Farmers Ins. Co. of Oregon v. Mowry

261 P.3d 1, 350 Or. 686, 2011 Ore. LEXIS 709
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 9, 2011
DocketCC 080202045; CA A141214; SC S058706
StatusPublished
Cited by136 cases

This text of 261 P.3d 1 (Farmers Ins. Co. of Oregon v. Mowry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farmers Ins. Co. of Oregon v. Mowry, 261 P.3d 1, 350 Or. 686, 2011 Ore. LEXIS 709 (Or. 2011).

Opinions

[688]*688BALMER, J.

This case concerns the proper application of stare decisis and requires us to decide whether Collins v. Farmers Ins. Co., 312 Or 337, 822 P2d 1146 (1991), is still good law. In Collins, this court held that an exclusion in a motor vehicle liability insurance policy that purported to eliminate all coverage for a claim by one insured against another insured under the same policy was unenforceable to the extent that it failed to provide the minimum coverage required by the Financial Responsibility Law (FRL), ORS 806.060 and ORS 806.070. Id. at 347. The exclusion, however, was enforceable as to any coverage beyond that statutory minimum. Id. In this case, plaintiff, Farmers Insurance Company, issued an insurance policy to defendant, Tosha Mowry, that contained an exclusion identical to the exclusion in Collins. Defendant was injured in an accident in which her friend — a permissive user and thus an insured person under the policy — was driving. Plaintiff brought this action seeking a declaration that defendant had $25,000 available in coverage under her policy — the minimum coverage required by the FRL for bodily injury to one person in any one accident. Defendant argues that her coverage is $100,000, the insurance amount stated on the declarations page of her policy. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, and the trial court granted plaintiffs motion and denied defendant’s. The Court of Appeals affirmed in a per curiam opinion that cited Collins. Farmers Ins. Co. v. Mowry, 236 Or App 236, 234 P3d 1098 (2010). We affirm.

The facts are undisputed. Plaintiff issued defendant a motor vehicle liability insurance policy that provides liability coverage with limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. Exclusion 12(a) of the policy, however, states that “coverage does not apply to * * * [liability for bodily injury to an insured person.” The policy defines an “insured person,” in relevant part, as “you” or “[a]ny person using your insured car.” Thus, the policy provided insurance coverage for claims made against an insured by third parties, but purported to exclude coverage for claims against an insured made by other “insured persons” under the policy, such as family members or others using the insured vehicle.

[689]*689In 2005, defendant was injured in a collision while riding as a passenger in her own vehicle, which her friend was driving. Under the insurance policy, defendant’s friend was an insured person. Defendant made a claim under the policy, but defendant and plaintiff disagreed on the amount of coverage available for the claim. Plaintiff contended that $25,000 was available — the minimum amount required by the FRL — because exclusion 12(a) caused defendant’s coverage to “drop down” from the otherwise applicable per person liability coverage in the policy. Defendant sought coverage of $100,000 — the per person liability coverage stated on the declarations page of the policy. As noted, the trial court and the Court of Appeals agreed with plaintiff, citing Collins. Defendant sought review, arguing that Collins should be overruled because it was wrongly decided and is in conflict with a more recent case, North Pacific Ins. Co. v. Hamilton, 332 Or 20, 22 P3d 739 (2001).

We begin by reviewing the relevant statutes and then turn to this court’s decision in Collins. Under ORS 742.450(4) (2005), amended by Or Laws 2007, ch 782, § l,1 “[e]very motor vehicle liability insurance policy issued for delivery in this state shall provide liability coverage to at least the minimum limits specified in ORS 806.070.” ORS 806.070(2)(a) sets the minimum limit at “$25,000 [for] bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident.” ORS 742.464 provides:

“Any policy which grants the coverage required for a motor vehicle liability insurance policy under ORS 742.450, 806.080 and 806.270 may also grant any lawful coverage in excess of or in addition to the required coverage, and such excess or additional coverage shall not be subject to the provisions of * * * [ORS] 742.450 to 742.464. With respect to a policy which grants such excess or additional coverage only that part of the coverage which is required by ORS 806.080 [690]*690and 806.270 is subject to the requirements of those sections.”

Thus, an insurance policy may limit the coverage for some types of liability, including insured-versus-insured claims, to the minimum limits required by the FRL even though the policy provides greater coverage for other types of claims.

In Collins, Farmers issued a motor vehicle liability policy that was virtually identical to the policy in this case, including a liability limit of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence and an exclusion stating that “coverage does not apply to * * * [l]iability for bodily injury to an insured person.” Collins, 312 Or at 339 (boldface type omitted). The plaintiff, a family member of the insured, was injured while a passenger in the insured’s car. As a family member of the insured, the plaintiff was an insured person under the policy. Farmers notified the plaintiff that it would only provide $25,000 in coverage, the minimum amount required by the FRL. The plaintiff asserted that the absolute exclusion violated Oregon law and was therefore completely unenforceable. The plaintiff argued that he was entitled to $100,000 in coverage, the full amount stated on the declarations page of the policy. Id. at 340.

After describing the relevant components of the FRL, the court stated that Oregon law implies in every motor vehicle liability insurance policy issued in the state a provision that the policy includes the minimum coverage required by ORS 742.450, ORS 806.080, and ORS 806.270. Id. at 342. “Coverage other than that required by law may be limited by any lawful exclusion.” Id. at 343. More specifically, the court stated:

“The manifest purpose of ORS 742.464 is to permit an insurer to write any other lawful coverage that the insurer wishes to write, in addition to the required coverage. Such coverage may include higher limits than those required by ORS 742.450

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

Related

State v. Brown
335 Or. App. 417 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2024)
Sheppard v. Progressive Classic Ins. Co.
551 P.3d 967 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2024)
State v. Aranda
Oregon Supreme Court, 2024
Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union
Oregon Supreme Court, 2023
Taylor v. SAIF
Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2023
State v. Stevens
540 P.3d 50 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2023)
K. E. B. v. Bradley
Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2023
State v. Delaney
522 P.3d 855 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2022)
State v. Breedwell
522 P.3d 876 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2022)
State v. Alcaraz
508 P.3d 13 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2022)
State v. Reed
505 P.3d 444 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2022)
State v. Jackson
498 P.3d 788 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2021)
State v. DeJong
497 P.3d 710 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2021)
State v. Hubbell
500 P.3d 728 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2021)
Dept. of Human Services v. W. C. T.
501 P.3d 44 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2021)
Mayfield and Mayfield
474 P.3d 454 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2020)
State v. Merrill
463 P.3d 540 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2020)
Fleming v. SAIF
461 P.3d 261 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2020)
State v. Shepherd
459 P.3d 957 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
261 P.3d 1, 350 Or. 686, 2011 Ore. LEXIS 709, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farmers-ins-co-of-oregon-v-mowry-or-2011.