administrator of the estate of his minor daughter, Melanie Kay Crenwelge, seeks damages resulting from a two car collision. The defendants are (1) State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, which carried uninsured motorist coverage under separate policies on two automobiles owned by Mr. Crenwelge, and (2) Adam Mallard, the driver of the uninsured vehicle involved in the accident.

The district judge found the accident was caused solely by the negligence of Adam Mallard, driver of the uninsured vehicle, and that plaintiffs could "stack" both the uninsured motorist coverages and the medical payments coverages under the two policies issued to Mr. Crenwelge. Judgment was also awarded in favor of State Farm on its third party demand against Mallard. Only the defendant insurer has appealed.

The issues on appeal are: (1) the stacking of the uninsured motorist coverages; (2) the stacking of medical payments coverages; (3) the assessment of penalties and attorney's fees against State Farm for failing to pay medical payments; (4) the quantums of the awards for personal injuries; and (5) the award for certain expenses resulting from "bodily injury" to Melanie.

GENERAL FACTS

The general facts are that Mr. Crenwelge was driving his Volkswagen automobile, with his minor daughter, Melanie, as a passenger. When he reached an intersection on the highway, the defendant Mallard, who was approaching from the opposite direction, turned left in the path of the Crenwelge vehicle, causing a headon collision. The accident was caused solely by the negligence of Mallard. Both Mr. Crenwelge and his daughter sustained serious personal injuries. We conclude hereinafter the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in awarding general damages in the sum of $12,500 to Melanie and $6,500 to Mr. Crenwelge.

*157 STACKING UNINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGES

In addition to the Volkswagen which he was driving, Mr. Crenwelge owned a Plymouth. State Farm had issued to Mr. Crenwelge a separate liability policy on each automobile. Each policy provided uninsured motorist coverage of $5,000 for each person and $10,000 for each accident. The vehicle being driven by Mallard was uninsured.

In two recent cases our Supreme Court overruled several court of appeal decisions and allowed stacking of uninsured motorist coverages provided by separate policies. In Graham v. American Casualty Company, 261 La. 85, 259 So.2d 22 (1972), plaintiff was a guest passenger in an automobile which collided with an uninsured motorist. Neither vehicle involved in the accident provided uninsured motorist coverage for her damages of $25,000. However, plaintiff had such coverage under three separate policies, two on automobiles owned by her father and the third on her own automobile. Each of these three policies furnished $5,000 uninsured motorist protection. The defendant insurers contended that the standard "pro rata" clauses in the policies limited recovery under each policy to one-third of the $5,000 limit for uninsured motorists. Our Supreme Court rejected this argument and held that the "pro rata" clauses are invalid where their effect is to reduce recovery on an individual policy below the statutory minimum of $5,000. The court awarded $5,000 under each of the three policies, or a total of $15,000. After quoting the pertinent sections of LSA-R.S. 22:1406, which require uninsured motorist coverage in all policies issued in this state, with minimum coverage of $5,000 per person, the court stated its rationale as follows:

"Although the statute quoted requires uninsured motorist protection and sets forth the minimum coverage the policies must provide, it does not prohibit or prevent an insurer from offering more than the minimum coverage specified. Thus there is no impediment to an injured party recovering more than the statutory minimum under an uninsured motorist endorsement. Nor does the law prevent an injured insured under uninsured motorist coverage from recovering the minimum from more than one insurer if the damage sustained warrants such a recovery. What the law does require is that each policy issued provide not less than the minimum $5,000 coverage. Proration does not take place when the damage claimed exceeds the sum of the policies under which the claimant is entitled to recover benefits under the uninsured motorist protection.
"Any effort to reduce the mandatory minimum coverage of each policy by `pro rata' clauses cannot be given effect by the courts."

In Deane v. McGee, 261 La. 686, 260 So.2d 669 (1972) the injured plaintiff was a guest passenger in an automobile owned and being driven by a son-in-law at the time of the collision with a negligent uninsured motorist. There were two policies covering the son-in-law's vehicle, and each provided uninsured motorist coverage of $5,000 per person. Mr. Deane also had uninsured motorist coverage on his own car under a policy issued in Florida, where the state statute requires minimum coverage of $10,000 per person. Deane's damages amounted to $22,902. The insurer under his personal policy defended on the grounds that under the standard "excess" clause in its policy, the primary insurers of the host vehicle were liable for the statutory minimum and hence there was no liability under the excess clause. Following the rationale of their decision in Graham, our Supreme Court held that the "excess" clause, like the "pro rata" clause, is invalid if it reduces the possible recovery on a single policy below the minimum prescribed by statute. Plaintiff was allowed to recover the statutory minimum of $10,000 provided by his personal policy, in addition to the sum of $5,000 from each of the two *158 uninsured motorist insurers of the host vehicle.

The defendant insurer contends that both the Graham and Deane cases are distinguished from the present matter in that there the injured claimants were passengers in automobiles not owned by them, whereas here the injured claimants were riding in an automobile owned by the named insured, Mr. Crenwelge. The defendant says that since the plaintiff and his daughter were riding in the Volkswagen, uninsured motorist coverage is excluded under the "Exclusions" found in Part IV of the policy dealing with uninsured motorists and reading in pertinent part as follows:

"This policy does not apply under Part IV:

(a) to bodily injury to an insured while occupying an automobile (other than an insured automobile) owned by the named insured or a relative, or through being struck by such an automobile;"

The defendant then points to page 5 of the policy which defines an "insured automobile" as one "described in the policy for which a specific premium charge indicates that coverage is afforded." The Volkswagen is not described in the Plymouth policy.

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277 So. 2d 155, 1973 La. App. LEXIS 6994, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crenwelge-v-state-farm-mutual-automobile-ins-co-lactapp-1973.