Fjelstad v. State Farm Insurance

845 F. Supp. 2d 981, 2012 WL 619016, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24629
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 27, 2012
DocketCiv. No. 11-1795 (RHK/LIB)
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 845 F. Supp. 2d 981 (Fjelstad v. State Farm Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fjelstad v. State Farm Insurance, 845 F. Supp. 2d 981, 2012 WL 619016, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24629 (mnd 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RICHARD H. KYLE, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

This action arises out of an automobile accident on January 8, 2011, in which Plaintiff Jeri Fjelstad and her two sisters, Plaintiffs Caroline Gerving and Linda Emerson, were struck by a car driven by Charles Hanson in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Because Hanson’s liability-insurance coverage was insufficient to compensate for all of their injuries, Plaintiffs commenced this action against Fjelstad’s insurer, Defendant State Farm Insurance Company (“State Farm”), seeking underinsured-motorist and no-fault benefits under her policy. Presently before the Court are the parties’ cross-Motions for Summary Judgment as to coverage, on which three of the four claims in the Complaint turn. For the reasons that follow, Plaintiffs’ Motion will be denied and State Farm’s Motion granted.

BACKGROUND

The relevant facts are undisputed. On the date in question, Plaintiffs, along with Fjelstad’s husband Tim, ran errands together in Fjelstad’s car, which was insured by State Farm. The four stopped to buy [983]*983loaves of bread, then traveled to another store and made additional purchases. Fjelstad placed all of the purchases — including Gerving’s and Emerson’s — into the trunk of her car. After stopping for lunch, the four traveled to Wal-Mart in Detroit Lakes. There, they parked in a handicapped space in the aisle closest to the front door, as Emerson walks with a cane and uses oxygen (which she carries with her).1 After shopping for approximately 90 minutes, the four left the store together, with each Plaintiff pushing a shopping cart full of groceries toward Fjelstad’s car.

Upon arriving at the car, Fjelstad opened the trunk; she was standing immediately adjacent to the vehicle, with Gerving and Emerson a few feet to her side, shopping carts in hand. In other words, Fjelstad was between her car and Gerving and Emerson. Fjelstad then began organizing the items in her trunk before loading the groceries from all three women’s shopping carts. She loaded her purchases into the trunk first, as she would be the last one to exit her car after the errands were complete. As Fjelstad was in the process of placing items into the trunk, a vehicle driven by Hanson entered the aisle and drove into and directly through all three Plaintiffs.2 Fjelstad was thrown into the vehicle parked next to her car; Gerving was forcefully knocked to the ground; and Emerson was dragged under Hanson’s vehicle for some distance before finally being “run over” and falling free. The cause of the accident is undisclosed.

Following the accident, Plaintiffs commenced a negligence action against Hanson, and his automobile insurer agreed to pay the limits of coverage under his policy. However, Plaintiffs claimed this was an insufficient amount to compensate them for all of their injuries, and they sought underinsured-motorist benefits from State Farm via Fjelstad’s policy. That policy provides, in pertinent part, that State Farm “will pay compensatory damages for bodily injury an insured, is legally entitled to recover from the owner or driver of an underinsured motor vehicle,” as long as the bodily injury is “sustained by an insured,” As relevant here, the policy defines the term “insured” to include all persons “occupying” the policyholder’s car, with the term “occupying” defined as “in, on, entering, or exiting.”

After State Farm denied benefits to Gerving and Emerson, Plaintiffs commenced the instant action in the Hennepin County, Minnesota,. District Court, and State Farm promptly removed it to this Court. The Complaint contains four counts. In Count I, Gerving and Emerson seek a declaration that they were insureds under Fjelstad’s policy. In Count II, Plaintiffs assert that they are (jointly) entitled to the full amount of underinsuredmotorist benefits available under the policy ($500,000), due to the nature and extent of their injuries. In Counts III and IV, respectively, Emerson and Gerving assert that they are entitled to no-fault medical benefits and no-fault wage loss benefits under Fjelstad’s policy.

With discovery complete, the parties have cross-moved for summary judgment on Counts I, III, and IV in the Complaint, which are the claims brought by Gerving and Emerson alone (not Fjelstad). All parties agree these claims hinge on wheth[984]*984er Gerving and Emerson were “insureds” under the policy, a question that turns on whether they were “occupying” Fjelstad’s vehicle at the time of the accident. The Court held a hearing on the cross-Motions on February 21, 2012, which are now ripe for disposition.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is proper if, drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party bears the burden of showing that the material facts in the case are undisputed. Id. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Whisenhunt v. Sw. Bell Tel., 573 F.3d 565, 568 (8th Cir.2009). The Court must view the evidence, and the inferences that may be reasonably drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Weitz Co., LLC v. Lloyd’s of London, 574 F.3d 885, 892 (8th Cir.2009); Carraher v. Target Corp., 503 F.3d 714, 716 (8th Cir.2007). The nonmoving party may not rest on mere allegations or denials, but must show through the presentation of admissible evidence that specific facts exist creating a genuine issue for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Wingate v. Gage Cnty. Sch. Dist., No. 34, 528 F.3d 1074, 1078-79 (8th Cir.2008).

Where, as here, the Court confronts cross-motions for summary judgment, this approach is only slightly modified. When considering Plaintiffs’ Motion, the Court views the record in the light most favorable to State Farm, and when considering State Farm’s Motion, the Court views the record in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs. “Either way, summary judgment is proper if the record demonstrates that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact.” Seaworth v. Messerli, Civ. No. 09-3437, 2010 WL 3613821, at *3 (D.Minn. Sept. 7, 2010) (Kyle, J.), aff'd, 414 Fed.Appx. 882 (8th Cir.2011).

ANALYSIS

State law governs the interpretation of insurance policies. E.g., Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh v. Terra Indus., Inc., 346 F.3d 1160, 1164 (8th Cir.2003). Under Minnesota law,3

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845 F. Supp. 2d 981, 2012 WL 619016, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24629, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fjelstad-v-state-farm-insurance-mnd-2012.